How to Care for Your Car

Like many areas of your home, the car is an easy target for clutter.

Almost every item in our home enters via the car. Plus, in the age of fast food, the car is also a restaurant on wheels. This tends to leave a legacy of forgotten french fries under seats.

Upon returning home from school, lessons and practices, our kids burst from the car leaving their belongings behind.

You need an organized system to maintain a clean, clutter-free car. Train family members to be responsible for taking their personal belonging into the house each time they leave the car. You will need to make this a rule using rewards or consequences.

Each time you arrive home, empty the car of your personal items and any purchases you have made. Do not be tempted to unload the car and dump items on the kitchen counter. Make sure you put everything away when you get into the house, so you do not create another clutter area.

Keep a rotating basket in your car.

The rotating basket is a home for temporary items such as library books or a return item. The basket will contain these items so they are not rolling around on the floor. It will also serve as a reminder of errands you must do. Take the basket back and forth from car to house for loading and unloading purposes.

Some items should remain in your car. Keep a plastic trash bag in the car to discard items. Keep wipes for spills or sticky hands. If your car does not have a built-in drink holder, you may want to buy one. For music listeners, a cassette or CD organizer is handy. In the glove box or in a basket under the seat, keep car insurance and registration information, a pen, paper, coins for parking meters, a flashlight and an ice scraper.

Schedule a time to wash and vacuum your car weekly.

Each time you eat in the car, clean up when you arrive home. Take out trash to prevent spoiled food odors. Vacuum food crumbs. A hand vacuum will work best. You want to avoid food spills in your car.

When you transport prepared food, put the ingredients in sealed containers. Put the food you have cooked in a basket or box lined with old towels. Make sure everything fits tightly and is secure. Secure lids to casseroles with rubber bands. You will want to concentrate on your driving rather than catching food spills. Avoid transporting milk products unless the container is tightly sealed.

Moral of the story: Beware of containers bearing milk.