Is your car a mess? Do you regularly misplace things because your car is cluttered?

According to professional organizer Peter Walsh, the keys to keeping a car from turning into a dumping ground are responsibility and routine. “Your car is the second most expensive investment you will ever make in your life,” he says, “you have to own it. You have to maintain it. you have to honor and respect it.” That’s going to mean a couple of things for you and me.

First off, staying on top of the clutter in the car. These days, we tend to live out of our cars so how can you keep car clutter at bay? Start a routine of carrying in as much as you can each time you get out of the car. I think my kids would have a heart attack if we ever got out of the car where I didn’t say “make sure you bring in everything from the car.” I even have it on the kids chore list to get all of their things out of the car.

Another routine to start is throwing out the garbage in your car every time you fill your tank with gas.

Lastly, set a routine of wiping down and vacuuming out your car on a monthly basis. It’s all part of the honor and respect thing.

Now that the inside of the car is taken care of, we need to talk about maintaining the outside. We need to schedule regular wash and waxes but there is something even bigger that many of us are overlooking. I drive through neighborhoods and see cars that people have spent thousands of dollars on sitting in the driveway. Why? Well, er, um, their garage is filled with junk. In other words, we are spending money to protect our “junk” from the elements while allowing our second most expensive investment to be exposed. Ouch!

My challenge to you this month is to clean up your messy garage! I know there is a lot of stuff in there but think of the freedom you will experience in letting go. If you find yourself just too overwhelmed to tackle it alone, contact me or give me a call and I will help you through it.

Photo by RYAN MCGUIRE