A graphic of the interior of a car showing some organisers over the back of the seats
Episode 44 – Decluttering your car

In this podcast, Lesley and Ingrid talk about decluttering your car so that it doesn't become a dumping ground or an additional storage facility. So many things go on in cars these days - eating, drinking, sleeping, reading, watching and listening to programmes so it's no surprise that they become untidy quickly. We talk about getting the contents under control by decluttering your car regularly.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
Intro  0:07  
Welcome to today's episode of The Declutter Hub Podcast, your channel for super easy, no nonsense advice on how to declutter and organise your home. Please welcome your host professional organisers, Ingrid Johnson, and Lesley Spellman.

Ingrid  0:26  
Hello, and welcome listeners to Episode 44 of the Declutter Hub Podcast. I'm Ingrid. 

Lesley  0:32  
And I'm Lesley.

Ingrid  0:33  
If you have clutter and want this sorted out, this is a show for you. In today's episode, Lesley and I are talking about how to declutter your car. Now, cars are like extensions of our houses, and we spend a lot of time in them. So it's important to keep them clean, tidy, and organised. And that is easier said than done, isn't

Lesley  0:53  
it? You tell me why you people can have the most immaculate house in the world. But then when you go into their car, it's like some kind of scene of mass devastation. And then people are like, I'm in my car. Now I can just let it all go. And thing is funny, though, isn't it? There's a lot of people, it's a bit like that people are sort of super organised at work and then struggle at home. It's like, it's almost like a separation off. And so there's a lot of cars out there that are a complete tip. And so whenever I get in a car was the clutter fairy. Everyone's like, Oh, I'm so sorry about my car. I'm getting mounted this week. Because if I'm gonna judge on like, I'm fine. You're giving me a left, it's fine. But it's always interesting. You know, people are always really embarrassed about the car. And you're you're taking people out and you don't want people necessarily to judge you for that. So we're gonna help you on your merry little way to get the car of your dreams.

Ingrid  1:48  
Yes, absolutely. And it made me laugh because actually this morning, I came back from from a trip this week. I was way over the weekend. And the first thing I did when I when I went to get my groceries was hand my car over to the carwash and haven't washed and home from the inside. Because I just I don't know, I'm, I've got a nice tidy car. So I would love to share my advice and my tips with the listeners and hopefully inspire them.

Lesley  2:16  
I've got a tidy car as well actually, I have my car done. Well, whenever my daughter comes home. That's what she has to do. She has she drove my car around when she's home and so she always has to go to the carwash and pick it up. Penance. So she did that on Saturday. But normally my car's got you know, 75 bin bags in the back of it, you know what I mean? So it's normally it might be nice and tidy in the front, but in the back. It's kind of like a almost like a van really. It's always got stuff in there to go to charity, but I did my so today I did my charity shop, run everything's out of the car. And because I did a big declutter here over the weekend in my house. And so I had loads to go to the to the charity shop on the tip this morning and did that now my cars are brand spanking new entirely against some happy.

Ingrid  3:02  
Yeah, and and it's funny you say that because people drive around they they actually actually declutter their house, put the stuff in the car, and then they end up driving around with their stuff in the car for like weeks on end. It's like you just go to the charity shop. Just bring the bags bring the bags.

Lesley  3:17  
Yeah, so there's a lot of there's a lot of interest in psychology, isn't there the car? So it might sound really straightforward how to decode so you can't you just need to declutter it, I suppose it is it's about decluttering your car. And it's also about changing habits a little bit, isn't it? That on a daily basis, you're trying to keep on top of that car. Because particularly if you've got kids, it can go from a tiny car to a complete, as I say, seen a mass devastation within one car journey. Because what we're trying to do is we're trying to keep our kids entertained as best we can. And so we ply them with all kinds of things food, drink, toys, DVDs, books, you know, we do try and do anything we can to sort of keep the mind off my head when you when you're driving around. Am I right? Yeah,

Ingrid  4:03  
yeah, it's, it's getting better now when they get a little bit older. But when they were little, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. You know, one biscuits can actually cause a tummy.

Lesley  4:16  
Exactly. So So

Ingrid  4:17  
our advice is declutter it on a regular basis. And don't forget those side pockets in the door. You know, it's nice that you get the ground clean and the seating but what lit in the side pockets in doors is utterly amazing. So don't forget to declutter those either.

Lesley  4:35  
Yeah, I mean, I take that, you know, that's my little you know, so I'm not I'm not gonna lie when I said there might be 10 Nice little, sweetened chocolate wrappers in the side pocket door, but I do take it out when I'm home. I do if I go to the tip at all with my stuff, then I will shuffle stuff over as well at the same just that it's cleared out because it's a nice feeling as well to have a nice car isn't it that you can be proud of it? I think it's more common. If you've got to go to work or go about your daily business in a messy car again, it's that kind of clean desk clean mind clean car clean mind, we'll call it now.

