I wanted to share how to keep the car clean with kids.
My husband and I have four kids and they are all very young (8, 6, 4, 2) which means that we deal with messes on a daily basis. Between the sandbox, the dirt from the yard, snacks, etc… there is always some sort of mess in the car. (Why is it that they somehow get a ton of crumbs in their cupholders? Do your kids do this? I think that they think of it as a mini-garbage can!)
If you read my past post on what I do on a daily basis (daily cleaning list) you will see that we clean out our van every Sunday.
The kids gather everything and put it into a big basket and then my husband or I vacuum.
While we are vacuuming, they are taking wipes and cleaning the dash, etc… (& putting away everything that they have collected in their basket).
Here is a little guideline on how to clean your carpets in your car.
At LEAST once a week, you should vacuum your carpets. Sometimes I will even have to do this once a day because one of our kids will have had snacks that always end up on the floor (crumbs). This is life with four little ones. My husband would rather they not eat in the car, but I just can’t seem to make that work between sports, school & running errands and so I vacuum more often.
Luckily I have a BISSELL and it has a detacable center that I can take outside to clean the car. It works GREAT for this. (This has to be my favorite feature.) My husband has a shop vac, so now we can really use either option.
And a close-up of the part that I love! (You can see what its easy to take in the car…)
I also use a carpet freshener in our van. (Soccer spikes, baseball gloves, wrestling shoes, etc… all leave an odor behind, making it not so fresh in our van. This is a way to ELIMINATE odors.)
Here are two quick and easy recipes to MAKE YOUR OWN CARPET CLEANER:
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Baking Soda
about 8 drops of essential oil (I like lemon the best- or lavender)
Another recipe that we have started using since our son was been diagnosed with Asthma (omitting the borax):
1 cup baking soda
5 drops essential oil (you can get this at a lot of different stores)
To make the freshener, just place the dry ingredients in a ziplock bag and add the oil. Shake it up and let it sit for at least a day (to let the dry ingredients soak up all of the oil). Keep it in an old (clean) parmasian cheese container.
Sprinkle it on. Let it sit for 20-30 minutes and vacuum with your BISSELL.
I like to make my own because the store-bought ones smell SO strong and I really don’t like the smell of the store-bought ones at all (too “fake” smelling, in my opinion). I do not use it often, maybe once a month or every few months- just often enough to freshen things up a bit, but it works well.
My last tip is to keep antibacterial wipes and plastic grocery bags in the glove compartment for quick clean-ups. (If you have 5 minutes while waiting at preschool, you can do a quick 5 minute clean up with these things. Use the wipes to clean up and then throw the garbage that you find in the car and the used wipes into your recycled grocery bag and toss it out, on your way into the preschool or wherever you may be going.
How do you keep your car smelling fresh and looking clean?
Jenn says
With 3 kiddos I live in my car so naturally it is always a mess. I have to look into this, thanks for sharing!
Lisa says
I love my Bissell too! Thanks for the carpet cleaner recipe. I’ll have to try it.
Dawn Lopez says
Ooh I love this! Can’t believe how convenient and lightweight this model is…. definitely perfect for cleaning the car (which I need so desperately!).
Christine Luken says
Keeping the car clean when you have kids is a HUGE challenge! Thanks for the helpful tips!
Green Mommas says
Awesome article! Thanks so much for sharing! I am lucky that my husband has a “thing” for cleaning cars!
Brittany at The Frugal Free Gal says
I struggle DAILY with keeping my car clean. I can clean it one day and it will shine and the next day it looks like a total mess. I need to come up with a plan to keep it nice!
Terry (My Journey With Candida) says
I could totally use one of these not only to detach to clean my car.. I have places in my house that this would work perfect for.
Natalie says
As a mom of 4, can you even use the world kids, car, clean in the same sentence? lol great tips!
Virginia @thatbaldchick says
Keeping the van looking clean with three kids under 6 is no easy task. To keep it smelling clean, though, I put some Unstoppables in a little bag and keep it under the seat.
Wendy @ ABCs and Garden Peas says
Oh, I can’t even tell you how badly I need a vacuum for my car! I can’t go anywhere without the kids, and I can’t stop and do it with them because the noise scares the baby. If I had one of these, my car might actually stand a chance!
Jennifer B says
Now this is something that I really need! Our van gets so messy with 4 kids always dropping crumbs in there. Yes, mine also somehow get them into the cup holders too! How they do it, I will never know! 🙂 I’ll have to check this vacuum out!
Francine @ Teresa's Family Cleaning says
I really need this. My car is a pit!!
Casey says
I don’t have kids, but I could definitely see this being a great product for my little family. The interiors of both my car and my husband’s truck are DISGUSTING right now, but our vacuum isn’t lightweight enough to lug it out and use in our cars. Plus it doesn’t have accessories like this one to get into the nooks and crannies. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Liisi Carr says
We have a miniature vacuum that we keep in our car too. We also use towels or sheets to cover the the seats.
Pam says
We have a dirt devil we use to keep our car looking clean and fresh. It is small and portable! Great tips, thanks for sharing them with us.
Ronnie says
Interesting! I promised my boyfriend I would buy a full service clean for the car because I got sand all over the seats and carpet.. Maybe I can do it myself instead!
Maria says
I think I have the exact vacuum!! It does a god job but I don’t vacuum my son does! lol
Your Modern Family says
Oh- even better! 😉
Katherine Bartlett says
Great tips! My car looks like someone lives in it 🙁
Your Modern Family says
haha!
Laurie - Steals and Deals for Kids says
I live 5 miles from the beach and we go a lot (still!!)……therefore, my car is full of sand and I need to vacuum it out! Wish I had that vacuum!!!
Cynthia L. says
I have to admit that I have never really cared about the cleanliness of my car. I do care how my house looks though. This vacuum cleaner sounds like it has what I need!
Emerald says
This would be so useful for our van. It picks up so much dirt.
Stacie @ The Divine Miss Mommy says
I didn’t even know that you could keep a car clean with kids. LOL
Malia says
I’ve actually been looking for a vacuum, we badly need one. I love that this one detaches like that!
AioKona says
With little kids around, that would really come in handy. My brother could use one of those. He’s one of those OCD persons who really make it a point to keep their cars really clean. Thanks for sharing!
Melanie a/k/a CrazyMom says
Great tips; we have 3 kids and the car is always a mess, especially after soccer games; I have the same Bissell and LOVE it.. perfect to keep the car clean and organized.. works soo well.. Thanks for sharing, glad you guys like it as much as we do.
Amy Desrosiers says
My gosh, this looks like a nice vacuum! I could only wish I had time and neat kids to keep my car looking spotless! I do take great care of my home though! Sadly, my car suffers!
Your Modern Family says
haha- the car is SO much harder than the house sometimes, isn’t it?
Shanna says
I love Bissell. We have one too!
Jayne says
I have to admit my car is a mess. I have 2 kids 1 toddler and a 5 mos old. It’s difficult to keep up with everything lol. All I do is vacuum it and throw out whatever garbage I found in there. I’ll try your freshener recipe. It’ll help me save. Thanks!
Rachel J. Shepard says
These are really great tips! It surely made my car more organized like this!
Marga says
I totally agree with you. I am an expert and this is one of the most helpful articles I’ve read lately. Great work guys and good luck. .
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Thank you so much!!