Car find cleanout

This week we tackle the car, this is a fairly tough task, for those mom’s with little kids.

keeping the car clean!

Every time you get into the car you bring the outside in with you! Then the kids eat or drink in the back of the car so, inevitably, there is spillage, whether it’s the yoghurt or the raisins, it still needs to be cleaned up. I have learnt to keep a plastic shopping bag in my car, with one handle tied around the gear shift to work as a dustbin.
Snotty tissues, plastic wrappers and that ‘take away’ coffee cup all go in there when they no longer serve their purpose. That way you will have slightly less to clean out. Depending on how much and what is in the bag, I either remove it weekly or monthly. If your left- over tuna bagel is in there, daily might be your option.

It’s in the bag

For the weekly stops at the store, I have a collection of plastic bags in the boot (trunk for the non-South Africans). That way I save money on bags, save the environment by recycling and have the emergency sick bag nearby.

The car seat

Car seats (those amazing things that save our children’s lives) remember, your child must be in a car seat till the age of 4 and a booster seat till the age of 10. No child should ever be in the front seat of the car until they reach a height of 1,2 m or 35kg. Sorry for the tangent, this is a topic I am quite dogmatic about. You can learn more at https://www.facebook.com/CarseatFullstop/. Back to my topic, the amazing car seat has all sorts of nooks and crannies into which little fingers can stuff so many goodies. It is important to clean your car seat regularly, especial around the harness buckles, as a sticky buckle can malfunction and endanger your little ones’ life.

Cubby

The cubby hole; what can I say? I won’t even begin to tell you the weird and wonderful finds discovered in this tiny little storage compartment of the car. The half-eaten sandwich and the now melted chocolate that was meant for after dinner, and that’s just me.

Trunk treasure

The boot/trunk, what a treasure trove we have there except possibly the one thing you actually need! Your boot must contain a red triangle (R500 fine if you don’t have one), a first aid kit, a tow rope, a lug wrench (that cross thingy to loosen the nuts, when you change the tire), a flat tire repair kit (don’t have that one though) and your plastic and fabric reusable shopping bags and, most importantly, a fully inflated spare tire.

During my last car clear out, I found about 30 tiny salt and pepper packets, a single sock and a towel which doesn’t match anything in my house.

Car activity organiser

One of the life savers in the car when the children were small, was the sorter in which we stored paper and coloured pencils, books and other bits to keep the natives quiet for all of 5 minutes, you hang them over the back of the front seats. Carefully empty those regularly as you never know what can be stored in there.
One friend, who shall remain nameless to protect her now adult children from mortification, could not work out why her car smelled so bad. The car sorter/activity centre had been put into the boot without being checked and during their road trip to the Cape, her husband had changed the dirty nappy (diaper to the rest of you) and stuck it in there and then forgot about it as the enjoyed their holiday.
What interesting finds have you uncovered cleaning out the car?