Junk in the Trunk

Reusable shopping bags are one thing I try to always keep
in the trunk of my car. (Photo: thirtyonegifts.com)

Last week on The Porch Swing Chronicles, I wrote a post about things you'll find in my car but not my husband's. A friend of mine "piggybacked" (her word) on my post and raised the question, "Packrat or prepared?"

Which are you? And how does it affect your organizing?

If you're an I love stuff organizer, chances are you fall into the packrat category...but chances are also good that you're the one who has what someone else is looking for, making you prepared as well.

Regardless of your answer to the packrat vs. prepared question, it comes down to how do you organize. Not surprisingly, the same principles we apply to organizing our homes also applies to organizing our cars, but because space is so limited, there are a few questions we should asks ourselves to guide our choices of what we keep and how we keep it in our home on wheels.

• How often do you use it? My car is rarely without tissues, napkins, a notepad (or three) and writing implements. I use these frequently, and would truly be at a loss without them. All of these are in the front of my car -- tissues and napkins in the glove box, writing implements between the seats (and one in the organizer on my sun visor) and notebooks/note pads in the pocket on the driver's side door (and two smaller ones in the organizer on my sun visor).
• When you need it, how desperately do you need it? I don't use the blanket I keep in my back seat very often at all, but should my car ever break down on a cold day, I definitely want to have it. I use the hand sanitizing wipes in the trunk more often than the blanket, but when I need them, I really want to have them. Neither of these things is stored in the front of the car, though. Their importance earns them a spot in my vehicle, but neither them gets used often enough to take up prime real estate.

So far, I think we're in the prepared category. Get ready to cross over.

• Is it just taking up space? I have a decorative hat box that has been living in the trunk of my car for -- oh, I can't even admit it in print -- too long! Originally intended as a donation, it didn't work out as such, but once I got it out of my mudroom, I wasn't putting it back. I've been meaning to find it a new home, but as an I need to see it person...well, I don't see it, so I haven't dealt with it. Packrat. Definitely packrat. It's in the way when I put groceries in the car, it's getting faded from the sunlight that pours in the back window of my car (I have a hatchback) and while I can rationalize that it's collecting loose items in the trunk (it sort of is), it's gone beyond not being an efficient use of the space to being in the way. It needs to go.

I think it's fair to say that I live on the line between packrat and prepared. And, one of the reasons I love writing these blogs is that they spur me to action. Clearly, it's time to find that big intrusion of a container a new home.

How about you? What belongs and what doesn't? And what will you do about it?