4 Tips for Keeping the Family Car Clean

When you have a family, keeping the family car clean and organized can seem like an impossible task. Trash and crumbs build up daily, even after you’ve found time to clean.

Fortunately, there are a few simple steps that you can take to help you stay on top of the mess in your car before it gets out of control. Here are a few tips on things that you can do to keep the family car clean.

Don’t leave trash behind.

While it may seem obvious, one of the easiest things that you can do to keep your car clean is to stay on top of the mess by bringing everything inside with you when you get home. As soon as you’re parked, remind everyone to grab what they brought with them into the car and pick up a few pieces of trash. You’ll be surprised how much easier it will be to keep your car clean if you bring a few things inside every time you get home. 

Clean while you wait.

Of course, even if you try to stay on top of the mess, it may begin to build up over time, especially if your kids are prone to leaving things behind when they get out of the car. Another way that you can keep on top of the mess is to clean your car while you wait to pick your kids up from school or an after school activity. Even if you only have 5-10 minutes, this could give you time to clean out trash, wipe out cupholders, and clean the dashboard, console, and steering wheel with some cleaning wipes. This will help you to kill time while you wait and stay on top of the mess.  

Tip: Keep a few empty grocery bags for trash and a packet of wipes handy so you always have what you need to tackle a quick mess!

Avoid eating in the car.

While this can be a hard thing to enforce, particularly if you have young kids who like to snack on the go, having a policy of not eating in the car can drastically reduce the amount of mess that gets created in the first place, as you will not be fighting a constant battle with crumbs and trash. An easy way to enforce this one is to try to make a habit of planning a quick meal or a snack before you get on the road so that no one is hungry in the car. Even if you are able to cut the number of times people eat in the car by half, it’ll be that much easier to keep your car clean. 

Get a Car Garbage Can

Of course, if eating in the car is inevitable, it can be extremely helpful to invest in a car garbage can. Having a spot where your family can easily throw trash can help to contain the mess, and it will speed up the process of cleaning out the car when you get home, as you will just have to remember to empty the garbage can.

Staying on top of the mess can make it much easier to keep your car clean. Of course, cleaning your car’s carpeting is also a critical component of keeping your car clean. Here are a few of our favorite tips that will help you to clean your car’s carpeting and upholstery.