6 Brilliant Tips for Keeping Your Car Clean

Six library books, two ice scrapers, four Burger King bags stuffed with wrappers and crusty bun edges, six hair clips, a melted lipstick, a My Little Pony, one shoe, four coffee cups (one with mold on the bottom,) 23 crumpled receipts, a plastic sunglasses lens, a stack of unopened mail, a USB cord, and two nail files.

Sound like the inside of your car? Then this article is for you. If your car resembles the kitchen junk drawer, follow these tips for keeping it clean, and no one will mistake your car for a Dumpster ever again.

1. Keep a litter bag in the car. You can find handsome waste receptacles for your vehicle at any auto parts store, or you can just keep a plastic grocery bag handy to keep your trash in. But you have to use it! The minute you generate garbage, put it right into the trash bag.
2. Don't eat and drive. Cold, hard French fries stuck to the carpet, ketchup stains on the seats, cheeseburger wrappers in the door pockets, sticky soda cups strewn about. Nothing trashes out your car faster than eating in it, so unless you're on a long road trip and have no choice, save the eating for when you get home.
3. Never exit empty-handed. Every time you pull up to your house, look around for things that need to be taken inside, and take them inside. It's easy to get so inured to the clutter that you don't even notice your car has become a rolling storage shed, but being mindful each day and taking ten seconds to reach into the back seat to gather up the flotsam and jetsam that's accumulated since morning will keep the mess from getting out of control.
4. Keep a "to-do box" in the trunk. There's always something you need to exchange, a stack of library books that need to be returned, or a bag of hand-me-downs you keep meaning to give to your sister, adding to the clutter. Instead of tossing it in the back seat, where it will remain indefinitely, keep a tub in the trunk for such things. If you're afraid you'll forget about them, go to the auto parts store and get a stick-on notepad for your dashboard. Each time you put something in the to-do box, jot it down on the notepad. Every time you get in your car, look at the note pad, just in case you'll be in the vicinity of where things need to be taken.
5. Get floor protector mats. Your shoes track in gravel, dirt, oil, and all manner of other particles that get embedded in the carpet. And if you have kids, the carpet is a magnet for lollipop sticks, half-empty juice boxes, and crushed Goldfish. A set of plastic protector mats will keep the carpet looking new, and they'll prevent spills from soaking in and getting stinky when it's 95 degrees outside — and 140 degrees in your car.
6. Toss out the trash when you fill up with gas. Don't just stand there staring at the rolling numbers on the gas pump! While the car's filling up, gather up any garbage and toss it in the trash can. Bonus: Keep a pack of Armor All wipes in the glove box and wipe down the dash and console real quick to keep things dust-free and looking new.