Ingrid  5:10  
Yeah, I agree, I couldn't agree more. So if you're feeling brave, anyway, maybe this week, I mean, listeners, come on, let's do this. Our advice is to actually get a couple of bags or boxes ready. So you can put one of them you can use to put rubbish in the other one you can use to put some recycling in. And the other bag or box you can use for stuff that needs to go back into the house or the garage or stuff that's kind of ended up in your car that shouldn't be in your car. So get out three backs or three boxes, and you're on your way to start decluttering your car, it feels like it's not too overwhelming. I mean, unless you have like, rubbish until the windows. But normally, if people can still sit in the car, this is not a gigantic five hour job. This is really a manageable job to do. So I think that's what makes it really nice job to do.

Lesley  6:08  
Yeah, definitely. I think if there are big volumes, and Ingrid, if they're, you know, I'm not talking about up to the ceiling, because that would not be ideal. But if there are quite if there is quite a lot of stuff in your car, maybe gets multiple boxes. Yeah, so quite often, you know, if you have got a family, a lot of the stuff that's in a car is probably going to go back into a playroom or back into the kids bedrooms, there probably will be quite a bit of stuff that's gonna go back into a garage, you know, like di so that we put in the car in the winter, we don't need it in there necessarily in the summer, that kind of thing. And carry your bags as well. There's going to be a lot of those which we do need to keep in a car. So bags for life and carry bags, that's exactly where they need to be because we need them with us when we're going shopping. So those are the things that you can declutter sorted out, gather like with, like, put them quite neatly and put them back in your car. But yeah, but it's really important to get everything out, isn't it? We're not talking necessarily about cleaning your car. But this will facilitate the cleaning. And once you know you need to declutter it you couldn't turn up at a carwash with a messy cluttery car. It needs to be pretty cool to free doesn't it before you go in and do that?

Ingrid  7:13  
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, when I came back from a trip yesterday, I was like, quickly got all the rubbish out, because I knew I wanted to have the car hoovered and wash this morning. So I gave it a bit of a Declutter. I ordered the rubbish out of it. So it just because then it can actually be overdone cleaned properly.

Lesley  7:32  
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I think it's definitely a little and often. So I'm not saying a tackle my car every day. But I try to you know, if there's things in my car that needs to go in the house, I try and take them in. But I know there's a little bit more of a barrier. It's the same thing as having a kind of basket. I have a basket, a lot of people stare basket, I have a basket in my hallway of things that I've got misplaced, that need to go back to their rightful position. And it's the same principle, but it's more difficult in a car. Because you've got that walk in space, haven't it between your car and your house. And so it is a little bit more tricky to remember to do it and to be inspired to do it.

Ingrid  8:09  
So okay, so let's then talk. I mean, we talked about decluttering your side doors as well. But let's talk about a glovebox, then so what's in your glove box? What would you keep there?

Lesley  8:21  
I'm just trying to think what is that what it's called in? What do the Americans call the glove box? I feel like there's a different name.

Ingrid  8:30  
I'm not sure actually, to be honest with you. It's just like, it's like the console, the front of the passenger seat where you get to a little place.

Lesley  8:40  
Yeah, definitely feel like it's got a different name. But anyway, that's irrelevant. You know where it is. So what kind of things do you need to have in your glove box, I think I'm going to not sure about Australia. And I've got a lot of Australian listeners, and welcome. Thank you for listening and New Zealand. Many of our listeners are in the US. And I know it's different in terms of what you need to keep with you, in your car, if you're driving around the US is very different to the UK. So in the UK, we have no need to keep our documents with us because we can if we get stopped by the police or something like that, and we can present our documents the following day. But in the US you have to have your registration documents, your insurance documents, your driving licence, with your all times and so those are the kinds of things that tend to be in the glove box. In America, I think so. And the other thing that I was keeping they're definitely keep the information about your roadside assistance, and so you kind of car break down. So you've got the details for that. And it's useful obviously to keep that owner's manual in there. I would keep my service history in there as well for if the car goes to the garage, so that I can put that in. But then you know glove boxes these days to be fair or not as big as they used to be. And by the time you've got your your owner's manual in there and your roadside assistance and things like that. There's often not I need more space for anything else is quite tight on space, isn't it in there? Yeah, I do also keep a spare 10 pounds in there, just in case I ever, I don't know why. But I do, just in case I've never used it. But you know, just in case I forgot my person ran out of petrol or something like that, I just think it'd be useful. And a couple of pounds isn't going to cut it really from a petrol perspective. So it needs to be a tenant to make an impact really, wouldn't it? So I do, I do just put a little 10 pound note in my glove box as well.

