The mention of the word summer conjures up all kinds of wonderful associations—beaches, fields to run through, yummy food, road trips, and time spent with friends and family. Summer is a time of spontaneity for me. I like to keep my schedule light so that I can throw a few things in the trunk and be off on a summer adventure on short notice. I like to think that I’m a fairly organized person, yet every summer, my trunk ends up looking like a disheveled mess!
I recently spent some time organizing my trunk so that I can have more stress-free summer adventures. An organized trunk allows me to see exactly what I have and where it is, and also allows for more room to put things like coolers, bags of groceries, and maybe a tent and camping supplies, too. Check out what I did to get my car organized for summer adventures:
This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
With stops at the park to splash in the water, catch up on a good book, or have a picnic, the trunk of my station wagon gets messy pretty quickly. Add in hitting up local hiking trails, stops at the beach, and —well, you can just imagine it! I always have car-cleaning equipment, emergency supplies, and windshield washer fluid in my trunk as well.
So, I found my way to my local Canadian Tire store to sort out the mess of summer adventure stuff in my car. I walked over to the Driving section of Canadian Tire, where things like floor mats, cleaning supplies, and car seats are located.
There were quite a few options to choose from—someone could really get their car organized, no matter how much stuff they had in it! I chose the expandable trunk organizer on the far left (at the bottom) since it has handles on it for quick removal, it is collapsible (and storable), and it has tons of pockets and mesh sections for small items.
I also purchased a small woven basket with handles, to put my cleaning supplies in (the handles make it easy to take my cleaning items out to use on my car).
If you’re looking to get rid of your car once you’ve had your summer adventures, sell your car here.
With organization products in hand, I set to work on my car:
I only kept the items that I knew I’d be using almost daily:
- a sunhat
- a beach blanket (great for the park, or sitting on benches when it’s really hot out)
- a camping chair (when I’m going to be sitting outside for a while)
- an umbrella (good for blocking the sun and of course rain coverage, too)
- sunscreen
- paper towels
- grocery bags/tote bags
Plus, other occasional use items, like a wind-up flashlight, emergency supplies, windshield washer fluid, and cleaning items. I used my new woven basket to organize my cleaning supplies and another emergency supply kit (“be prepared, not scared”).
I bet this organization system would work well if you had things like bike helmets and other outdoor adventure gear, too.
Items I removed, that I don’t regularly use:
- hiking poles
- maps
- a tarp
- full-size blanket
Now that my car is organized for summer adventures, I can’t wait to get outside!
I’d love to know: what do you usually keep in your car for summer adventures?