Taking Stock - December 2016


Welcome to the last 'Taking Stock' post for 2016. In case you missed any, you can read all of my Taking Stock posts HERE. Pip from Meet Me At Mike is the mastermind behind this, so be sure to check out her blog. This is something I have done since I started blogging and will continue to do next year - I love looking back at previous months. In a nutshell, it's simply taking a step back and 'taking stock' of what's currently happening in your life. 

Here's what's been happening in the month of DECEMBER...
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My KonMari Journey: DIGITAL CLUTTER


Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. This year I have been sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing: My KonMari Journey: DIGITAL CLUTTER

If you are new to my blog, Welcome! In case you missed it, be sure to read my Introduction and Getting Started post, so you know what the KonMari Method is all about and the reasons why I am doing it. You can also read all of my KonMari posts HERE.

In a nutshell, Marie Kondo has four rules she recommends people follow when doing the KonMari Method:

1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible
2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'
4. Order of tidying: Clothes, Books, Documents (Paper), Miscellaneous items (Komono), and Mementos (Sentimental)

As suggested in the book, I will start doing the KonMari Method with my own 'stuff' first, then I will work through the kids items, because I am too sentimental and would find it hard to part with their things right off the bat. I also need to get my head around this new process of de-cluttering, tidying and organising, so hopefully when it comes to purging my kids stuff, it will be a lot easier (well, let's hope so).

*******
-THE BEGINNING-

Now that I have organised my Clothes, Books, Papers, and Komono (miscellaneous) and Sentimental items - CARDS & LETTERS & Journals, Awards & Achievements Keepsakes & Photos, it's time to tackle the category that everyone tends to put in the 'too hard basket' or 'I will do it "later"' pile, that's right...I'm talking about DIGITAL CLUTTER.

Digital clutter has been, hands down, the hardest category to date. I have had a love/hate relationship with this category and wanted to throw in the towel a few times because it was just too darn hard. However, I snapped out of it and powered through it, and you know what, I am really glad I tackled it. This post has been in my draft folder for almost 3 months, and today I finally clicked the 'PUBLISH' button and it 'sparked joy'! I get to share with YOU my journey of using the KonMari method on my DIGITAL CLUTTER...here we go.


- DIGITAL - 

Before you begin, I highly recommend you do these TWO things:

1. Back up your computer
Regardless of how organised or disorganised your computer is, there are going to be many changes, so take a moment to ensure that there is a current back up, once that's done, pause them while you are doing the KonMari method, otherwise it will try and sync everything as you go and you will be chasing your own tail. If you use Time Machine, iCloud, DropBox, Google Drive etc to back up your devices then pause these too.

2. Make a note of your hard drive usage stats (e.g. Storage)
This will be your token 'BEFORE' photo and hopefully by the end of this process you will see how much free space you have once you completed the KonMari method. Also it's a good time to empty the 'Trash', so you are starting with a clean canvas.


BEFORE






I can't believe I started with over 60,000+ items on my computer and over 50,000+ of them are photos!

Before I started the purging process, I took screenshots and wrote down the stats of what was currently on my laptop (note: I have an Apple MacBook Pro). I have had this computer since 2012 and I rarely delete anything from it, 'just in case' I need it one day - but we all know that ONE DAY never comes, right? I have been an Apple user for 7-8 years, due to the schools I worked in used them, and I quickly converted.

Each year when I changed teaching positions or schools, instead of transferring all my digital files & photos etc to an external hard drive, I would just put it all on the new laptop. It was organised chaos (and often disorganised) - there was just so much on there, I didn't have the motivation or time to do it, but now I really wish I did! 


As you can see my Hard drive was completely FULL! I even got the pop-up message prompting me to delete some items (a few times actually), to make space...now if that's not a sign to de-clutter your computer, I don't know what is. Don't put it off until tomorrow...start today!

Like the other KonMari categories, I have decided to break DIGITAL CLUTTER into sub-categories - this ticks the box of 'Sorting by Category, not by location'.

