When you take advantage of a warm, sunny day to give the car an after-winter wash (goodbye, road salt) and vacuum (goodbye, sand and gravel,) take a few extra minutes to declutter.
During the winter, I have a bin of extra equipment: a snow scraper/brush, emergency cold-weather hat and mitts, etc. That can all move to a shelf in the garage for the summer. Extra weight in your trunk= extra gas consumption. Empty it, vacuum, and put back only what you need.
Another “black hole” that clutter disappears into- for years- is the glove compartment. Toss the expired insurance cards, the map from your 2005 vacation and the ancient take-out menus. One thing I do recommend keeping within arm’s reach is a microfibre cloth; waiting-in-line time becomes dusting time. Find a place to hang a small trash bag, and you’re on the way to maintaining a tidy vehicle.
(The black bin, and the photo, are from Rubbermaid.com)
