Summer family road trip tips - Keeping the car clean

Road trip fun! (public domain photo)

You wake up with potato chips in your hair, sitting on a squashed Twinkie and what is that smell? That's right folks, you're on a summer family road trip. A summer family road trip is not a naturally clean experience. Your car can stay clean on a summer family road trip by keeping a few simple tips in mind.

Throws and tarps

Those of you with kids know this is not an extreme clean tip. Throw a tarp over each seat. Cut holes to feed the seat belts through. This is especially important under the child or infant car seat. Give each passenger a fleece throw to sit on as well. This provides a softer surface than the tarp and can be shaken out at rest stops.

Take out the trash

A plastic bag from the grocery store hangs nicely over a car head rest. Double it up to guard against leaks. In the front seat, Mom and Dad can hang theirs from the glove box. Keep the car clean during the summer family road trip by emptying the bags at each rest stop. Check for debris under the seats each time as well.

Organize kid stuff

Hang a shoe organizer over the other head rest to keep kids small toys and shoes in. How many times have you been on a summer road trip where someone had to search for shoes at a rest stop? Crayons, markers, activity and coloring books slide right into the shoe holders. Keep the youngest family members busy with little surprises in the pockets and keep the clutter off the car floor.

Hand wipes

Wet wipes were invented for good reason. Dirty little summer road trip hands can make a mess out of clean car upholstery. Those with environmental objections to disposable wipes can keep a clean wet washcloth in a plastic lidded container. Clean it with soap and water at the next rest stop and the family is good for a few more miles of messes.

Cup holders

What is that gooey gunk at the bottom of the cup holder? Curb cup holder clean up by lining car cup holders with store bought liners, foil, or saran wrap. Plastic bags on takeout cup bottoms work as well. Cleaning up after a family summer road trip should not be an all day job.
If you forget this tip, fill dirty car cup holders with warm water. Soak for a few minutes before cleaning.

Laundry

Keep two laundry bags in the car on the floor in the back seat. One laundry bag for wet clothes, the other for dry. Clean the wet clothes ASAP to avoid mystery smells in the car. Family members with stinky foot odor should put dirty socks in the wet clothes bag. Your summer family road trip car should smell good too.

This article was previously published by this author on Yahoo!