Organizing Ideas
19 DIY Car Organizing Ideas That Actually Last
DIY car organizing ideas: 19 projects for sewn trash caddies, seat back pockets, trunk totes, labeled glove box files, emergency kits and road trip trays.
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A car gets messy faster than a house because nothing in it has a home. There is no drawer for the receipts, no bin for the wrappers, no shelf for the sunscreen, so everything ends up in the door pocket or on the floor. These 19 DIY car organizing ideas each give one category somewhere to live. There are sewn trash caddies that hang off the gearstick, seat back pockets for crayons and tissues, a cookie sheet turned into a lap tray, totes that stop the trunk rolling around, a glove box file with a tab for every document, and a first aid kit in an old wipes tub. Most cost under fifteen dollars and several use things already in the house.
1. DIY Car Kit
The basket is the part worth copying. A lidded woven basket beats a purpose built trunk organizer because the lid keeps dust, grit and dog hair off the blankets, and woven material grips the carpet instead of sliding around on every corner. Inside, mesh zip pouches hold the small things and clip together on one ring or come out individually, so a child can take a pouch without unpacking the whole basket. Being mesh, you can see what is in each one without opening it. The contents run to trays for snacking and drawing, activity books, a blanket each, wipes, first aid supplies, snacks and markers.
Get the full tutorial at IHeart Organizing.
2. Hang Groceries In The Car
This is the whole idea in one line: stretch a bungee cord across the trunk and hang the grocery bag handles from it. Nothing else. The bags stand upright in a row instead of tipping over on the first roundabout, and you can fit more of them because they are not sprawled across the floor. It works because grocery bag handles are exactly the right shape to catch on a taut cord, so no hooks are needed. Anchor the cord to the existing cargo tie down points if your car has them rather than trusting the trim.
Get the full tutorial at Handyman.
3. Travel Trash Bag
A lined bag that hangs from the gearstick is a much better answer than a plastic sack on the floor. Cut two 9 by 13 inch pieces of quilting cotton and two the same in duck cloth, plus a 3 by 13 inch strap and two 9 by 17 inch duck cloth pieces for the inner section. Sew the long sides into tubes, press the seams open and layer the outer fabric over the canvas, then nest the tubes and turn it right side out. The canvas is what keeps it standing up when it is empty. A dog waste bag tucked around the rim makes it wipe clean.
Get the full tutorial at Skip To My Lou.
4. Pack a Kit in a Decorative Bin
The two box system is what makes this one work. A wicker basket sized to fit the trunk without hogging it, a metal bookplate hot glued to the front for a label, and two plastic shoe boxes inside splitting the contents by purpose. One holds roadside gear: tire repair kit, tire gauge, flashlight, duct tape, a roadside strobe, glow sticks, glue, a poncho and a bundle of rope. The other holds the comfort things for actual trips, tissues, sanitizer, a travel sewing kit, a lint roller, a handheld fan and travel medicines. That second box comes out in extreme weather, since a lot of it cannot be stored hot or frozen.
Get the full tutorial at IHeart Organizing.
5. Back Seat Pocket
A hanging shoe organizer is the cheapest seat back caddy in existence, and the only modification needed is how you hang it. Thread heavy cord or zip ties through the holes along the top and tie it around the headrest posts rather than relying on whatever hook it came with, because a shoe organizer loaded with drink bottles is heavier than the hardware expects. The clear pockets are the advantage over a purpose made organizer: everyone can see what is in there without pulling it all out. Cut it down to the number of rows your seat back will take.
Get the full tutorial at The Krazy Coupon Lady.
6. Car Organization Idea
The most useful thing in this one is a rule rather than a product: no food in the car. It removes about three quarters of the mess by itself and no organizer ever will. Start by emptying the car completely into two bins and a trash bag, one for keep in the car, one for take indoors, one for trash, then vacuum, wipe down, do the windows and shampoo the mats before anything goes back. What returns gets a home. A receipt organizer with tabs for gas, oil changes, car washes and maintenance, and a driver’s door pocket holding tissues and hand sanitizer where you can reach them.
Get the full tutorial at A Bowl Full of Lemons.
7. Flort Turned Into Car Organizer For Kids
An IKEA remote control holder is a seat back organizer that nobody has told IKEA about. It is designed to hang over a sofa arm, which means it already has the right shape to drape over the back of a car seat, and it costs a fraction of anything sold for the purpose. Fill the pockets with art supplies, tissues, toys, books and paper. The second benefit is the one that matters to parents: the whole panel sits between small shoes and your upholstery, so it doubles as a kick mat. Secure the top over the headrest posts so it cannot slide down.
Get the full tutorial at IKEA Hackers.
8. Ingenious Car Organizing
Sometimes the fix is one cheap product rather than a build. A collapsible trunk organizer, the kind with rigid fabric walls and internal dividers, costs less than a takeaway and stops everything in the trunk sliding to one side on every corner. Collapsible is the key word, because it folds flat when you need the whole trunk for something big and pops back up when you do not. Fill one compartment with the things that live in the car permanently and leave the others empty for shopping. It is the cheapest single change that makes a car feel organized.
Get the full tutorial at Sueeye.
9. DIY Car First Aid Kit
An empty baby wipes tub is the right container and it costs nothing. The lid seals against dust, the flip top opens one handed, and the whole thing wipes clean. Inside go bandages in several sizes including blister and waterproof, antibiotic ointment in both spray and tube, an instant ice pack, gauze, an elastic wrap, itch relief sticks, pain relief and a few hard candies, which work as a distraction for a crying child and help with ear pressure on hills. Keep it out of direct sun, under a blanket or in a tote, because heat is what ruins a kit sitting in a car.
