Here are 10 ways to organize and clean your car, whether it is just you or your passengers including the dog, toddlers, teenagers, or all of the above!

We finally traded in my 11-year-old van (Vanna II) for a new-to-us 3-year-old van yesterday, Vanna the 3rd! No more Cheerios under the seats or sippy-cups full of mystery liquids since my kids are much bigger, but I still haul the dog, the kids, and all their stuff around and want to keep this van looking as nice and organized as it is now. So here are 10 ways to help you organize and keep your car clean, too.

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Make a purse holder.

I used to have a wide-open console in my old van, but the new one has lots of little compartments and cup holders instead, which is nice for those things, but not my big ‘ol purse.  The only place to keep my purse within reach is stuffed into the space in front of the console or on the passenger seat.  

The passenger seat is ideal except when the purse slides around, so this is a great idea.  Using a carabiner and attaching it to the post of the headrest makes a handy hanger for my purse, but then the hanger can just be swung out of the way if there is a passenger sitting in the seat (usually me, when my hubby drives).

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Add a Command hook on the passenger side console.

This prevents items from sliding around out of reach on the passenger side floor.

Use dollar store shower caddies to hold fast food.

This makes it so much easier for little hands and not as many fries hit the floor this way!

Use a cut-down shoe organizer for storage.

All of those pockets make for great storage, especially for long road trips. This is attached just by threading grosgrain ribbon around the headrests!  I LOVE using shoe bags to organize all over my house! Here are some more ideas: 25 ingenious ways to use shoe bags, but not for shoes!

Film canister or pill bottle for coins.

Yes, I still have several empty film canisters because I also use them to store earrings and my ear plugs when I travel. But if you don’t have film canisters, use a pill bottle. Both of these are great for storing coins because they have tight-fitting lids.

Use a plastic cereal container as a garbage can.

A must in any vehicle is an easy way to dispose of garbage. Line the container with a plastic grocery bag for easy disposal.  You can fold up and store extra garbage bags in the bottom of the container, underneath the bag in use.

Here is how to fold those bags into neat triangles:

Use silicone cupcake holders to keep crumbs out of cup holders.

Easily dust the dash with coffee filters.

They are cheap and don’t leave any lint. I had heard about using a dryer sheet to dust, but I personally found that they still left dust and lint behind.

Really clean those vents with a foam brush.

These foam brushes are so inexpensive and can be reused. It drives me crazy to not be able to dust all the nooks and crannies and these work great!

Use a squeegee to clean the dog hair off the seats!

My dog loves to ride in the car but she sheds like crazy! So, after she takes a ride, we just use a squeegee to get that fur off the seats. Some dogs’ hair clings more than others, so if it doesn’t all come off with just the squeegee, use a spray bottle to mist the seat a bit and use the squeegee again. It works great!

You can also use a rubber dishwashing glove, but I like the squeegee best.  People might look at you really weird if they see you have a rubber glove in your car all the time, and the squeegee is also handy to clear dew off windows in the morning, too. 🙂

And as a bonus, here is how to organize your car’s console for $5!

So, there you go!  Ten ways to organize and clean your car!

~ Pam (and Vanna the 3rd 😉

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