We have a 12 passenger van for our family. 10 of those passengers are our kids and they range in age from 7 months to 17 years. It does not take long for us to easily accumulate lots of stuff in our van. Things like books, papers, toys, water bottles, and hair clips are just a few items that make their way into our van.
When the load of items that we are transporting around town starts to impact our gas mileage 🙂 then I know it is time to clear out and lighten the load. When the van gets cleared out of all the stuff, it actually feels lighter when I drive. And not only lighter, but my old used van feels new and fresh!
Here are some of the ways we get that new clean feeling:
- A minute before arriving home I assign kids their particular items to bring into the house for discarding or putting away. I call out a name and item category so that I have one child bringing in all the books, another picking up trash, another toys and so forth. If you only have one helper then each car trip can focus on one category!
- Sometimes I find myself waiting in a parking lot with the kids. During that time an amazing amount of items can be picked up, thrown away, or organized in just a few minutes. It is handy to keep extra trash bags in the van for this purpose.
- We normally keep a grocery bag for trash that hangs on the door and this helps reduce some of it going to the floor.
- When I remember, I remind the kids to take out what they have brought in for the day.
Leave a comment if you have a great way to keep your car clean. I’m wishing you a great new car feeling as you lighten your load!