The sub-categories for Digital Clutter are: 
  • Programs/Applications 
  • Media Files 
  • Web History 
  • Bookmarks 
  • Email 
  • Documents/Files 
  • Social Media 
  • Photos

Programs / Applications

This category was pretty quick and painless, I went through my programs and applications, purging any I have not opened or used in the last two years. I regularly check my updates and when the notification pops up, I let my laptop do its thing. I am currently running Mac OS Sierra (Version 10.12.1).


Media Files

I don't actually keep a lot of media files on my laptop. I tend to listen to the radio, CD's or YouTube. I do have an iPod, but my daughter has claimed it as her own - I might need to invest in another. For the media files I did have on my laptop, I only kept the ones that sparked joy...the rest went into the Trash. I KonMari'd my CDs a while ago, you can read all about it HERE...one day I hope to transfer all of my CDs to an iPod and discard the CDs once and for all, but for now I am happy with the system I have.


Web History

Delete...Delete...Delete! Go to your history and delete your browsing data from the 'beginning of time' - that's what I did and you know what - it feels great! I deleted over 40,000 items in my web history! How crazy is that? Now I clear my browsing data and cookies/caches regularly - this means if I do come across a site I want to see again or refer to, I will either PIN IT or save it to my bookmarks - which are now organised. 


Bookmarks

My Bookmark Manager was a hot mess. I bookmarked websites and blogs regularly but didn't have a proper system in place. This made it really had to find things. So like my documents (see below), I saw a pattern in the pages/blogs I was bookmarking, and created folders for each. I went through ALL of my bookmarks - there were over 800 (since 2012) and I have purged 3/4 of those pages - some were no longer available or were broken links, so they were deleted straight away. For some of the pages I pinned them on Pinterest instead of having them in my Bookmark folders, the remanding pages are those I refer to regularly, so they are easy to find and open. I have limited each Bookmark folder to have no more than 30 websites, otherwise it becomes overwhelming. 

I have my frequently used pages e.g. bank, social media and blog etc, on my Bookmark Bar for quick reference. 


Email 

I have had a love/hate relationship with my my email inbox for quite some time. At one stage, I had over 1000 unread emails and it became overwhelming very quickly, until I came across Unroll.me - this was an absolute game changer for me. You simply sign up with your email address, Unroll.me goes through ALL your emails and splits all of your subscriptions into alphabetical order.

I went through the list and managed to unsubscribe from 233 emails subscriptions (eek) that no longer 'sparked joy' or were relevant to me anymore. I decided to keep 3 in my Inbox and rolled up 37...now whenever I get an email from any one of those 37 subscriptions, I get ONE email from Unroll.Me with a snippet of the newsletters etc - it only sends you something when the subscriptions have something to share.

Now I don't feel overwhelmed when I open my emails, Unroll.Me lets me know if they find any more subscriptions and I go through the process again, whether to 'Unsubscribe, Roll Up or Keep in Inbox' - it's great and has made life so much easier. If you haven't already, give it a try! You will love it.

Documents / Files

This task was overwhelming to begin with because I had random files and folders everywhere. My folders were originally organised by YEAR then MONTH and within each month I had three sub-folders - Home, Personal and Blog, however as months went by those folders quickly became "TO SORT" folders and I pushed them into the 'too hard' basket, that is until I decided I was going to KonMari my laptop.


The first thing I did was set up folders that I would use regularly - BLOG, DIGITAL LIBRARY, HOME/PERSONAL, PLAYCENTRE AND WORK. Now, doing the KonMari method on a laptop with over 60,000 items isn't going to happen over night (well not for me anyway), it's an ongoing process...and I had been working away at it, on and off for about two months. There are still a few documents I need to purge, however at this moment in time, just having the new system in place has helped me immensely and I am able to find documents quickly and easily.

I purged any documents that I had not opened for a couple of years, and/or didn't appeal to me or my life. Knowing that those documents are no longer taking up space in my digital world, makes me happy. The simplest way of doing this is - go to Documents and order by DATE MODIFIED. I had documents dating back to 2011/2012 when I first got my laptop, so a lot of them were deleted.

Now I have a better system in place, it's a matter of making sure I save documents/files etc in to the correct folder or sub folder. When I need something, for example, for my blog, I know it's going to be in the BLOG folder, instead of wrecking my brain to figure out what month I created it! 

Social Media

This category was a tricky one for me, especially as a blogger because I use social media daily. That being said, I now have systems in place that I am using each day to purge anything that no longer sparks joy. 


