Back-to-School Car Organization Tips

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The school year is fast-approaching, and summer will soon come to a close. If you haven’t already, it’s time to start preparing for your next academic year. Starting early is always a good idea because that leaves less work to do later.

Ignoring all the school shopping, outfit planning, and general student preparedness strategies, there is one area of your life that could probably use tidying. Not because you are dirty. Maybe you are, maybe you aren’t. But because it’s easy to overlook places like the inside of your car when you’re busy tidying your apartment, home, or room.

Soon, you’ll be cramming a lot of stuff in there, especially if you’re headed to the dorms or moving out of town. So, it’s a good idea to get organized now. Even if you’re not a student, keeping your road life clean, cozy, and carefree is beneficial. That’s why we’ve put together some car organization tips that can really help you get your auto life in order.

Mind the Center Console

Sure, the center console is an open compartment that offers a small degree of organization already, but most people just throw accessories and gear inside willy-nilly. When you’re trying to fish out some change for the tolls, find a pair of glasses, or grab a stick of gum, let’s just say it’s no fun picking through a pseudo garbage can.

One of the best ways to organize the center console is to throw in some additional compartmentalization. Get plastic dividers, cases, and holders and arrange them neatly. Find a jar or case to hold your change. Put any snacks or food in a container. Maybe take documents or paper goods and slide them into a folder or binder.

Universal organizers are fantastic to have. You can also find customized organizers based on your vehicle’s make and model if you want a perfect fit.

Get a True Trash Can

Instead of using disposable shopping bags or throwing everything on the floor, it’s better to get an actual in-vehicle garbage can. They come in a wide variety of sizes, small to large, and there are options to fit wherever you need them. For example, some will attach to the shifter knob on your car, while others hook to the headrest, or can fit in the trunk. It’s up to you.

But the real takeaway is that you need a dedicated bin to store your garbage. You’ll really need something if you’re taking a long road trip.

Use the ‘Between’ Areas

The crevice between the seats and console, under the seats, under your feet, behind the rear seats, these are all areas with unused space. Yeah, you could always just toss your gear in those spots without organizing anything. But that’s going to give you trouble later when you’re unpacking. It’s also likely you’ll forget about items that way.

You can actually find organizers for these spaces if you know how and where to look. Between the seat organizers, for example, slide between the console and the driver or passenger seats.

The space behind the seats is another great area. You can buy organizers for that, too! There are mesh wraps, full seat covers, and some even have built-in tablet holders. You could also use hooks for purses and bags, attaching them to the headrest columns.

The same is true for under-the-seat organizers. They capitalize on the free space underneath the seats but give you plenty of support so your small items aren’t sliding around the cabin.

Be a little smarter about utilizing these spaces, and you’ll spend a lot less time picking up a mess after each trip and more time doing what you love.

Divvy Up the Trunk

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the prevailing idea here is to use each space in your car better, particularly by installing organizers, storage, and beyond. The trunk is no exception to that rule, but also, because there’s a lot more free room, you can get much more creative.

There are many large trunk organizers with individual compartments, for example. You could also use your own storage bins, shelving and unorthodox items that fit. Other ideas include coolers, wooden boxes, bookshelves — secured, of course — bags, suitcases, portable file cabinets, and more.

It all depends on what you’re storing and transporting and what kind of vehicle you’re working with. An SUV or truck is going to have a lot more space in the back. While that might be on the nose spatially, it helps spotlight how some of the more unorthodox options, like shelves, might factor into the equation.

Don’t Forget Roadside Tools

Almost every car comes with a spare tire, jack, and lug wrench tucked away somewhere inside. But there are other tools you might want to pack in your vehicle, especially for long road trips. We always recommend carrying a spotlight or flashlight, jumper cables or a portable jump starter, a tire pressure gauge, a multi-tool, and an OBD2 scanner like our best-seller, the Innova 5210. For cleaning, you should also pack a small or portable hand vacuum. They have some that double as a tire inflator.

When it comes to the scanner, you can also kick things up a notch and grab a more advanced option, like the Innova 5610. That will allow you to read and interpret real-time data from the vehicle engine and core systems. That way, you can diagnose vehicle or performance issues anywhere. You’ll know what’s going on before you head to a local mechanic or before getting under the hood yourself to do some DIY repairs.

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