I just bought a new car and I’m a little obsessed with how to keep it clean. When I got rid of my old car I found that I have a hoarding problem, as clean as I thought my car was, there was a lot of stuff in there.
I’m working on making some organizers to corral all that stuff but I’ve also come up with some rules to help keep it clean.
No eating allowed in the car. I know it’s convenient to grab something and eat it on the way, especially when you are running late. The problem is you don’t enjoy your food when you are stuffing it in your face going down the freeway, which can lead to over eating and then there is all that trash. In my old car I went through the drive thru at a hot dog place and got a loaded hot dog, I ate it on the way to my friends and left the bag in the car, it took forever for the smell of those onions to go away.
Every day when I get home I’m going to take everything out of the car that has accumulated throughout the day. Not only will this help keep the car clean but it may prevent thieves from breaking in. If there is nothing in the car, there is nothing to steal. My niece’s car was broken into in my sisters driveway because she had a bag of yarn in the back, someone thought there might be something good in there. They didn’t get anything but my niece was still left with a broken window.
Another important thing to remember is that anything in your car can become a projectile in an accident. That water bottle laying in the floor in the back doesn’t seem like a big deal until it’s flying at your head at 60 miles an hour. Secure everything, including child booster seats when the child is not in them.
For items you keep in the trunk, but them in zippered bags so they are not rolling around. Do the same thing in an SUV using a cargo net to keep them from flying around the car during a sudden stop.
Finally, pick one day a week to take an hour to touch up your car. Vacuum, wipe the windows, dash, console and door handles. Same things will go a long way to keeping your car clean.