How to Clean and Organize a Car

Do you keep your car clean and clutter-free or is it a big mess? If you struggle to keep it tidy I can show you how to clean and organize a car.

Do you love your car and keep it spotless at all times?

If so, I have a big high-five for you!

I admire people who do, but honestly, this family doesn’t fall into that camp!

We keep our cars clutter-free, but we don’t do a great job keeping them clean!

So, every Spring we carve out time to deep clean, organize, and detail our car(s)!

Want to see how we do it?

We start with a simple six-step strategy!

Use the 6/P Strategy to clean and organize a car

Ready to hear about an easy strategy to clean and organize your car? All you have to do is follow six simple steps that start with the letter P!

PREP

Gather a trash bag, two laundry hampers, a vacuum, and cleaning products appropriate for the inside and outside of your car.

PURGE

Remove all items from your car (including floor mats) and your trunk. Place each item in one of the following categories:

• Trash-Throw away all of the trash, you know receipts, straw papers, empty coffee cups, in the trash bag
• Relocate-Place any items that don’t belong in the vehicle in laundry hamper # 1
• Replace-Place any items that need to stay in the vehicle in laundry hamper #2

POLISH

Take this opportunity to give your vehicle a deep cleaning.

Keep reading to see our tips for this step.

PERSONALIZE

It’s time to decide how you will organize the storage spaces in your car, to best meet your personal needs.

What do you need? A trash can, a first aid kit, a place for coins, etc. 

Keep reading to see how we Personalized our car.

PLACE

Now it’s time to place everything back in your vehicle!

• Trash-discard in your garbage can
• Relocate-take laundry hamper #1 and deliver items where they belong in
• Replace-place items in the laundry hamper #2 back in your vehicle.

PUT BACK

Get into the habit of removing personal items every time you exit the car.  Place all small pieces of trash in a trash can and remove all fast food items every time you exit the car.

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Tips to clean your car

We have some great tips you can use during the polish step!

Exterior

We are going to start with the exterior of the car!

Can you believe how dirty the car is? Rich cut tiles in the garage and the car was covered in dust!

wash exterior

You can go to a car wash! OR

Grab your dishwashing liquid and a bucket and wash it yourself!

Start on the top of the car and work your way down.

Spray soap away with a hose!

dry with microfiber cloths

Microfiber cloths are the best! I use them all the time to clean lots of different items!

Don’t let your car dry on its own or you will get water spots! Use microfiber cloths to hand dry the car!

remove stuck-on debris

If you still have bugs or sticky debris stuck to the front of your car, you’ll need a special cleaner to remove them.

Armor All Bug and Tar remover took the mess off with no problem!

tackle exterior windows and mirrors

My favorite tools to clean mirrors and windows are the Norwex Enviro and Window cloths.

These cloths work like magic and never leave streaks! Wet the blue Enviro cloth with water and wipe the dirt off the surface. Immediately use the purple Window cloth to dry!

clean windshield wipers

Use alcohol to wipe away the dirt from your windshield wipers!

Now the car is clean and looking great! So much better!

Interior

The outside of the car looks fabulous, and now it’s time to work on the interior spaces!

clean hard surfaces

Start by cleaning all the hard surfaces of the car.

We have had great success with Armor All wipes! They remove dirt and add a nice shine!

clean interior windows and mirrors

Now, clean the interior mirror and all the windows! I used my handy Norwex clothes!

use a toothbrush

Remove dirt from small crevices or the seams of your seats with a toothbrush.

dust vents

Use a small foam paintbrush to remove dust from the vents! This works like a charm!

remove floor mats

Pull the mats out of your car. If they are carpet, vacuum them. I suggest washing them with a power washer if they are plastic. If you don’t have a power washer use soap and a scrub brush then spray off with a hose.

vacuum ceiling, seats, and floors

Start vacuuming at the highest point and work down to the lowest point.

Our vacuum has this handy attachment that is meant to be used on pet hair. It’s the perfect size to use in the car!

Be sure to move seats back and forward, to vacuum every bit of the floor.

Use the skinny crevice tool to get into hard-to-reach spots!

remove stains from upholstery and carpet

As you can see in the picture above, we had dirty spots on the seats.

We used Armor All Carpet and upholstery cleaner to remove the spots! It works amazingly well and leaves a pleasant smell in the car!

Tips to Organize Your Car

Your car is clean, so let’s discuss how you can organize your car!

glove compartment

It’s time to put things back in the glove compartment.

important paperwork

Place the important papers that stay in your car in a case. Ford provided one for us. You can purchase a holder or use a zip lock bag, as a budget-friendly option.

first aid kit

It’s handy to keep a small first aid kit in your car.

You never know when you might need scissors or a band-aid!

facemasks

We have been storing extra masks in our car! Hopefully, the need for this will soon pass!

rain gear

Store a poncho or umbrella in your car, if you get stuck out in bad weather!

console between seats

If our cars get messy, this is the place where it usually happens!

It’s quite messy.

Here are some tips to keep that from happening!

round tissue holder

I love these round tissue holders that fit inside the cupholder of your car!

hand sanitizer

Even when the threat of COVID-19 is gone, I will still use hand sanitizer after touching a cart in a store!

pen and paper

It’s a great idea to keep a pen and paper in your car!

That way when someone calls on the way to the grocery with items they need, you can jot them down before you go into the store!

extra change

If your car does not have a built-in change sorter, get inventive and find something to hold all that loose change!

Try an empty chewing gum container! We think it works perfectly!

hands-free phone

We use our phones for GPS, so we need a clear view of them when driving!

We’ve tried other types of phone holders, but we prefer those that attach to the CD player!

add a trash can

We’re going to try a car hack to see if it works!

I made my trash can by attaching a small command hook to the car and hanging a plastic bag!

I hope this works!!

We’ll let you know next Spring when we deep clean and re-organize our cars again!

For now, our cars look amazing!

I hope you’ll use our strategy and tips to clean and organize your car!

I just have one question, and please be honest…

How often do you clean and organize your car??  Let me know in the comments below!!

Blessings, Donna and Rich

More spring organization inspiration

• Simple Tips to Organize and Clean a Car
• Garage Organization Made Simple with Six Steps
• Helpful Tips to Organize and Spruce up Your Yard
• How to Enjoy Your Porch this Spring

Get the look

We have linked items that we currently use or would like to have (like the hand sanitizer dispenser and trash can) below!

CD Slot Phone Mount / Disposable Face Masks / Hand Sanitizer Dispenser

Perfect Fit Facial Tissues / Shark Vaccum Cleaner / Waterproof Car Trash Can 

Car Auto Insurance & Registration Holder / Disposable Rain Ponchos / First Aid Kit 

Microfiber Cleaning Cloths / Armor All Fabric and Carpet Cleaner

Armor All Extreme Bug and Tar Remover /Armor All Car Protectant Wipes

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