Driving as Meditation and How to KonMari Your Car
"Some guy I met said it's amazing how we use cars on our show as an excuse to discuss everything in the world—energy, psychology, behavior, love, money, economics and finance. The cars themselves are boring as hell." -Tom Magliozzi, Car Talk
When I started driving at age 16, I had a version of greeting my car every day, like the KonMari way of greeting a home. I would say a brief prayer, asking for protection and a safe trip to wherever I was going and back home. I have not ever been particularly religious, and I didn’t know of anyone doing this. And yet, for some reason this was a habit I started as a new driver. It feels funny to share this now as I don’t think I’ve ever shared this before.
Why did I think of this? What exactly does this have to do with tidying up?
Part of the reason I moved to Chicago was access to public transportation, so sharing a car worked well until I transitioned to single mom life in 2017. My requirements for a car were limited- a certain price range and a manual transmission (stick shift). Driving a stick shift has always sparked a lot of joy for me. Shout out to CarMax for making it easy and for presenting my car with a giant bow (more joy). The relief I felt driving down the road again in my own car, nerding out to NPR, well, this was joy. And I had been missing it, this feeling of driving as meditation.
This week I had all of the tires replaced, and rather than focusing on the expense (ouch), I chose to let it spark some joy. How nicely it drives now. How awesome is it that the tire pressure light finally went off. And I thought of my old habit of greeting/praying in my car.
Some tips for applying the KonMari Method™ to your car:
Consider a greeting, taking a moment to connect. Maybe a quick hello in your head. Maybe you have a special name for your car. Whatever it is, the purpose is appreciation.
Create a power spot. Do you have a small, meaningful item that would bring you joy to display in your car?
Tidy by categories. The KonMari categories most applicable to cars are paper and komono aka miscellaneous, though you may have particular reasons to keep clothing and books in your car as well. And your “power spot” item might come from the sentimental category. Consider taking a few minutes the next time you arrive home to tidy a category found in your car.
Paper. Do you have the papers you need in your glove compartment related to registration and insurance? Discard all trash promptly. Do a quick sweep for old parking receipts, any paper trash like expired coupons. If you have expired parking permit stickers affixed to your window, can they be removed?
Komono aka miscellaneous. Check equipment that you need for safety and visibility. Do you keep reusable shopping bags handy? Do you need to clear out any komono items that are no longer needed or no longer spark joy?
Give your car a little love, say hello, see how it feels.