Before kids, it was easy to keep your car as clean and organized as you liked. There weren’t any weird stains of unknown origin you’d randomly find, you knew where all the smells were coming from, and it wasn’t very often that you reached under your seat to find half-eaten food. But with kids, all bets are off regarding the state of your car during a road trip—until now. For just the help you need, here are three ways you can keep your car clean and organized while traveling with kids.
Keep The Seats Covered
Kids are notorious for making messes. And while you might have hoped they’d keep these spills contained to your easily washable countertops or floors, that’s not going to happen in the car. For this reason, Melanie Pinola, a contributor to LifeHacker.com, shares that you’ve got to keep your seats as covered as possible to avoid getting dirt, grime, and gunk all over. One inexpensive way you can do this is to place kitchen aprons on the seats. These are generally the perfect size for covering the surface area of the seats in your car and are very easily washable.
Rethink The Use of Kitchen Items
Depending on the type of car you’re driving, you may not have a lot of room for storing the entertainment items or refuse your children have while traveling. So to help keep that Ford from Pembroke Pines stay as fresh as when you bought it, Marlisse A. Cepeda, a contributor to Women’s Day, suggests using some of your kitchen items to keep your car organized. Take a plastic cereal container and use it as a garbage can. Get out your old cookie sheets and allow your kids to use them as makeshift desks to keep their toys or crayons within reach. With a little creativity, you can come up with a lot of ways to rethink your kitchen items to be of use during a road trip.
Make A Maintenance Plan
Just like you have to clean your house regularly, your car needs to have a good cleaning every so often as well. Dani, a contributor to DailyMom.com, recommends making a monthly maintenance plan where you throw away all the leftover trash, bring anything inside that doesn’t actually belong in the car, and wipe down all commonly used surfaces that are more than likely very sticky. Not only will this help you feel better about the state of your car, but it will help remind your kids what your standard of cleanliness is with regards to your vehicles.
If you’ve had a hard time keeping your car in good working condition with your kids always trashing the backseat, consider implementing some of the tips mentioned above to make your future travels a bit less stressful.