This post is sponsored by Rochester Ford, a Rochester Motor Cars Dealership
As the country slowly starts to open back up after the past year of COVID-19 safety precautions and restrictions, many families are itching to hit the road and explore a place other than their backyard or neighborhood park.
At Rochester Mom, we LOVE a good road trip and think traveling by car is a great way to introduce your kids to so many different sites across the country. Road-tripping can also be an economical way to experience a memory-making family vacation.
We have found that some families are wary of the road trip because it means long hours in the car with the potential for crabbiness, melt-downs, and wrong-turns. And while we cannot do anything about the wrong-turns, we can give you our easy-to-follow formula to prevent the car-ride crabbies: Happy Kids=Happy Road Trip.
One of the KEY elements to Happy Kids–and therefore a Happy Road Trip–is keeping your car organized. Packing for a road trip means your car will be full of the things you need for your time away, AND things to keep people happy and busy while counting down the miles to your destination. This can mean lots of stuff in a limited space. Keeping your car tidy and organized prevents feeling cramped, crowded, and restless (which all contribute to the car-ride crabbies).
13 Road Trip Car Organization Tips
Here are 13 genius car organization road-trip hacks for whenever you hit the road for your next adventure. To help us demonstrate these tips, we borrowed a brand new Ford Explorer from our friends at Rochester Ford, a Rochester Motor Cars Dealership!
#1. Corral the Cords!
Phones, AirPods, iPads, tablets, headphones, etc… all need one thing: a charger to work. Is there anything worse than opening up the center console to a mess of cords, all tangled and twisted? Get yourself a case or small pouch and keep all of your cords there.
#2. Organize the Command Center (Glove Box)
The driver might be the pilot, but the front passenger seat occupant is the navigator, the snack fetcher, the drink-opener, the cord-keeper (see above), and more. Make sure your Command Center (the glove box) has only the things you need and nothing more. Here’s what we like to keep in our glove box:
- cord case
- small pouch for tissues, hand sanitizer, Advil, Dramamine (hello car sickness), and sanitizing wipes
- small accordion file with insurance cards, important lodging information, gift cards, etc
- wet wipes. Always, always wet wipes
- small First-Aid kit (we stock ours with bandaids of various sizes, Neosporin, alcohol wipes, tweezers, and gauze)
- flashlight
PRO TIP: Many car manuals can be found online. Check to see if your car manual is online and then leave the bulky printed manual at home.
#3. Organize small things in travel Q-Tip containers
We love the little Q-Tips packs you can get in the travel section at Target. They are the most useful for all sorts of things (including Q-Tip storage). We like to keep hair ties, extra batteries for your Discman flashlight, spare change for tollbooths, Tums, and more in these handy organizers.
#4. Condense The Center Console
The Center Console is generally where things go when they get lost forever. Not anymore! Take back control of that Center Console. Organize it by only keeping the things you need in the console, and leave anything else at home. We like to store items that are occasionally needed but still within easy reach of the driver. This is where the handy Q-Tip containers come in! Use small, light-colored plastic organizing bins to keep things from making their way into the corners and to increase visiblity. That way, things won’t get lost forever.
BONUS TIP: Store loose change in a Q-Tip container for toll road fees!
#5. Silicone Baking Cups for Cup Holders
Do you know what will happen on your road trip? Someone will spill. 100% guarantee it. Line your cup holders with silicone baking cups and limit the mess (probably, almost always a sticky mess) to something that can be removed. Clean up the liner at the next potty stop and wipe up what’s left in a cup holder with a wet wipe. You’re a genius, mom! The Ford Explorer comes with up to 12 cup/bottle holders in the doors and consoles.
…don’t forget the door cup holders!
#6. Pack snacks in snack-sized zip-top bags
So many reasons to love this tip. Packing individual snack bags ensures portion control (no sick tummies!), fairness (you know someone would mention it), and clutter. We keep pre-portioned snacks in a tote under the passenger seat and refill the kids’ console as needed. If you have the time, get boxed snacks at the store before you leave and pre-portion crackers, candy, etc. This saves both money and space in the car!
