How to keep your car organized on a road trip
You’ve organized that epic road trip you’ve been dreaming of for months, even years but now you don’t know how you can keep the whole family organized in the car for some long hours on the road?
Don’t worry I’ve got you covered! I’ll bring you up on my organization skills secrets so you too can have an organized car for your road trip. Even with kids, you’ll be able to stay sane (Yes sane!) by having your stuff arranged instead of a messy pile laying all over the small space of your car.
If you are in the early stages of planning your road trip but aren’t exactly sure how to do so, read more about how to plan an epic road trip so I can help you plan out the best road trip!
Car maintenance before you go
Even though this has nothing to do with organizing your car on the road, it is still very important before you go. You should definitely add this to your to-do list before leaving. This might save you some unnecessary troubles on the road.
If you are renting a car, RV, or even a camper van, you won’t have to worry about the vehicle’s maintenance. But still, make a quick check-up before leaving the dealer to avoid any surprises.
Clean your car
If you are using your own car, a good place to start before organizing your stuff for the road trip is to clean your car. I find it hard to pack everything so you can be organized but then the car is a mess.
Empty door pockets, take out all unnecessary items you won’t need on your trip, wipe the dashboard, and so on. You can even vacuum a bit if it’s very messy.
Just by cleaning the car, it’ll already feel much better and you won’t be organizing your car for the trip while having a mess all over the place.
Don’t overpack
This is especially important on a road trip. Having space limited to the size of your car, or to the number of cupboards in your van, you don’t want to overpack and have too much stuff inside your car that makes it impossible to arrange.
Bring the necessary items and leave stuff you are only bringing in case you need it at home. Bring your clothes, entertainment for the road, food, drinks, navigation items. Make sure you have everything you need but don’t bring all that extra stuff just in case.
This will save you space, but you will also have more space to move. It will help you a lot to keep all your stuff organized inside the car.
Travel-size items
Travel-sized items will be so helpful in your packing. You might not have many travel-sized items inside the car but mostly in your bags. This will help you keep the size of your bags to a minimum. Instead of having a bulky-sized shampoo, a few smaller bottles will take a lot less space.
This will help you keep your luggage to a minimum. You can bring a duffle bag filled with clothes and toiletries instead of having your huge suitcase. If you have a smaller car, this will help you keep your bulkier bags in the trunk instead of having to fit them through the kids and the stuff inside the car.
Roadside emergency kit
You don’t need to have a huge emergency kit in your car. Make sure you have a couple of essentials though. If you have a little incident, you’ll have it to help you out. This could easily fit inside your trunk along with your bags. While being organized on the road is important, safety is also something to consider when packing your stuff in the car.
Add to your kit some jumper cables, flares or reflectors, some flashlights, a small toolkit, and an ice scraper if you are on a road trip where there is the possibility of snow or ice.
First aid kit
Even though you will be driving some long hours to get to your destinations, it’s always a good idea to have a small first aid kit nearby.
Prepare a small first aid pouch that you can leave underneath one of the seats in case you need it.
Add bandages of all sizes, alcohol wipes, sterile gauze pads, first-aid tape, antibiotic cream, some after-bite cream, Tylenol, Advil, Pepto Bismal or Gravol, aloe vera, thermometer, hand sanitizer, plastic sealable bags, and gloves.
With these, you will be covered for most adventures you might be taking along the way.
Keep a cooler
Bring a small cooler that fits nicely inside the car. This way, you’ll be able to keep your drinks and snacks cool and organized while on the road.
I like the High Road CarHop car seat organizer. It has many useful pockets and a small cooler that is easy to fit on the backseat of the car or on the floor. This way, you won’t have food all over the place either.
Bring wipes
Add a pack of baby wipes or wet cloth in your cooler pockets. So if you or the kids are having a snack and you have dirty hands, you’ll be able to clean up quickly without even having to stop!
Wipes can also be used in case of a mess inside the car. This is a really small thing to think about but it has saved my life so many times!