FACEBOOK
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been scrolling through my newsfeed and unfriending or unfollowing any pages that no longer appeal to me, as a blogger and personally. Because I am a blogger, I follow quite a lot of blogs, however these tend to take up majority of my personal newsfeed and I miss out on important statuses and photos from my friends and family. I have a selection of my favourite bloggers that I get to 'See First' and the rest I have these set on 'Default' or turn notifications off and will view all the PAGES via https://www.facebook.com/pages/feed - it's the one stop shop for all the blogs I love & follow. 

INSTAGRAM & TWITTER
I have used the CrowdFire app on my phone to filter through accounts who a) don't follow me, or b) no longer appeal to me e.g. following pages for giveaways etc. This is going to be ongoing process, and my goal is to go through each and every person/page I follow and make a decision whether or not they still spark joy.

PINTEREST
Oh I could spend hours on Pinterest, pinning and perusing the amazing boards. Pinning is good, however having hundreds of random boards is not. Last year I actually took the time to sort out my boards so I can find things and pin. It's more pleasing on the eye when everything is in order. My boards are ordered alphabetically, with my BLOG board and current events (e.g. Christmas) at the top (this will change throughout the year).

Photos

Saving the best til last - well, should I say 'saving the hardest til last' - 5 years of photos sitting on my laptop, over 50,000 photos...I didn't know where to begin.

The first thing I did was buy a new external hard drive just for my PHOTOS - to use as another form of back up (using my birthday money from my parents - thanks Mum & Dad). I currently use Time Machine and iCloud (although I'm not 100% how iCloud works - all I know is that my photos are there and I pay a certain amount per month for 1TB) - I can't put a price on my photos, so I am willing to pay whatever it takes to keep them safe.

A while ago I made a start on organising my photos - creating a main folder called 'DIGITAL LIBRARY' and then creating a folder for each year 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. Within each of these folders, I created sub folders for each month of the year, numbering them first so they were organised in numerical order. From these folders, I started to create folders for specific events, so it's easy to find photos to print or share. 



Then I realised something - I have two Digital Libraries - 1) in Photos (on Mac) and 2) via Finder. Are these duplicates? I was on the verge of an anxiety attack. So I walked away from the laptop and took some deep breathes! After a few days, I finally got into the right headspace to get stuck into these digital photos once and for all. I moved the photos from Finder to Photos (on Mac) - so I had ALL my photos in ONE place! (I deleted the empty folders once it was done).

On the 16th September, I had 51,324 photos stored in Photos (on Mac). 

I remembered Kondo's rules...
1. Tidy in one shot, as quickly and completely as possible
2. Sort by category, not by location
3. Selection Criterion: Does it 'spark joy?'

Just like the folders I created in Finder, I decided to make ALBUMS for each year in Photos (on Mac) - 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The Albums 2012 and 2013 were fairly small, so all the photos were dragged into the album, not folders. For the Years 2014, 2015 and 2016, I created sub folders for each month (1/ January, 2/ February...) and simply dragged and dropped all the photos that belonged in the corresponding folders.

This is what I was working with...
BEFORE
2012 - 434
2013 - 1,922
2014 - 18,556 (Birth of my son & new DSLR camera)
2015 - 22,525 (New home, Milestone birthdays and iPhone 6s)
2016 - 7,887 (as of 16th September 2016)

TOTAL - 51,324

AFTER
2012 - 387
2013 - 1,342
2014 - 12,370
2015 - 13,840
2016 - 5,810

 TOTAL of 33,749

Please note: this was a very time consuming task. I was working on this task, on and off, for almost two months and I needed to get through 50,000+ photos - I was very proud of myself to getting it down to 33,749. I know I have still got more to purge, but for now - I am happy with what I accomplished - it's work in progress!

I backed up my laptop again, using Time Machine - with the new changes to my Photos, then I started moving each album to my PHOTOS External Hard drive. Once all the albums were moved from Photos (on Mac), I moved them to the Trash! Eek This was really hard for me to do, however I knew it needed to be done. I had to step away from the laptop a few times because I was getting really anxious and overwhelmed by it all.

