As much as I swore I would never ever drive a minivan, it’s been a very practical choice for our growing family over the past three years, and one that suits us well for this particular chapter with four little ones in car seats. (Truly every SUV should come with captain’s seats that can slide to one side or be separated with a center aisle!) I absolutely look forward to the day we trade it in for something with even a modicum of style but for the time being, I am all in!
My mom helped me find the best products for organizing your car a few years ago and I’m resharing as motivation for myself to get it looking this good again in the new year! This isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing post (and the reality is I imagine most minivans are never quite this clean!), but perhaps it will help some of you with how to organize your car and feel a little more prepared when you’re embracing life on the go with your little one(s)!
Organizing the center console
We used these small clear plastic bins to organize the center console and labeled them with some of the products I find myself rummaging for when we’re out of the house like Aquaphor, bandaids, and hair ties. (This system is actually still perfectly in tact from three years ago and has saved me on multiple occasions!)
Car seat gap fillers
Where had these been all my life? Apparently these car seat gap fillers were featured on Shark Tank and now that we have them on the two front seats, I never have to worry about my keys or phone falling into the gap between the seat and seatbelt.
Backseat car organizers
Backseat car organizers are a must-have with kids and these ones have storage pockets for car tissues, wipes, coloring books, and even an iPad for longer road trips.
Car trunk organizer
This car trunk organizer has made the biggest difference for me in terms of feeling well-equipped when we leave the house. (Plus it’s compact enough that we can still fit a stroller next to it!) The left side houses cleaning wipes, diaper wipes, extra trash bags, and diapers in two sizes and the right side has snacks and a pocket for the kids’ tennis rackets. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been starving when we’re out at a playground or running home from a birthday party and so happy to remember I have snacks in the car! And I forgot to take a picture but we have these headrest hooks on the third row seats so we can hang reusable grocery bags in the trunk. They would also be great behind the driver and passenger to hang your handbag!
Portable car vacuum
Our minivan trunk conveniently has a built-in spot to charge this portable car vacuum and it’s come in handy many times to clear crumbs out of the boys’ carseats! I’ve since added this car cleaning putty as well and it works insanely well! This handheld vacuum is another favorite that I own in multiples that would work well for this purpose too.
