You Missed a Spot is a new Spring Cleaning feature for the month of April focusing on the not so obvious places you will want to tidy up for the season! Each Thursday visit us for a new installment that goes beyond the how to’s of vacuuming, window washing and laundry!
{Spring Cleaning your Car}
I always find that women have the weirdest clutter in their cars. Tubes of lipstick and pallets of makeup crammed into cup holders, extra shoes and clothing decorating the floors and back seats, trunks filled with bags of items to be returned to various stores and boxes with discarded mail, not to mention the variety of catalogs and magazines and half empty coffee cups that are just there, for really, no good reason! Us ladies certainly find the most extraordinary uses for our vehicles, and I think its because we like to be prepared… for anything! A high-heel breaks at work, no problem, I have a spare pair in the car! A guy calls for a last minute date, no problem, I have some dinner clothes in a bag in the back! I ran out of the house without makeup on, not a problem because I can apply my makeup in the car on the way to work! I think you know what I am getting at and I am sure we have all been in one or all of those situations before. The other thing about ladies and their vehicles is that they are often not always clean, and I think this is because women aren't so into their cars, so they don't think about taking it to the auto wash to vacuum out the caked on eyeshadow covering their passenger seat (am I right?). So, to help a sister out, I have put together a how- to on cleaning your car, yourself, and keeping it organized and clean as part of an ongoing effort.
Step 1. Remove everything from your vehicle.
If you haven't cleaned your car out in a while, its time to do so. You won't be able to vacuum it out or properly detail it unless its empty so go ahead and take some bags out to your car and start removing everything. As you remove items, trash the trash (it should be obvious what trash is), and toss any broken makeup or melted lipsticks that really aren't useful anymore (seriously, if you liked them that much, why did you subject them to such bad living conditions as though you didn't know lipstick would melt on your dash board in direct sunlight). Obviously, anything you need, or anything not broken does not need to be trashed, but I bet the extra clothes should be washed if they have been in your vehicle for a while.
Step 2. Take your car to the local car wash.
Most towns have a car wash where you pay with quarters for foamy water and brushes and industrial strength vacuums to self clean your car. Better yet, most large towns also have drive thru car washes where they take your car and wash the exterior and interior for you and you can watch them on a conveyor belt as three men vacuum, Amor All and Windex your car inside and out. If you don't have the cash for that, definitely stop by your local gas station, as one will usually have at least those large vacuums outside for you to use for fifty cents to a dollar. Plus there are lots of household items you can use on your car, like carpet stain remover that will work on auto carpet and if you have a steam cleaner for your house you can use that on your vehicles carpets or upholstered seats as well.
Step 3. Time to organize.
Once your car is clean inside and out its time to start putting things back inside it, but you must do this with organization in mind! First, think about what you really need in your car and what you don't. Yes, having extra clothing and shoes in your car is a good idea, but lets limit how much we leave in the car and better yet, lets make sure its organized inside a travel bag so that they clothes are contained and not all over the place. If you definitely need to keep some makeup in your car, I suggest getting a decent quality makeup bag and putting inexpensive makeup items in it. You don't want to ruin a YSL lipstick, but I am sure you won't be heartbroken if a Wet & Wild melts or breaks. Better yet, try to use all liquid makeup for the car so you don't have to worry if the item melts, and that way you also avoid the issue of powered makeup making a mess of your seats and dashboard.
Step 4: Put together a car emergency kit.
I highly suggest that you also put together an emergency kit filled with everyday items you may need on the road so that you don't end up taking items from your house with you and then leaving them in the car. Fill a small travel bag with packets of tissues, hair brushes, band aids, tampons, travel sized lotion and hair sprays. If you want to see what I keep in mine for inspiration, click here. Also, if you live or travel to questionable areas, it would be good to keep some sort of weapon like a taser or at least pepper spray in your car just in case. (P.S. Learn how to use the pepper spray first and the proper places to use it- like don't spray it while your in your car because ventilation and all!)
Step 5: Get a roadside emergency kit.
One other thing that a lady should always have in her car is a roadside emergency kit. You can buy these at local auto stores or put one together yourself, but buying them at the store is generally easier and cheaper than a DIY. These roadside emergency kits will include things like jumper cables, an electronic jumper (for times when no one is around to help you, think night time on a side street), flares, a flashlight, a blanket, hand warmers, batteries, some first aid items and other useful times you wouldn't even think of needing in your car. Check the contents of the premade kit before you buy it so you know you are getting everything you may need, and compare kits because some have items that you may prefer if you are not so hands on with your vehicle.
Step 6: Check your chargers.
The last thing I suggest is to make sure you have the proper chargers for your phone, gps, and other gadgets you may need in the car. Call me a worry wort, but I am often afraid of my car breaking down and my cell phone dying all at the same time while I am alone at night in an unfamiliar area (I do a lot of driving for work and my GPS likes to get me lost sometimes so this scenario could totally happen to me). Its better to be safe than sorry, so make sure you have what you need to prevent a bad situation from getting worse.
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