Once all the photo albums (2012-2016) were moved to the external hard drive, I then clicked EMPTY Trash! It was overwhelming and liberating at the same time. I kept reminding myself I was doing the right thing - I had my photos saved in 3 places (External hard drive, Time Machine back up and in iCloud.

Once everything was removed from my laptop, and the Trash was empty - I restarted my laptop and checked my Storage stats again....

AFTER
Wow! Look at all that available space. I am so proud of myself, for finally letting go of the digital clutter. It's an amazing feeling and I know my laptop is thanking me too. 

This category has been really hard, simply because it has been time consuming - finding time to sit and go through 60,000+ items isn't going to happen overnight, unless you have no interruptions whatsoever. I did what I could, when I could and it has finally paid off. 

MY KONMARI JOURNEY IS COMPLETE

I have finally completed 'My KonMari Journey'  - WOOHOO! I would love to pop open a bottle of Champagne to celebrate, but instead I am going to take a moment to look around my home and admire the 'life-changing magic' that has truly taken place over the year. 

I want to THANK YOU all for following and supporting me throughout my KonMari journey. I have had moments where I wish I didn't blog about my journey, because it was actually more time consuming than the categories themselves...however I am really glad I did, as it has inspired so many of my readers, new and old and that 'sparks joy' for me! I love hearing all about your KonMari experiences, and seeing your progress, your journey - it means a lot.

x Until next time,
Charlene


Coming Up Next: New series - 'KONMARI WITH KIDS' starting in January 2017.

Stay tuned as I work my way through the KonMari method AGAIN, however next time it will be with my KIDS items! (Note: I have an 11 year old daughter and a 2 year old - so this is going to be interesting)

You can read all of my KONMARI posts HERE.

*******

I am super excited about this journey and I would love for you to follow along in this process, better yet, join me - Subscribe to my Blog, so you don't miss a post and together we can tidy our homes and change our lives, once and for all. I will also be sharing my journey on my Facebook page, and Instagram, so be sure to follow me there too.

If you would like to give the KonMari Method a go, but don't have the book - You can view and print/save all of my KonMari checklists HERE. Here is the printable for Digital Clutter







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2

12 Days of Christmas - 2016 Blog Collaboration Round Up


Are you looking for some Christmas inspiration? Well, you are in for a real treat! Today I am sharing a round up of this years '12 Days of Christmas - 2016 Blog Collaboration' by Kiwi Mummy Bloggers. 

In this collaboration, you will find a great range of ideas to inspire you and prepare you for Christmas. From Mulled Wine, creating a wreath and Christmas in a Jar gifts to taking Christmas on the Road and sharing family traditions, plus everything in between - we have got you covered. 

So, grab a cuppa, get comfortable and let US inspire YOU this Christmas. Enjoy!

Simply click on the images or links below to be directed to the original post.

12 Days of Christmas 2016 - A Blog Collaboration

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TAKING STOCK - NOVEMBER 2016


Welcome to another 'Taking Stock' for 2016. In case you missed any, you can read all of my Taking Stock posts HERE. Pip from Meet Me At Mike is the mastermind behind this, so be sure to check out her blog and share the blog love. This is something I have done since I started blogging and will continue to do, this year. You can read my previous Taking Stock posts HERE. In a nutshell, it's simply taking a step back and 'taking stock' of what's currently happening in your life. I am dedicating the last Tuesday of every month to a Taking Stock post and linking up with the #IBOT team. 

Here's what's been happening in the month of NOVEMBER...
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Taking Stock - October 2016



Welcome to another 'Taking Stock' for 2016. In case you missed any, you can read all of my Taking Stock posts HERE. Pip from Meet Me At Mike is the mastermind behind this, so be sure to check out her blog and share the blog love. This is something I have done since I started blogging and will continue to do, this year. You can read my previous Taking Stock posts HERE. In a nutshell, it's simply taking a step back and 'taking stock' of what's currently happening in your life. I am dedicating the last Tuesday of every month to a Taking Stock post and linking up with the #IBOT team. 

