10 Items You Shouldn't Store in Your Car, According to Pros

If you spend a lot of time behind the wheel, chances are your car needs a good tidying up. Maybe you’ve amassed a collection of wadded-up napkins in your glove compartment from frequent drive-thru outings (hey, no judgment here). Or perhaps there’s a bunch of coffee cups and water bottles left over from your work commute. Suffice it to say, you’ve got a lot of stuff that’s hitching a ride—and it’s time to part ways.

“As a professional organizer, I've learned that many individuals treat their vehicles as an extension of their homes, leading to unintentional clutter,” says Aaron Traub, owner and lead organizer at My Professional Organizer Dallas. “While keeping certain items in your car for convenience is tempting, some can create messes, odors, or even deteriorate due to temperature fluctuations.”

Below, experts weigh in on what needs to be kicked out and stored elsewhere.

Coupons and Receipts

It’s fine if you’re saving that coupon for a free coffee on your birthday. But what about that pile of expired coupons and receipts? Get rid of all that excess paper, and you'll tidy up your car’s interior in a flash, says Traub.

If there’s anything you must keep on hand, he suggests keeping it in a clear zip pouch that fits in the glove box or center console

Plastic Water Bottles

First of all, you have an entire kitchen cabinet full of reusable water bottles, so why are you toting around a plastic water bottle anyway? Don't give up valuable cupholder space to those empties, and don't let them roll around on the floors, either. Be sure to grab them as you exit the car and find the nearest recycling bin to avoid cluttering up your car.

Spare Change

That's an impressive pile of coins in your cupholder, Moneybags. Do you know what you've also got there? Tons of bacteria. When you think about how often money gets exchanged, it's no wonder how dirty and gross it gets—so get it out of your car. Cash them in at one of those coin-cashing machines and buy a coffee or tea to celebrate your decluttered car.

Cosmetics and Lotions

Your quest for soft, supple hands and lips should not include keeping lotion or lip balm in your car. “Extreme temperatures can cause the product to go bad or lose its potency," says Raychel Klein, Seattle-based professional organizer, certified KonMari consultant, and founder of Raybaybay.

Outdoor Gear

Your life is an adventure, but the likelihood of pitching a tent somewhere on the way home from work on a Tuesday is slim. The chances of needing that trunk space for groceries? High.

Carve out some storage elsewhere to stow your stuff in between weekend warrior excursions, and you might be pleasantly surprised to see the bottom of your trunk once again.

Too Many Reusable Totes

How many totes do you have riding around in your trunk or on the floor of your backseat? Probably too many. Keeping one or two on hand is super convenient when you're out running errands, but you don't need a mountain of them. Check in with your local food pantry—Feeding America has a foodbank directory— to see if they'll take your extras off your hands.

Crayons and Markers

If you thought it was a chore to clean your kiddo’s “artwork” from the walls at home, now imagine cleaning it from your car’s interior. Crayons can melt, markers can leak, and they can all lead to quite a mess in your car if you store them there, says Toby Schulz, CEO & Co-Founder at Maid2Match.

Gym Clothes and Sneakers

Good for you for getting to the gym! But don’t forget to take your sweaty clothes and sneakers in from the car unless you enjoy cleaning mold off your clothes, says Schulz.

Laptops

Aside from the inherent security risk of leaving anything of value in your car, Ryan Waterman, CEO of Independence Automotive says, “Prolonged exposure to fluctuating temperatures in a car can negatively affect battery life and device performance and cause permanent damage to devices.”

An overheated battery can even burst into flame, which could lead to personal injury and/or damage to your car. If you must leave your computer in the car during the summer months, turn it off and place it in an insulated laptop bag out of direct sunlight. Left your laptop out in the cold? Allow it to return to room temperature once you bring it indoors before turning it on.

Too Many Emergency Items

Make no mistake: It’s good to be prepared for the unexpected. But attempt to prepare for every emergency scenario possible and you’ll find that you’re riding shotgun with far too many tools and supplies, according to Klein. “Be realistic about the likelihood of certain emergencies happening,” she says. “For example, you don’t need to keep tire chains in your trunk all year long.”

“Your car is for transportation, not for storage,” Schulz says. “Sometimes we feel like leaving things inside to make things easier for us each morning, but the enclosed and unventilated nature of a car’s interior can lead to some nasty messes or health hazards.”

Read Next: How to Clean a Car Interior

Read the original article on The Spruce.