Busiest Moms in the World Clutter Challenge – The Car
When I was a little girl, every Saturday my father cleaned my mother’s car inside and out. He would drive the family sedan to the local car wash, and if he was in a good mood he sometimes let my brother and I tag along. This was long before the automatic drive-throughs with rainbow foam and dryers. You had to park, gather quarters, soap and rinse by hand. I loved helping Dad hose down the exterior with the high-pressure hose and using his shammy to dry it so it wouldn’t spot when it air-dried.
Afterwards we’d head over to the big vacuum stations that, to my child’s imagination, looked like serpents from my favorite Star Trek episodes—back when Captain Kirk was young and handsome. Dad would vacuum the interior for a while, and when he was nearly finished he’d let my brother and me have a turn holding the hose. We learned to hold it carefully so it wouldn’t suck up important items like little hands or Mom’s good church umbrella. We had a blast helping Dad clean Mom’s car.
That memory is exactly what ran through my mind when I decided today was the day to tackle the car for our Clutter Challenge.
With the holidays approaching, a clutter-free vehicle makes life easier. You’ll have room for grocery bags and gifts, and the lingering drive-thru air freshener smell will disappear. A quick declutter also reduces stress when you’re loading kids and packages into the car.
Here’s a simple plan to get your car clutter-free quickly: grab a trash bag and a box. Move through the vehicle briskly: toss obvious trash into the bag and place stray items in the box. Expect to find toys, random receipts, and candy wrappers. Look under seats, in door pockets, and in the crevices between seats.
When you’re finished, put the trash bag in an outdoor bin right away so the car stays clean. Bring the box inside and sort its contents: put away items that belong in the house, return lost toys to their owners, and decide what needs a permanent car organizer (like tissues, a small first-aid kit, or an emergency snack). If your children are old enough, have them put away their own items so everyone learns to keep the car tidy.
Finishing up, consider wiping down the dashboard and consoles with a quick interior cleaner and giving the floor mats a shake or a vacuum if you have one. A fast surface clean makes the whole car feel refreshed and welcoming.
Happy Sunday—and happy decluttering!