Here's what's been happening in the month of OCTOBER...
I have been super quiet on the blog this past month, taking an impromptu mini break from posting, however I am hoping to get back into this week, so watch this space!
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Taking Stock - September 2016




Welcome to another 'Taking Stock' for 2016. In case you missed any, you can read all of my Taking Stock posts HERE. Pip from Meet Me At Mike is the mastermind behind this, so be sure to check out her blog and share the blog love. This is something I have done since I started blogging and will continue to do, this year. You can read my previous Taking Stock posts HERE. In a nutshell, it's simply taking a step back and 'taking stock' of what's currently happening in your life. I am dedicating the last Tuesday of every month to a Taking Stock post and linking up with the #IBOT team. 

Here's what's been happening in the month of SEPTEMBER...

10

My KonMari Journey: Sentimental - PHOTOS


Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. Over the next few months I will be sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing: Sentimental - Photos

4

My KonMari Journey: Sentimental - Keepsakes


Welcome to 'My KonMari Journey' series. Over the next few months I will be sharing my progress, as I make my way through the KonMari Method, based on the best-seller book 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up' by Japanese organising enthusiast, Marie Kondo.

Today I am sharing: Sentimental - Keepsakes


4

Taking Stock - August 2016




Welcome to another 'Taking Stock' for 2016. In case you missed any, you can read all of my Taking Stock posts HERE. Pip from Meet Me At Mike is the mastermind behind this, so be sure to check out her blog and share the blog love. This is something I have done since I started blogging and will continue to do, this year. You can read my previous Taking Stock posts HERE. In a nutshell, it's simply taking a step back and 'taking stock' of what's currently happening in your life. I am dedicating the last Tuesday of every month to a Taking Stock post and linking up with the #IBOT team. 

Here's what's been happening in the month of AUGUST...

Making: my bed every morning not only makes me feel good...it's a great way to kick off the day.



Drinking: tea, water, and only a little bit of Coke. 

Reading: all about PROJECT LIFE - it's my new obsession. If you don't know what Project Life is...check out Becky Higgins' website, and be prepared...it's addictive. I bought these super cute journal cards from The Warehouse on clearance last week. I can't wait to get started.


Wanting: to buy all the pretty 'Project Life' supplies...but I need to make a plan first.

Looking: at these beautiful flowers. One of our Playcentre members surprised me with this gorgeous pot of flowers today (Tex Mex pelargoniums) to say 'thank you' for all the hard work I have been doing behind the scenes as President of our centre...awww. It was such a thoughtful thing to do and I feel truly blessed to have such an amazing Playcentre team to work with xxx Totally made my day!



Deciding: what curtains we should buy for the lounge....
BEFORE...


AFTER...
Simple, modern and a little bit elegant - they are perfect and best of all they were on sale. winning

Wishing: my two of my friends all the best for the upcoming birth of their baby girls. Can't wait for baby cuddles.



Enjoying: a clean & organised home. Last month I felt overwhelmed with everything and my home was suffering, so I have been working my way through the 20 Day Challenge and getting back into my routines again. I am in the last week of the challenge and my home is feeling and looking so much better, and so am I. 

Feeling: proud of myself for breastfeeding my son for 2 years and 5 months...At the beginning of the month I co-organised & took part in my 3rd Big Latch On event. We had 79 bubs latch on and 30+ local businesses sponsor us - it was a great event.


Helping: Daddy blow out his candles! I love this photo. Earlier this month, we celebrated my partner's birthday...we had friends over for dinner and finished the night with CAKE - you know it's not your birthday until you have cake. Master M loved blowing out the candles.


Waiting: for the jug to boil...so I can enjoy a hot cup of tea after cleaning my kitchen top to bottom! The surfaces on top of the cupboards were gross. Many thanks to a reader's tip - I now have paper towels on top, so all I have to do is take them off and replace them every 6 months (if not more!). PS How cute is the Dishwasher Dirty/Clean sign? It's from The Organised Housewife Shop



Loving: my new car. This week I shared how I keep our car clean and organised. You can read about it HERE.



Buying & Wearing: this new brown leather bag and teal & black top for our DATE NIGHT - well it was my partner's work do last Saturday...We were kid free, so it's a date night nonetheless. Dinner & Drinks were paid for too - whoop whoop. 



Admiring: this Snap Chat filter before going out on a DATE NIGHT. It's a favourite for a lot of snappers. 


