Keeping a clean car...

I'm a busy wife and mother who works outside the home three days a week and I have to busy school aged kiddos with after school activities.  Sometimes my house looks like a train wreck.  I try to keep on top of it, and I have a schedule for it so it doesn't get out of hand too often.

What makes me crazy is when my CAR looks like a train wreck.  I don't like a messy, unorganized car!

Do you know what I mean?  Do you find coloring books, crayons, toys, cheerios, crackers, pretzels, empty juice boxes, extra clothing and other belonging in your car every week?  I try to empty out my car every Friday.  When we get home from school, the kiddos know they are to take in their back packs and then come back out and get the rest of their belongings that have gotten scattered throughout the week.

Then one day during the weekend I try to go out and CLEAN my car.

Here are the before and after shots - and boy let me tell you... it's quite a transformation!

First, I have the kiddos clean out the clutter - since most of it belongs to them, I don't feel guilty about enlisting their help.  They helped create the mess, they can help clean it up, right?

Here are the nasty before shots

Dirty upholstery and control panels

 Dirty Floor mats

Gross floor mats

trash basket runneth over... not a good kind of surplus, let me tell you!

And do we even want to take a peak under the seat?  Sure, why not!

  But then I got out my Basic H2 - mixed to all purpose strength - just 1/4 teaspoon to 16 oz water and went to town.  I sprayed everything in sight and followed up with my trust micro fibre cloth.

I wiped the leather, the dash, the columns, the vents, the doors and door frames, the handles, the buttons... if it was wipeable, I wiped it!  Then I cleaned my windows with Basic H2 - windows formula - 2 drops to 16 oz water, and shined those puppies up!

I vacuumed under the seats, YUCK! Vacuumed the carpets and sprayed all those nasty floor spots with the all purpose strength Basic H!  I emptied my trash container, and waited about five minutes for the floors to "soak."

Rubbed those darn spots with my micro fiber cloth...and WOW!  Those carpets are clean!

The leather and the dash are dust free; my windows are streak free and clear!

I emptied the trash basket, gave it a quick spray with the all purpose cleaner, and a fast and easy wipe down, then I lined it with those grocery bags we all have lying around waiting to be recycled.  I just fold them up into squares and keep four or five under the liner bag.  That way, when one is full, I just pull up the next one and place it in the basket.

Makes a great trash container - so we don't have soda cups or juice boxes rolling around willy nilly in the floor board making more messes on my nice clean carpets!

And there you have it.  A nice clean car, ready for the weekend adventures and the busy week to come.

You can do this, too.  Whether you drive a compact car like mine, or a super mamma mini van, it's easy to invest 15 minutes a week into keeping your car clean and ready.  It feels great to get in and have it feel almost as good as the day you brought it home!

Happy traveling!

We do it all,

Only By His Grace,

Billie Ross



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