2 Weeks: The Car(s)

Okay, I know this isn't part of your actual physical home, but if you're anything like me, and probably many people across the country, you spend a ton of time in your car.

My car is, on any given day of the week, a complete pig sty.  Not kidding.  I have a huge car (chevy suburban) and 4 kids, a husband, and some of my kids' friends cruising around at any given moment.  So, my car gets disgusting really fast.  There's torn papers, dropped dumdum pop sticks and wrappers, cups, toys, shoes, socks, sweatshirts, tools my husband put in and didn't remove, not to mention all the dirt that gets tracked in from our shoes.  Yuk!

I'm surprised my car doesn't smell like the dump...honestly.  I try to keep it clean, I really do, but it always seems to be messy.  I've chosen to clean out the car at this stage in the game because, let's be honest here, 90% of what is in your car will end up in your home.  If we clean up the car now, then it wont make all your hard work in your house go to waste.

Let's get started.  You'll need the following supplies:

plastic shopping bags
window cleaner
paper towels
shop vac, vacuum, or hand held vac ( I love my Cone)

Okay, we'll start by cleaning out all the garbage.  I use an old grocery bag or something like that, load up the bag with garbage, while making a pile on the middle seat of all non-garbage "stuff" that I find.  When I've cleaned out under all the seats, in the center console, the glove box, the pockets on the back of the seats, the door pockets, the cup holders, and anywhere else in the car, I throw the garbage directly into my big green garbage bin outside.  Then I haul all the non-garbage stuff in the house and dump it by the front door to sort through later.

I remove any cup holder liners and bring them in to soak in hot water in the kitchen sink.  Meanwhile I go out and clean all the interior windows, the dashboard and steering wheel, the door handles, the center console, the cup holders and anywhere else that might need some cleaning with window cleaner and paper towels.  When I have a yucky paper towel and need to switch, I put the yucky one in a plastic shopping bag, and I continue that until I'm done wiping down sticky spots, finger prints, dust and grime off the inside of my car.  I put them in the plastic bag, because I learned in Rawlins that if I didn't, the wind would carry my garbage into the neighbor's yard and then I'd get to look like an idiot while chasing it around.  Not fun!

When everything is wiped down, I pull the floor mats out and shake them well.  I use the vacuum to suck up any rocks, dirt or general yuk off the carpets, then replace the mats.  I even usually unbuckle the carseats and clean under them, and depending on how nasty things are, I will wash the carseat covers so my girls have squeaky clean seats.  If you need to wash your carseat covers, this project will take a little longer than the 1 1/2 hours allotted in this project, but that's okay, it's better to finish the job right, than to stay within your time limit.

When everything is wiped down and lightly vacuumed, put the things back that you need to keep in the car with you.  I'll be honest, aside from my vehicle paperwork, I keep lots of stuff in my car...I am a mom after all.  Here's a few things that I find helpful in my car:

Paper towels and napkins
Playing Cards
Where's Waldo?
A book to read
Animal crackers
A canteen of water
Emergency supplies
Extra Blankets
Stroller
First Aid Kit


There's probably more, but I can't think of it all right now.  Now, here's the deal.  I hate washing and vacuuming my car, so I do the vacuuming often, and I let the car wash do my washing for me.  It's only $7 at my local car wash for an exterior wash, and I don't go very often, so it's worth it to me.  Besides, the kids like to ride through and smell the soap and watch the rags swish back and forth...okay, I do too.

When you're finished, take a deep breath.  Does your car smell better?  Do you feel better, maybe less embarrassed to give a friend a ride?  Well, here's how to keep it that way:

1.  Clean out garbage when you get out of the car (I am horrible about this)
2.  Teach your kids to take ALL their belongings out when they get out.
3.  Don't eat in your car if you can help it (I often cannot with my husband and children always being hungry)
3.  Keep a couple special toys or belongings for "in the car only" and don't let you kids bring other things with them that don't need to go.
4.  Check over your car once or twice a week, and clean out miscellaneous stuff as needed.  Vacuum regularly.

Tomorrow's project will be your working on your entry way and living room, as most people's homes have these two spaces flowing into one another.

Happy Cleaning!

Kristin