Sorting: out my apps on my iPhone. I recently completed the #5daystominimalism challenge with Lavendaire and Naturally Thrifty Mom, and one of the tasks was to declutter your 'digital device'. I absolutely LOVE how it looks now. I only have two screens - the home screen is clear, and everything I need is organised in folders. SPARK JOY. It was a fantastic challenge - I highly recommend it. Be sure to check out their videos over on YouTube. 



Watching: my favourite YouTuber, Janine from A Young Mum - she's an inspiration, and I am super jealous that she is going to be a KonMari Consultant - she recently went to New York and met with Japanese organising guru and author of 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up & Spark Joy', Marie Kondo! *squeal*.  Check out Janine's channel - she will inspire you, I promise.

Hoping: Miss B keeps her new desk tidy and organised like this (hmmm) - She loves it!



Needing: to find a balance between HOME, LIFE and WORK (and PLAYCENTRE)...I am joining Leanne from Organising the Four of Us and many others in PROJECT 14 next week - I can't wait. 

Getting: #inthepicture with my family. Messy hair, no make up and I was actually wearing my pyjama pants...but I still took a moment to get IN THE PICTURE with my kids and my partner, on his birthday. I actually really love this photo.



Bookmarking: anything to do with Project Life.

Hearing: my son snoring on the couch, bless him. I've been home with two sick kids quite a bit this month, so when they are resting or napping...so am I.



Giggling: at all the stories and journals from my high school/pre-kid years...I konmari'd my Written Keepsakes - check it out HERE. Coming Soon to the blog is my Keepsakes/Momentos and Photos - all part of the Sentimental category of my KonMari journey. Watch this space.

Trying: to hold back the tears as I said farewell to my Toyota Caldina. x


Loving: the colour MINT - my office supplies are mint and now my bed is mint! I bought this gorgeous comforter set from Spotlight for only $50 (down from $130). I'm in LOVE. It's such a pretty colour. 



I am...
Embracing: life, love & positivity!

*********
Now it's YOUR turn...

Tell me, what's been happening in YOUR world? How was AUGUST for you?
Choose three (or more) words from the list and 'take stock' in the comments below.

Read previous Sunday Share: Currently & Taking Stock posts


Until next time, I hope the next month treats you well!
Charlene


Linking up at these parties. Friday Favourites


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13

Be Organised: Car Organisation


We recently bought a new car and I have been asked several times 'how do you organise your car?'...in particular 'the rubbish'! So I thought I would share with you how I organise our Honda Odyssey Absolute, and a few tips and ideas I have found online that you might find helpful as well.

'PARENT ZONE'

I like to call the front of the car - 'Parent Zone' - this simply means that there is to be no child-related items in the front of the car. Our car is fairly new, so keeping it clean and organised is a priority (well for me it is). I have a retractable car charger (purchased from KMart) for my iPhone, so I can charge my phone when I am out and about or on long road trips - it's handy to have.

'Parent Zone'

THE MINI COMPARTMENTS

We have quite a few mini compartments built in our dashboard. I have put a notepad and pens in one - just in case I need to quickly jot something down,  and I put a little bottle of hand sanitiser in another - which I like to use when I've finished at the gas station.  The other mini compartments are currently empty. 

Mini compartments

THE GLOVEBOX

The only things I keep in the glovebox are a dust mitt, to wipe down the dashboard when it gets a bit dusty and I also have our synthetic chamois to wipe down the outside of the car, after I have washed it - once it's dry I return to the glovebox so I know exactly where it is. Note: In New Zealand we have our registration displayed on our windscreen. I don't like to keep any papers in the glovebox that has our mailing address on it, mainly for security reasons. I am looking into buying a little first aid kit to add to either the glovebox or put in the back. If you have a first aid kit in your car, where do you put it? 

Glovebox

THE MIDDLE CONSOLE

Our middle console is fairly small and the whole console collapses on it's side, so I have decided to keep this area clear of items. I only use it for water/drink bottles. If I collapse it, I can put my handbag in the middle of the seats, but most of the time my handbag sits on the passenger seat. If we are travelling as a family, my partner can put his phone and wallet in the compartment. 