Ingrid  10:27  
Yeah, that makes reasonable a lot of sense, I think I think we actually have a little box with some bulbs in them, because my husband can actually change them himself. So if one of our light bulbs in the car goes and He changes them, so we've got a little box with a couple of different light bulbs that you have. So we don't keep it in the booth, because it's kind of then it's because he's quite delicate. So we rather want to keep it in the glove box.

Lesley  10:52  
And so the other place that you can store things in your car is the kind of central console, so the one between the two front seats. And again, that's, that's a place that kind of gathers loads of random bits and pieces in there. So for me, I do have a couple of pens in there, I have a notebook, just in case I wanted to write anything down if I needed to ever swap insurance details with anybody that would go into my central console. And what I do try and do is I try and keep my cup holders, free of stuff. Because what tends to happen if you get drinks, particularly if you get ones from kind of fast food places that are not, you know, if you've got a water bottle, that's not going to spill out, but if you get in stuff from Madonna, you know, coat with a straw, it'll go down the side of it, and it makes it all kind of sticky and messy in the cupholders doesn't it. And so it's useful not to have, you know, claims and things like that at the bottom of there just to keep your cup holders free and so that you can actually put your cups in there. I would keep that as free as you possibly can really, oftentimes people will have CDs in there, which is always quite interesting because for the most part nowadays, we don't use a CD player in the car. I guess some people still have a CD player in the car, don't they? What do you have you got CDs in your car?

Ingrid  12:05  
Yeah, I'll tell you what I have in my car. I have got rock wire CDs in there.

Lesley  12:09  
I have yet what would you why we just haven't got it streamed

Ingrid  12:14  
because one of my Rakeem fellow rookies in my choir is really helpful. And he always makes a CD with all the lists with Oprah. For a minute sopranos He makes us a CD with all the songs for with the Sopranos. So I can just bop it in my car sing along to the rock choir. So when I'm driving, when I'm not listening to podcasts or radio, but so my require CDs are in the car, and the kids love it. So we're a long journey to Papa require CDN. And Moss was like, my kids do not

Lesley  12:44  
love listening to the rock quiet music when I'm like, No, don't do that. But anyway, yeah. So CD, but but there are some people who still got CDs in the car, when they will Bluetooth it to the radio. Yes, treat everything and listen to the radio. So CDs can definitely come out if they're stuck around for a while. So it's something to look at is what I'm saying really.

Ingrid  13:08  
I also have a couple of cables, so I can charge my phone. Because really handy. Plug in my central console. So I can charge a phone or anything like that, when

Lesley  13:19  
really handy to have that. So your documents for sure. So that's your central console. So try and keep that as clutter free as possible, I would say you don't want it sort of overflowing. And definitely try and keep the cupholders free from the detritus of life. So the other place that you would store things really then as we go backwards in the car, and this is probably going to be if you've got kids, those organises on the back of car seats are brilliant when your kids are little, aren't they? Yeah, and I know there's some out there that are a bit rubbish. But there are equally there's a lot out there that are very good. So they can really sort of containerized things you can put a few little pens in there maybe a little drawing pad, you know people can put little this space is now a lot of the kids are using iPads aren't there even phones or the spaces for those kinds of things, which is really good to keep things safe to keep things containerized and it just looks much neater. So one of those or two of those in the back of the cars always really, really useful.

Ingrid  14:16  
I actually until recently had them both of my kids had one each. And also there was placed to put a cup in for when they were younger. And only just recently, I thought okay, they're getting really manky I couldn't clean them properly anymore. They were kind of falling apart a little bit after Gosh, a good eight 910 years of use. So I've got really good use out of them. And I've now decluttered them from my car and it's it's nice now but I think for when they're little it was brilliant. Really, really handy.

Lesley  14:45  
And I think that's it Ingrid. Okay, it's 1130

Ingrid  14:49  
nearly nearly 13 Yeah, yeah.

Lesley  14:52  
So you know, they're older now. I think we're talking to kind of young kids, aren't they? Yeah, sort of to what words you know, and then obviously those kinds of things all go later. In life, but they are really quite useful if you get a good one, but you really need to look at what you know, don't just buy one think about what do I need to store in it? You know, what do my kids because kids are gonna like different things, aren't they? Yeah, but those are really good on the back of the seats. And then if we go for even further back in the car, then you've got your boots, UK boots, America trunk? Yeah, yeah, different terminology. And so what do we do in our boots?

Ingrid  15:27  
Well, I've got a crate one of those collapsible crates, but actually, mine doesn't never collapse anymore. But it does keep everything really nice and tidy together. So I've got a first aid kit in there, I've got a pump for the tires of the car, because we keep an eye on them really, really well. And we're gonna have to go to the petrol station all the time to put air in the tires, those yellow vests when you break down next to on the road. And that can really handy last year when we actually broke down on the roadside. So I was really glad I had those yellow vests in my car. If we're in colder areas, probably have blankets in case you do break down. That's something you probably want to have in there, your emergency triangle. So you can put your emergency triangle out, things like that. But I've got it in a nice crates, so it's all contained. So it doesn't keep flying through the boot all the time.

