How to Never Forget a Return, Coupon, or a Receipt at Home

5 ways to reinvent your car into the organized girl’s best friend

Your car can either be the messiest space in your life…or it can be the space that helps everything work extra smoothly. Here are 5 ways your car can help keep life’s little details running efficiently and keep your car organized. 

Keep a coupon and receipt file in your glove compartment or center console. Back when I offered tips on organizing your pocketbook (click here if you missed it), I suggested keeping an envelope or file in your purse for receipts. Since that can get bulky, I like to simply keep a small envelope in my purse and transfer them to the file in my center console. Of course, you don’t need receipts forever, so go through this file every few weeks and throw out! Use different slots for different stores, or different categories of stores (Costco gets its own slot, of course). All coupons should also be stored in the car file system (especially those for Bed Bath & Beyond…you don’t want those coupons to be at home when you need to pick up a new broom!)

Why not have your essentials available? What does your family tend to need on a regular basis? Make a kit of those items. It might be an umbrella, a lint brush, Scotch tape, Tums, Children’s Tylenol, or safety pins. Keeping a kit of certain items can eliminate last-minute runs to the drugstore or other small emergencies.

Keep pop-up bins in your trunk.

Bins such as these are perfect for the items you need to have on hand that don’t have a shopping bag. Keep all the returns that need to go back to the store in one bin (this way, they’re not at home when you happen to be passing by) and the dry cleaning bags in another bin. The bins fold up when they’re not needed. If you know you’re going to need those returns or that dry-cleaning in the next couple of days, put it in a bin. Use another bin for library books! Bins can also transfer between home and car.

The ultimate car essential: garbage bags.

There’s no way to avoid it. Let’s be real. Kids will eat in the car. But that doesn’t mean they need to leave the car without cleaning up. Always have a bag available so it’ll happen every time before they leave. Plus! You don’t have to wait until you reach your destination to get rid of trash! If there’s a pizza box or empty ice cream cups from today’s trip in your car, pull over when you see a garbage can and get rid of them as quickly as you can.

Go shopping when…you’re getting a car wash. Those car wash shops always tend to have great car organizing items. You might find something super useful!

Check out more great organizing tips on BetweenCarpools.com!