Don’t feel daunted by your resolution to get your life organized; we’ll help you break it down to easily clean out all of that junk in your trunk, literally. From your car to your finances, to planning that trip, we’ve got some tips and tricks to help you get ready for the road ahead.
Clean Car
Let’s face it, if you’re the average person, you spend A LOT of time in your car: about 294 hours! Who wants to spend that much time in a dirty, cluttered space? Get it together by:
Eliminate Kid Clutter: It’s just a fact, kids are messy. At least you can keep their clutter in the car together in some sort of organized chaos. Try hanging a shoe caddy on the back of your seat, or suction-cup a shower caddy on the window to keep toys and other knick-knacks off the floor.
Create “Grab ‘N Go” Kits: Keep all of your travel items in clear zipper bags so you have an organized travel pack that you can just grab on your way out the door (or keep stashed in your car).
Hang Tight: Add hooks to the back of your seats to hang grocery or shopping bags.
Grab that Garbage: Have a tissue box full of plastic bags in your car for garbage. When you need a garbage bag, voila! Now you can stop collecting garbage on the floor or backseat!
Make some Change: Loose change is everywhere. Throw it into an empty gum container in your middle compartment, so it’s all in once place next time you need to scrape up some quarters.
Figure Out Your Finances
Saving money is a main objective for us here at GasBuddy, but that can be hard to do if you’re not keeping your finances organized. Keep track of your cash by:
Clipping Coupons: Start saving money by organizing your coupons! Labeled envelopes will help you easily figure out which coupons are for groceries or school supplies, restaurants or retail.
Keeping It Digital: Sign-up and use a money-management site or product such as Mint.com or Quicken.com – you’ll get alerts about bills, your credit score, balance sheets, and more.
Keeping It Old-School: Start a notebook of all your bills and purchases; you’re more likely to remember where your money went if you write it down and keep a log!
Purging Your Paper Piles: Get rid of any unnecessary papers (things you can get online, paid bills older than two years, etc.) from your files; be sure to shred anything with your personal information on them!
Filing Away: Label and organize your necessary hard-copies (such as tax-returns, insurance policies, ownership deeds, etc.) into folders and keep them hidden away safely in a fireproof-waterproof box.
Hit the Road: Trip Organization
Make this year the year that you finally go on your dream road trip. It’s not as hard as you think, as long as you’re properly prepared.
Taking note: As you’re planning, keep all of your notes about restaurants, destinations, and must-see stops in one place. Apps such as Evernote are helpful to organize your thoughts into categories and lists.
Mapping It Out: Once you have your destinations all mapped out, make sure you use GasBuddy’s Trip Cost Calculator to map out all of your gas station stops. It’ll help you plan your fuel budget more accurately, plus save you money.
Staying On Schedule: Create an itinerary and stick to it! You can download itinerary templates for road trips on a variety of sites, such as Template.net.
Making a List: …and checking it twice! Write out everything you need to bring with you before you hit the road so you’re not left without your essentials.
Creating a Playlist: Arguably one of the most important part of a road trip? The tunes! Have a bunch of your favorite car songs lined up on a playlist or CD and you’ll keep any boredom at bay by having your very own car karaoke.
BONUS!
A printable calendar to keep your resolution on track all year round.