Lesley  16:17  
Yeah. And sometimes those kind of things are already incorporated into the underneath storage in the boot, aren't they as well like the comps and the triangles and things like that. But I think that the key here is have a box that you can containerize things that it doesn't just roll around in the back of your boots, with everything else. Really. I think that's really important, isn't it? You know, you need your boot to be there for when you want to put stuff into it when you go shopping and things like that. Yeah. So I just have a container in the back of my car as well. I mean, to be fair, mine's mostly spare bin bags for when I'm working with clients, just in case I run out of the ones that are taking with me. But yeah, so no, it's really important to you know, we'd love containerization don't wait, and a boot is a great place to do that as well.

Ingrid  17:00  
So we also wanted to share with you listeners a couple of tips. So what can you do to make sure your car doesn't end up looking like an enormous disaster. So have you thought about maybe placing a little bin or a bag in your car, so you've got actually somewhere to put some rubbish in. So you don't have to drop it on the floor. So if you're eating an apple, you can just throw it in. I think I even saw somebody turn. It's like a cereal container. It put this tiny little magazine, I thought was a brilliant idea.

Lesley  17:31  
Yeah, I think this cereal contains the right sort of size, isn't it? I mean, what the size have been that you need is like the one that we use for food waste in the kitchen, isn't it really. But they're a little bit too wide and square? Aren't your sort of rectangular sort of cereal containers would definitely work well, wouldn't they? Yeah, that seems to be a good one. You can also buy bespoke carbons as well. Purpose made?

Ingrid  17:54  
Yeah. And I think you said something really interesting. Lesley, when we were preparing this podcast, you said Well, what I do is when I go and get petrol, I always pick up a few bits before I put petrol or diesel in my car and throw them away. Because actually at the petrol station, there are these large bins, where you can just chuck away some stuff, so it doesn't build up.

Lesley  18:17  
Yeah, exactly. You know, it's again, little and often, isn't it, you know, if you if you entered you come it's gonna depend, you know, honestly, as I say, within one car journey, which if you've got a family car can just go from being tidy to very untidy, but for me, I'm not really transporting kids around anymore. So it's a little bit different. So really, it's just my sneaky petrol station bars of chocolate that go into the side, side of the door. So those are things that I'm throwing away, mostly to get rid of the evidence if I'm honest. Yeah, so those kinds of things, but just do that, or when you come in, you know, put things in the bin. It's just about not letting it build up, isn't it and not letting it become this huge job. Like, I've got to spend two hours on a Saturday morning cleaning the car, you know, you don't want to be doing that life's too short for that kind of stuff. spend two minutes each time you go in the house, I have a couple of little bags that you can grab, you can grab and stick stuff in your cars outside your wheelie bins or outside, you know, put the stuff away. And Bob's your uncle.

Ingrid  19:17  
Yeah. Because in the end, all this clutter that you're driving around with, is just going to weigh your card down and it's going to end up costing you fuel so it's going to end up costing you money. So if you're one of those listeners who has been driving around with a car booth full of stuff at a charity shop for weeks on end, I hope this is your cue to think I'm actually going to go to the charity shop and unload this stuff because you're going to be saving money and I think Saving money is always a good thing in my in my book. But in the end, we want you to be proud of your car.

Lesley  19:48  
Yeah, definitely. I think it's really, I think it's nice. Maybe that's just me, I don't know, but I like having a clean, tidy car.

Ingrid  19:54  
Alright, that's it for me, Lesley. Anything else that you want to add or if we covered every LRB Says here.

Lesley  20:01  
I think we've covered everything. Yeah,

Ingrid  20:03  
I think so to some listeners, are you is your job going to be this weekend? Or maybe even Are you going to be brave and up? Because we're in the middle of summer here the nights are long. You've got a lot of lights and daylight at the moment. So maybe you feel you feel enthused to do a bit of a current clutter, maybe even today or tomorrow when you're listening to this podcast. So we hope we've inspired you to have to do that. And thanks so much for taking the time to listen today. If you'd like to get more tips and advice, please follow us on social media. We are on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and we have a lively supportive Facebook group community called the declutter hub community, where we check all things clutter, and we'd love to see you there. If you don't want to miss the next weekly episode, please subscribe to the declutter hub podcast on Apple podcast, Spotify and Stitcher and it will pop into your notifications each Friday. See you next time.

Outro  21:05  
Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the declutter hub podcast. Check out declutterhub.com For more inspiration. Don't forget to tune in next week.
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