Simple Car Organization Tips | Practical Perfection

Keeping a car clean when you have kids is nearly impossible! I struggled for years to keep my car clean and I have learned a few things through the years that have really helped. It is by no means even close to as perfect as my pictures look – it only lasts for a few days after I clean it. But my tips work! They make great strides in keeping my car clean and I can absolutely see a difference when I am following my own advice. Here are some of my very best simple car organization tips!

I grew up with a Dad who was very particular with his cars. I was trained from a very young age not to touch or lean up against the car (no writing ‘Clean Me!’ on the paint!), and I definitely have many memories of my Dad washing and waxing the cars.

When I was 16 I got my own car. In order to keep my car clean, we even went to the extent of buying new black towels to cover the car mats so they didn’t get ruined. Which, really is a genius idea if you think about it – you can just throw the towels in the wash when they get dirty! So to say that keeping my car clean is important to me is an understatement. I have waxed and waned in my intensity but I have always tried to make an effort to take care of my cars.

Clean it Weekly

This is the exact same tip that I gave about cleaning the fridge in my earlier post but if you can clean it every week, it will be so much easier to maintain. I know it sounds impossible, but make time to do a DEEP clean once, and then it will only take you 10-15 minutes to clean it every week after that (including vacuuming!).

We used to have a membership to our local car wash so I got in the habit of washing and vacuuming out my car every Wednesday when I was out running errands or getting groceries. This made it SO much easier and it just became a part of my routine! If you can create that habit then it is significantly easier to keep it clean because you only have 1 weeks worth of crumbs, not 12 weeks worth. One reason people hate cleaning the car so bad is that it is such a big job, but if you take an open Saturday and do a deep clean and commit to yourself to clean it weekly, you will be amazed at the difference.

car organization ideas tips and tricks kids

Organizing the Center Console

Organizing the car is just as big of a hassle. But one thing I have discovered is that less is more. This is more difficult to do when you have teeny kids but my youngest is 4 now and I can already see a huge difference in the amount of stuff that we need to keep in the car. This is my favorite way that I have found to organize the area between the 2 seats. I found this clear acrylic organizer at Dollar Tree! It fits all of my things perfectly and it actually stays looking this nice, all of the time and it is so easy to find things.

No Food Policy – most of the time

I do have a No Food policy in my car but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. So I keep a small container of semi-healthy snacks that my kids can grab if they are on the run. I try to keep the snacks as mess-free as possible. Granola Bars are particularly great for snacks to keep in the car. I keep this Sterilite container under the front passenger seat so my kids don’t see it and want to eat every time we get in the car.

Pack Out what you Pack In

You can see here that I really do make an effort to keep as little as possible in the car as I can. The kids always bring their junk in the car or leave their sports equipment in the back seat but I am slowly trying to teach them to pack out what they pack in.

Emergency Supplies in the Trunk

Because my son plays sports during the warm months, I always keep 2 folding chairs in the back of the car. I also have an awesome black crate that I purchase at Costco about a year ago that I keep some emergency supplies in.

Here’s what I store in our crate:

Waterproof Picnic Blanket
Emergency Roadside Kit
First Aid Kit
Water Bottles
Emergency Supplies we may need if the car breaks down
Packable, down blankets that have come in handy more than I can count

Making your Car Smell Nice

My husband gets headaches with traditional air fresheners (bye bye Bath and Body) So I have had to change my way of thinking when it comes to making my house and car smell nice. I purchased these small glass bottles and created my own air freshener using Essential Oils and Water!

Buy Short Containers for Under the Seats

Have small containers that will fit under your seats to help you contain all of the necessities that you keep in the car. For example, have a container with emergency diapers and wipes if you have a baby, etc.

So here is a recap of my tips and tricks to keep your car clean:

No food allowed in the car (that prevents 75% of the mess!)
Clean your car out weekly (vacuum, wipe the dash and windows)
Do a quarterly deep clean
Less is more – try to take everything out of the car that is not a necessity
Have some sort of air freshener so it stays smelling nice
Have containers to keep loose items corralled so they aren’t rolling all around the car.