Organize essentials
I like when the car is neat. I don’t particularly like when stuff is pilled everywhere, it makes stuff harder to find when you need it.
For the kids, I like to use some backseat car organizers for all their stuff. Instead of emptying their backpack all over to find the one toy they are looking for, they can just pick something from the pockets of their organizers.
You can also use some small containers to put stuff inside. Organize your car for the road trip so it makes sense to you. Make sure to organize your stuff and remember where you put it. If you’ve organized everything but can’t find it afterward, it might not be the optimal setup for you. Keeping your car organized on your road trip will help you keep everyone sane while driving around!
Where to put everything to keep the car organized on the road
Make sure to keep the essentials you’ll need for driving upfront. Items you will need more often should be handy and you shouldn’t have to go in the back to find them.
- Sunglasses
- Navigation items
- Cellphones and cords
- Small travel trashcan
The backseat should be used as well. Organize it so kids still have some space to move.
- Medical kit under one of the front seats
- Cooler and small food bag for the day
- Kids Toys in the backseat organizers
- Small travel blankets
Your trunk, on the other hand, should have all the stuff you don’t need while driving.
- Luggage
- Extra food and beverages
- Dirty laundry bag
- Tools and supplies, roadside emergency kit
Make sure to keep everything you will need for the day inside the car. You won’t have to pull aside because the item you need is in the trunk. Put the unnecessary items in the trunk and what you’ll need inside the car.
Before leaving the next day, do a quick clean-up of the car. Throw away garbage and rearrange the cooler and food bag for the day to come.
How to make the road trip more comfortable
Make sure to make a couple of stops along the way. Especially if you are driving for long hours, make sure to give yourself some time to stretch out your legs.
Take the time to go to the restroom while you’re taking some time off driving. Walk around. This will also help your blood flow.
If you have kids with you on the road trip, make sure to stop more often. Stop somewhere where they have plenty of space to run it off.
A good sign for when to stop is when they start getting cranky or they start fighting together. This will help them steam off and spend that extra energy they have.
While packing the car and organizing all your things for the road trip, make sure to plan for some comfort items too.
Have some handy blankets for everyone in case they get cold. Bring the kid’s favorite blankets so if they fall asleep they have something familiar too.
Dressing comfortably will make a whole lot of a difference too. Especially driving for long hours, jeans might get itchy or very uncomfortable at some point. Dress in clothes more loose-fitted for your journey. You can always change once you get to your destination but at least, you’ll be comfortable on the road.
Make sure to keep a good posture while driving. You can easily start sitting in many awkward positions and have your muscles ache or your back hurt by the end of the day. Make sure you check on your posture once in a while to make sure you are seated correctly throughout the day.
Road trip essentials
If you are wondering what I use to make my life and my organization on the road easier, here is a list of items I use on every single road trip I take. If I am going on a road trip abroad, it’s harder to bring these items in our bags but I still try to organize everything as best as possible on the road.
- Magnetic phone mount: this is great to have your phone holding. Easy access for GPS and music.
- Backseat car organizer: great for organizing the kid’s toys on your road trip
- HighRoad CarHop car seat organizer: to help you keep snacks and drinks cold.
- Swell snack containers: great for cold and warm snacks but also any types of snacks for adults and kids alike.
- Passport wallet organizer: to help you keep everything important in one place.
- Deodorant wipes: This will help freshen you up if need be.
- External power bank: to keep everything charged on the road.
For even more essentials to be organized on the road, here is a list of all my road trip essentials!
Whether you are road tripping alone, with your partner, or with the kids, keeping the car organized while on your road trip will benefit everyone!
Not only will you find everything you need more easily, but you will also be able to keep your essential items handy and the unnecessary items out of the way. Everyone’s life will be so much easier on the road!
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links. I would never recommend anything I don’t personally love and use!
If you are just starting out your planning for a great road trip, make sure to take a look at these to help you plan out every stage of your road trip!
Road trip essentials you absolutely need to make your life easier
Family road trip survival guide
7 reasons why you should travel as a family
Our 14-day itinerary across Scotland