#7. Stasher Bags
We love these reusable silicone storage bags for a million reasons (the green and white bags tucked between the seat and the console in the photo below). They are perfect for storing masks, keeping things separate and clean, and also as individual garbage receptacles. Keep one by each seat and you instantly have personal garbage cans. Each person can be responsible for emptying theirs at each stop. Tidy!
#8. Shower Caddies
Easily put things within reach by utilizing a suction cup shower caddy and sticking it to the backseat windows.
#9. Assign charging ports
If your car has multiple charging points, assign them beforehand. You could even go as far as using a label-maker to label them: “Olivia’s iPad” or “Julio’s Discman Nintendo Switch.” That way, you will know what cord goes to what (and where they are in your cord case, see above) and take turns as needed to charge things up. We love that the Ford Explorer comes with 2nd-row dual charging USB +C smart ports.
#10. Keep the kids stuff in its own space
Kid stuff can quickly take over premium space in the car. We love this two-compartment organizer that sits nicely on the floor in front of the seats. Each child can choose what they want to bring. Our rule is if it fits, it can come. The other rule is that they keep backpacks and other things in the back. Only what fits in their car organizer can be on the floor in the car. With 39″ inches of legroom in the Ford Explorer, and 87.8 cubic feet of space in the 2nd row…the likelihood you’ll hear “Mom, he’s touching me!” is greatly reduced.
BONUS!
The 3rd-row is easily accessible with the flip of a handle in the Ford Explorer. With 47.9 cubic feet of space, this backseat will not feel cramped or crowded for younger members of your family. This is definitely not 3rd-row wasted space!
#11. Sick Kit
You’re a smart mom, so you pack your sick kit. Because it’s better to be prepared rather than handing your kid a Target bag with a hole in the bottom when they yell, “I Think I’m Going to Be Sick!” from the back seat. Pack this tote last, on top of everything else in the back, and within arms reach of the back seat. At the first sign of tummy troubles, move to the front seats. We put the following in a shoebox-sized plastic tote:
- gloves
- disinfecting wipes and/or hand sanitizing wipes
- paper towels
- a roll of toilet paper
- large, sturdy plastic bags (we like the bags you get at the Drive-Up at Target),
- plastic sheeting
- odor neutralizer spray. There’s nothing more glamorous than mom life.
#12. Use bungee cords to keep things upright in the back
If you have items that you need to keep upright or simply want to create a more organized packing system, use a bungee cord in the back storage area and weave it through the handles of tote bags.
#13. Pack in clear totes
If your destination does not necessitate a suitcase with wheels to get your items inside, consider using clear storage totes! They are less bulky, you can immediately identify what is inside of them, they aren’t an awkward size and shape, and they weigh much less.
BONUS TIP!
Make sure you are utilizing all of the storage compartments in your car! We love the Ford Explorer for the excellent use of space it provides. There is extra storage in the side panels of the back storage space, tall item storage space with the removal of the floorboard, extra cargo room configuration, and more.
Rochester Ford, a Rochester Motor Cars Dealership, is proud to present the Ford Explorer: the ultimate family car for adventure, safety, and traveling in style.
If you’re looking for a vehicle that can do it all and then some, we encourage you to take a look at the 2021 Ford Explorer. The Ford Explorer provides all the features you need for your family’s next big adventure.
- Up to 7 different driving modes including normal, trail, deep-snow, towing, and more.
- The Ford Explorer is built to haul. With an optional four-wheel-drive package you can pack more in the cargo storage area without affecting performance. Standard packages come with rear-wheel drive which also provides more towing power.
- Road trips automatically mean lots more miles on the road. Travel with peace of mind with optional driver assistance features such as lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control. Other features include automatic high beams and a rear-view camera.
- The Ford Explorer features the popular Sync3 and FordPass Apps. With Sync3 you can connect to the popular crowd-sourced traffic app, Waze, and using the power of Alexa by Amazon Prime for weather conditions, traffic information, and 30,000 other Alexa skills. The FordPass app means you can unlock your Ford Explorer from your phone. Meaning
whenif you lock your keys in the car far from home, your day won’t be side-lined. - Rochester Ford has a great inventory of used Ford Explorers. Consider purchasing a low-mileage used Explorer for some great savings!
If you’re interested in learning more or scheduling a test drive, please contact Rochester Ford, a Rochester Motor Cars Dealership.
