Let’s talk about Organizing the Trunk or back of your car, van or SUV for Summer. My goal is to have things ready and organized for playing at the park, impromptu picnics, day hikes, last minute shopping or anything else that might pop up on a nice Summer day. I like to use these totes for organizing the trunk because they’re really inexpensive and sturdy plus they’re easy to clean. They run about $6 each and are easy to find at stores like Target or WalMart. I have 3 of them I keep in the back of the van. They fit almost perfectly across the back.
Organizing the Trunk
This tote holds reusable shopping bags. Yes, the tote is pretty full and I use them all the time. They’re great for transporting extra picnic supplies, wet clothes, sandy toys, and of course, groceries.
This tote holds all the fun stuff: volleyball, soccer ball, frisbee, plastic lacrosse game, kites, etc. The older kids don’t do much playing on the playground anymore but they love to kick the ball around and play other games with the family. We’ve also recently taken up disc golf so the good discs are also kept in the tote.
The last tote holds sunscreen, bug spray, paper towels, wet wipes, first aid kit, water bottles, a couple of plastic bags for garbage, and 2 picnic blankets. I feel like we’re ready for almost anything this Summer. I don’t keep snacks in the van because it gets so hot in the Summer but I keep some in a bag ready to go by the garage door.
Almost any container can be used to keep your things organized in the trunk. If you don’t want to spend any money try using reusable shopping bags, empty ice cream containers, collapsible totes or a laundry basket to keep things corralled. We also have enough room in front of the baskets for fold up camp chairs. They come in really handy when there’s not a picnic table or a bench around. Of course, we use them to watch the kids play sports too.
Have you organized your trunk? What are some of your must have supplies?
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That’s almost what my trunk looks like, actually 🙂
This looks too nice – I LOVE it!
I so need to do this! Great ideas.
I haven’t gotten to my trunk yet.. But I love the idea of having it prepared for the summer! I did that last year it and was nice :). One of my must have is a blanket that we can lay on the grass if we decide to stop by a park… thanks for the reminder and your trunk looks great!
I love this idea! My trunk is very unorganized and I think baskets like this would fit perfectly! Thanks for the inspiration!
Fantastic! I did a blog on this on my old blog
I hardly have anything in my trunk, but I would be so much more prepared if I did! All I have is a first aid kit & an auto emergency kit.
I don’t have mine very organized but some things I have are a first aid kit, a blanket that also turns into a poncho with fleece on one side and nylon on the other (warm and water resistant), car emergency kit (jumper cables, flares, etc). Until the kids were about 8, I always carried a complete change of clothes because you never know what will happen or when there will be a spontaneous time to play in the water and a backpack of coloring books and activities for whenever you get stuck some place waiting.
One other thing in my car is emergency money (very very well hidden). It goes back to our days in earthquake country where we worried the ATMs would go all down in an earthquake. But it can be good for lots of things. The one time I forgot to replace it, I drove several hundred miles to pick up a child and forgot my purse and had no money or credit cards for gas! Fortunately I was meeting family who could loan me money.
I do want to move some of things in to an easier to move bag like a backpack. I have to move mine a lot when the rear seat of the van goes up or down and the bag I have it in now can easily dump.
Great tips! So important to be prepared at all times.