1 | Strip It
Much like how you declutter your closet, take everything out of your car first. By everything, we mean every single thing that didn’t come with the car when you bought it, even that 5-year-old candy wrapper stuck in between the car seats. Use a vacuum cleaner for a cleaner sweep.
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2 | Sort Out
Group your things into: Frequent, Seldom, Emergency Only, and Never Again. The items you use frequently, may be on the daily or those that you can call as “essential items” go to the Frequent pile. These items include important documents, charging cables and adaptors, antibacterial spray, and sunglasses. Seldom used items like toys and coloring books for the kids, umbrella, and plastic bags. Emergency Only pile should have a first aid kit, a fire extinguisher, and a basic repair tool kit. Never Again is the pile for the trash you’ve collected for who-knows-how-long, like faded and crumpled receipts or tickets, food wrappers, and even the car seat cover that had better days.
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3 | Call A Friend
If you’re tidying up your car for the first time in so long, it’s best to hire a professional cleaner to spruce up your car from the inside out. You’ll never know what abominable stuff has been stuck in your car seats or AC vents unless you have them cleared. Seek help for a thorough clean. You may clean your car yourself after this to maintain it in its tiptop shape. Also, thoroughly cleaning your car leaves you a clean canvas to work on. It’s like you’ve just bought your car, so you wouldn’t want it to be dirty.
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4 | Assemble
After the deep cleanse, put your sorted items back in your car. Your frequently used items should go where you can reach for them easily, may be the car door compartment, visor, glove compartment, or the center console. Seldom used items can be put at the back of the car seats or under, while the emergency items can be put in the trunk or the back of the car. Although the first aid kit should also be easily accessible. Make use of box or folder organizers to maintain a clean look. Pop in a fresh car fragrance and your car’s good to go.
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5 | Clean When
We know how dreadful cleaning can be, but it’s pretty easy if you make it a habit more than a task to tick off your to-do list. For the busy bees, monthly spruce up is manageable. You can even do it at the same time of car maintenance appointment. But of course, it’s more effective to clean as you go, or at least every time you fill the tank.
