If there’s one thing that drives my husband crazy, it’s how messy my car gets! It’s not my fault, there’s really no way to keep my car spotless when I spend hours every day taxiing kids to and from school, play dates, and errands. If you have kids you KNOW what I mean! After the birth of my third child I knew I had to find a way to keep my car more clean and organized, I forgot how much stuff you need to carry around with a newborn! I spent the last three months working out a system in my car, and I finally have it down! Here are tips for how to keep your car clean and organized with three kids in tow!
Test Seating Arrangements
No kidding, I (my husband) rearranged the three car seats six times before I found a configuration that I liked! I wanted to make sure I tested lots of arrangements to find what worked best with getting all the kids in and out of the car for all different occasions. I finally settled on having the three kids in one row to give more trunk space and so I could reach all of them from the drivers seat if needed!
To fit all three kids in one row of my Nissan Pathfinder, I bought two of these Diono car seats for my girls and a Graco infant seat for Hunter. When he outgrows the infant seat I will likely buy another Diono!
Create a Designated Trash Spot
Oh my gosh don’t get me started on the trash! We collect straw wrappers like it’s our JOB in my car! Add those to the snack wrappers, forgotten school papers, and old receipts and trash accumulates in every free spot in my car. I grabbed this trash bag from Drivewel to help solve our problem! It comes in different colors and is a chic, faux leather exterior with a plastic lined interior. It hangs on the drive shaft so it’s out of the way but easy to reach! And I like that it’s not ugly like a plastic bag, and it’s reusable! Find it HERE.
Add Car Hooks
These are GAME changing! These little hooks attach to the metal part of your headrest and can hold shopping bags, backpacks, or even jackets! The only way we can have all three kids in one row is to hang their school bags on these hooks so they are off the ground and out of the way. I love these SO SO much, find them HERE!
Organize the Trunk
A big reason I wanted all three kids in one row was to utilize all of my trunk space. I decided to keep our Mockingbird stroller in my car all the time, so that takes up quite a bit of space. I tried hanging one of these organizers on the back of the middle row seat, but it ended up being too far for me to reach conveniently. I decided to keep a thrift store basket in my trunk with the following items:
-ring sling carrier
-diapers
-wipes
-diaper rash cream
-diaper changing pad
-hand sanitizer
-extra baby clothes
-water bottle
The basket keeps everything together, and easy to reach when I need to change a diaper in the car or want to run into a store wearing the baby instead of pushing the stroller. I stock this every month with the correct size diapers, extra wipes, and a seasonally appropriate change of clothes!
Tools to Keep the Car Clean
Even with staying organized, car messes are going to happen! Here are some tools for keeping your car clean, now that everything is organized!
The Drivewel Car BFF fills the tiny space between your seat and middle console and keeps all the crumbs and random junk from falling into the space no one can reach! It also keeps your phone and credit cards from falling which has already come in handy for me! Find it HERE.
A while ago I started keeping a dust buster in my car to vacuum up crumbs and messes as they happen! My car stays much cleaner this way, since the littles messes don’t pile up over the months between deep cleanings!
My car will never live up to the expectations my husband has for it, but these tools and tips keep my car cleaner and more organized than it’s ever been! If you spend time in the car with kids, you know how easily things get disorganized and messy. Are these tips you can see yourself utilizing in your car? Tell me if you would add anything to my list!