The glove compartment: home of ketchup packets, dried-out pens, loose nickels, expired car registrations… and just about everything else you can think of. The only time you open it is when you get pulled over, or sell your car.

We think it deserves more respect — or at least a good cleaning every year or two. Here’s how to organize your car glove compartment in no time at all. We’ll walk you through how to organize your glove compartment in a few easy steps in less than ten minutes. I’ll do it with you…

Take Everything Out

Chances are your glove box will look something like this: overstuffed yet underused. Take it all out, down to the last penny and put it on the seat.

Organize into Three Piles

Sort all the treasures you find into three categories: Trash, keep and relocate.

The trash I found included dried-out baby wipes, car inspection records from 2016 and crumpled napkins. Out it went.

Essential things to keep in the glove compartment included my car registration, insurance info and owner’s manual. Things that might be useful, but maybe could be stowed elsewhere, include car repair records, and a rearview mirror re-attachment kit (Thanks, Grandma).

Clean the Glove Compartment

Get a carrier bag and pick out all the leftover bits from inside. Empty wrappers, pen lids and old receipts. Then, with a wipe or paper towel, get rid of all the dust and crumbs. If things are real bad in there, have a rub down with a disinfectant wipe.

Return the Things That Belong There

When you’re putting things back, try and keep them in a semi-sensible order. Spare napkins and pens to one side; Maps at the back; registration and insurance information at the front. Ahh. Isn’t that better?

Congratulations, you’ve cleared out your glove compartment – that wasn’t that bad, right? Although you may keep the obvious things in there, what you may not realize is the things you should keep in there. Keep in mind that your glove compartment doesn’t need to serve as a survival kit. Keep things like space blankets, duct tape, flares, etc. in the trunk. Thing you want close at hand include:

• A small first aid kit: Painkillers, tissues, bandaids (keep the main one in the trunk)
• Spare change in a zippered bag & a $20 bill: If all else fails, you’ll be able to feed yourself out of a rest stop vending machine
• Baby wipes: Perfect for quick clean-ups
• Tire gauge: Check your tire pressure often, just like Dad always said
• Medical info: Just in case you’re involved in an accident, write down any allergies and medical information
• Multi-tool: For minor repairs or cutting the seatbelt in an emergency
• Ice scraper: Trust me, when you need one you will thank yourself for adding in this handy tool
• Cheap sunglasses: I always seem to ‘misplace’ mine and driving with bright sunshine in your eyes is not fun
• Gloves: Hey, it is a glove compartment
• Plastic grocery bags: Ziploc bags are also incredibly useful for a multitude of tasks
• Hand sanitizer: What happens when you need an emergency snack but your hands aren’t clean?
• Flashlight: When you break down in the middle of the night, this will be your savior
• Car cellphone charger: No-brainer, so you can insta your perfect glove compartment (or call a tow truck)

Now you’ve sorted out your glove compartment, it’s time to sort out your car insurance. Just like the checklist above, comparing car insurance quotes shouldn’t be difficult or time consuming. Compare.com makes it easy to compare quotes side by side for free and you can buy your policy today. Why not get started now and see how much you could save?