Get the full tutorial at My Frugal Adventures.
10. Organize Your Glove Box
Start by taking out what should not be there. Expired insurance cards, manuals for cars you sold years ago and coupons that ran out in a previous season all go, and anything with personal details on it gets shredded rather than thrown out. What stays is the current insurance card in a plastic sleeve, the registration, and the owner’s manual with the pages you actually look up bookmarked, which is a small thing that saves real time at the roadside. A small cosmetic bag makes a neat first aid pouch for bandages, ointment, gauze, tweezers, mini scissors and a card of emergency numbers.
Get the full tutorial at Org Junkie.
11. Trunk Organization
Hanging the storage off the back of the rear seats rather than standing it on the trunk floor is the move here. Three shoe organizer style panels strap across the seat backs, each pocket labeled by category, which gets everything up off the floor and leaves the whole trunk free for shopping or a stroller. Sun cream, wipes, trash bags, snacks and spare clothes each get a named pocket. Below, a collapsible tote holds a clear zip cube labeled for jackets, so the bulky seasonal things stay contained. Label everything, because a system nobody else in the family can read stops working within a fortnight.
Get the full tutorial at The Castro HAPPYnings.
12. Easy Trash Bag for your Car
Jelly roll strips are the shortcut here, because the fabric is already cut and already coordinated. Sew four half strips together, press and trim to two pieces at 8.25 by 10.5 inches. The fifth strip becomes the hanging loop: sew it right sides together down its length, turn it out and press, then go and measure your own car before cutting it to length, since the distance from gearstick to floor varies a lot. Oilcloth lines the inside so spills wipe out. Keep the iron off the oilcloth entirely when you press the top edge; it melts fast and does not recover.
Get the full tutorial at Stitching in the Trees.
13. Auto Organizer
Every car document in one expanding file, with a tab for each kind. The tabs to use are registration, insurance, tune ups, oil changes, warranties, tires, maps and safety inspection, which is a list worth copying straight across because it covers the things you are ever asked to produce. The advantage over a folder is that an expanding file holds its shape standing up in a door pocket or lying in the glove box without paper escaping. Keeping service records by category rather than by date also makes selling the car much easier, since a buyer wants tires and tune ups, not chronology.
Get the full tutorial at Tiff Keetch.
14. Organized Car Kit for Families On the Go
A craft storage case is a better car kit than anything sold as a car kit. The large rack system type has a deep top compartment for bulky things plus three pull out trays underneath, so every small item gets a designated slot instead of rattling loose. Wet wipes and two cans of sunscreen, one for adults and one for children, were taking up three quarters of the console before they moved in here. The first aid supplies go in a tray of their own. One big bin always turns into a jumble; trays are the difference between a kit that stays tidy and one that does not.
Get the full tutorial at Blue i Style.
15. Seat Back Entertainment Organizer
This is the fully loaded version, and the phone holster is the standout piece. It is faced with clear vinyl that actually conducts, so a child can work the screen through the window without being able to knock the video back to the start, which is the specific frustration that prompted the whole build. Alongside it there is a drink holder that takes odds and ends, a tissue holder sized precisely for pocket packs so you are not groping around while driving, a welt zip pouch for sunglasses and a coloring folio with slots for crayons, a small notebook and stickers.
Get the full tutorial at A Jennuine Life.
16. DIY Road Trip Travel Tray
A cookie sheet with a cushion glued to the underside is the best lap tray for a car seat, because the raised lip catches everything and the metal takes magnets. Two things matter before you paint it: sand the non stick finish off and prime it, or the spray paint will peel almost immediately. The cushion is a fabric pouch filled with bean bag stuffing, sewn with a 1.5 inch seam at each corner so it takes a rounded shape, then glued to the bottom. That stuffing is what stops the tray sliding off a small lap every time the car turns.
Get the full tutorial at Two Sisters Crafting.
17. Car Emergency Kit
The kit that gets used is the one stocked for ordinary problems rather than disasters. This one covers bandages in several sizes, instant ice packs, eye drops, cortisone cream, antihistamine, an anti nausea remedy, hand sanitizer and wipes, a small bottle of water, antacids, antibiotic ointment, insect repellent, and both children’s and adult’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen. A lidded box keeps it from becoming a loose jumble in the trunk. One real caution: several of those medicines lose potency at extreme temperatures, so if your car bakes in summer or freezes in winter, check dates far more often than you would indoors.
Get the full tutorial at Endlessly Inspired.
18. On The Go Snack Basket
A snack basket in the car exists for one reason: it is the thing standing between you and a drive through when everyone is hungry and twenty minutes from home. Keep it to a handful of items that survive being in a car. Water, dried fruit, sunflower seeds and a boxed snack all hold up; fresh fruit is the one to grab on your way out rather than leave in there. Decant anything you open into a jar with a lid, because a half open packet goes stale and then spills. A fabric basket with a handle lifts straight out to be restocked.
Get the full tutorial at The Realistic Mama.
19. Organizing the Trunk
Three cheap totes across the back of the trunk, each with a job, and the whole thing costs under twenty dollars. One holds reusable shopping bags, which also double as containers for wet clothes, sandy toys and extra picnic gear. One holds the outdoor things, a football, a frisbee, a kite and whatever game the family is currently into. The third holds the supplies: sunscreen, insect repellent, paper towels, wipes, a first aid kit, water bottles, a couple of trash bags and two picnic blankets. No snacks in summer, because they cook. Leave room in front for folding chairs.
Get the full tutorial at Organize and Decorate Everything.