Middle console

THE DRIVER'S DOOR

The only thing I keep in the driver's door is a small hand-held umbrella. In my old car this is where I used to stash all my rubbish and it wasn't a good look when I opened my door.  There is also a space for a drink bottle if needed or I might actually buy a little cylinder-shaped box of tissues for this space. 

Driver's door

THE PASSENGER DOOR

Passenger door

'KID'S ZONE'

This is what I like to call the 'Kids Zone'! I have two children, 11 years old and 2 1/2. My daughter (11) is responsible for keeping their area clean and tidy. When we go on road trips, my daughter uses a tote bag that she keeps all her crafts, books, pens, notepads etc in. She also takes her lap tray to use as a little table. Our son will have a few of his favourite cars, diggers and maybe a book or two for long trips, but most of the time, he's either asleep or happy to look out the window. 

My son is still rear-facing and will probably be front-facing in Summer (due to weight and height restrictions of the carseat). I put his day care bag and shoes under his carseat (behind the passenger seat) and take it out when we get home. 

My daughter usually has her school bag next to her on the chair or on the floor by her feet. Again, when we get home, the bag is taken out. 

'Kid's Zone'

THE KIDS ZONE - DOOR

The door on my daughter's side is where we keep the wipes, and a plastic bag for rubbish or could be used as a spew bag (you never know). The bag is kept in this nifty slider compartment. It's also a great place to store her pencil case and other small bits and bobs for when we go on long journeys. 

Kid's Zone door

THE BACK SEATS

We keep this area clear because I tend to fold the seats down when we do our weekly grocery shopping. It's quite roomy back there and we look forward to filling the seats with friends and family this Summer, especially when we go to the beach! There is a place for a drink bottle on each side and has a mini compartment too. 

Backseat 

THE BOOT

I usually keep our small stroller (not pictured) in the boot for when we are in town shopping, some spare plastic bags tucked away to the side and this white flexi-tub container (more details below).

The Boot

FLEXI-TUB

I decided to use a flexi-tub to store our items in the back simply because it's easy to take in and out of the car. They are really handy to have at the beach or park - I usually put all of the stuff we need in this tub and carry it to the beach or park, that way everything is corralled together and makes transporting to and from the car a lot easier. 

Our Flexi-Tub consists of:


  • picnic mat
  • grocery organiser
  • nappy travel pack (includes nappies, wipes, a mat and some nappy bags all rolled into this little organiser)
  • A change of clothes for the kids (kept in a plastic bag)
  • A spare towel (not seen in picture)
  • First Aid Kit (to be added)
  • Note: I will be adding baby powder to this tub in Summer (it helps get sand off easily)

Boot Organisation

Boot - with seats folded down
As you can see there is a lot of room in the boot area. Like I said above, I fold the seats down when we go shopping, and will probably do the same when we go on road trips to during the school holidays. Most of the time, I have the back seats up and my daughter occasionally likes to sit right in the back.

THE RUBBISH

I mentioned earlier that in my old car I used to stuff the rubbish in my passenger door, well that is not going to happen, not in this car! In the past few weeks, we have got into the habit of cleaning out the car when we get home each day. The rule is: what ever goes into the car, must come out...if things stay in the car, that's when I find it starts to get out of control.

As for rubbish, I don't have a rubbish bin/bag left in the car. We have plastic bags in the car that we do put our rubbish in, especially if we go on a road trip, but when we get home, we take the rubbish bag out and put it in the wheelie bin or kitchen bin, depending on how much rubbish we have.

We do a quick sweep of the car - I do the 'Parent Zone' and my daughter does the 'Kid's Zone', my son likes to help too, then our car is clean and tidy, ready for the next day. It's a nice feeling jumping into a clean car, and I think the systems we currently have in place, it's going to stay like this. 

SOME MORE HELPFUL TIPS

Katrina from The Organised Housewife has some great tips for 'keeping your car organised' over on her blog, and Kathryn from Do It On a Dime shares 13 amazing tips for your car on her YouTube channel, in fact, I might adopt the 'essential oil peg' car diffuser idea. They each have different ways of organising rubbish - so be sure to check them out. 


I hope you found these tips and ideas helpful.
I would love to hear how you keep your car organised or let me know if you are planning to implement any of these tips/ideas mentioned - in your car. 

Happy Organising,
Charlene
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