Is anyone else’s car a real mess?

[VeryOverwhelmed]

I clean my car out every week but literally a week later it’s awful again. I don’t know how it happens so fast.
I have two young children and it’s a mixture of coats, shoes, toys, coloring stuff, food packets, stuff they made. Not to mention other crap and my boot is full too.

We often don’t get home till bedtime and by the time I’ve put them both to bed I don’t have the energy to go and clean out the car in the dark. Then we head off at 7am again and I’m at work and don’t have time to do it until the evening when it’s dark again.

Does anyone else’s car get like this? Before I had children I could never understand how anyone let their cars get into such a state but since having them myself I don’t know how to get on top of it.

Please say it’s not just me?!?

No and I'm a childminder. I couldn't stand that. I have a carrier bag for rubbish (minimal) no eating or toys needed and coats and bags are taken inside when I get home.

Yes, mine is. It isn't so bad in the summer, but right now it is too dark and I'm too tired in the evenings and I'm spending the weekends trying to get the house fixed up. Might do an initial clear up one lunchtime at work perhaps.

Shoes are on their feet
They can carry bits they've made
You carry bags and coats in
Storage on the back of seats for toys and colouring
Rubbish bag empty weekly

Mine is often like this too OP! I just can’t be arsed these days to bother too much. I clear it out once a week of rubbish and random crap that’s found its way in there, and once a month take the car seats out and pop it up to the local car wash place for a good clean inside and out.

I do bring the kids coats, bags and water bottles in each day but has pretty much it. My three year old still often needs carrying in at the end of a long day and I’m not doing a million trips back and forth from the car!!

I don’t have my grandchildren eat or do colouring in my car, my own children didn’t either. If the journey is long enough to need to eat we’d stop somewhere and get out of the car. Coats and shoes get taken indoors by the wearer if they’re big enough to walk. There are two lidded crates in the boot for what I like to keep in the car (compressor, tow rope, lightweight waterproof jacket, glov s, spare socks, spare dog leads, first aid, torch, WD40, hi-vis tabards, torches, picnic blanket, water, disposable gloves, a loo roll, scissors, rubbish bags, spare carrier bags…).

Nope. We take everything out of the car whenever we get home, inc coats, rubbish, etc., so it's clean and tidy for the next day. We "trained" our DS to take stuff in with him (with a lot of "Bullying" him to do it at first, he then just did it out of habit!). Must admit, I did the same with DH when we first got together!! Makes it a lot easier to vacuum/clean the car interior when there's no "stuff" in it.

My car is clean and tidy, my little boy's car is muddy inside. He's a full time wheelchair user and travels in his wheelchair, it is virtually impossible not to bring mud into it at this time of year. The mud then gets caught in the tracking that his clamps for his chair slot into. We also have no boot or storage for things that he needs to travel with (suction, feed pump, changing stuff, off road buggy, slings etc) so it constantly feels like a losing battle trying to keep everything in order.

Mines a tip. Boot smells of a swamp right now after the kids went rugby this morning, came home, I went to the gym, OH turned the kids around as when I got back we were going out for a meal for the MILs birthday. Got back late, now bath and bedtime routine. There’s no way I’m clearing it out tonight, it’s a tomorrow me problem. Out of sight, out of mind mentality when it comes to the car.

Glad it’s not just me. I also have to carry my
Youngest is which limits what else I can hold!

Yep. It's a bin on wheels. It's rained since November and my dog needs three walks a day so I've given up.

My car is a mess because I often have my dogs in it. There are spare bowls, bags of stuff, and dog blankets, as well as my things.

It’s my car though, so I don’t really care, and when I do- I clean it.

No. Our children are grown up but even when they were little it wasn’t a pigsty.

I refer to my car as a shit tip. I transport dog and grandchildren daily. Lots of marks on it because it is very old . Very occasionally I pay for it to be cleaned inside ! I genuinely don’t really care because it is safe and reliable.🤷‍♀️

I don’t want to talk about it
my friend got in my car, looked around and went “but.. but… your home is immaculate?!”

Me too. Plus muddy horse gear - rugs, grooming kit, wellies, riding boots, headcollars, multiple coats gloves, riding hat etc. It's appalling but no point sorting it out until the weather improves. There's mud everywhere.

Yeah my kids are 5 and 2 and my car is a bin.

Dogs and horses. Enough said 😂

Yep - I’m a dog walker and also work with horses 🫣

Every time I leave my car, including when I get to work, I have a quick look round and take any actual rubbish out. It doesn't stop the mud and grot but it does make the eventual clean a little less overwhelming.

Mine's disgusting and I don't even have young kids. I muck it out about once a year, it's bad enough cleaning the house, I'm not wasting time on the car.

No. I don’t leave anything in it apart from the shopping bags in the boot and an umbrella.
It does get muddy from football but I clean it out every week.
Most of my friend’s cars are full of crap though.

Mine is! Fortunately, the only frequent passengers in my car are my dogs... who work on farms. It's not unheard of for me to find calf nuts (food) in the back of it, or to have the occasional escaped lamb in the footwell, on top of the usual things like carrier bags, tyre inflator and a spare pair of wellies and waterproofs.

My kids are not allowed to eat in the car unless we are driving long distance. They also dont get toys in the car. Coats, school bags etc come in and out of the car. Other than muddy feet its fine.

At the moment it is, yes. I have two dogs who go for muddy runs. My car was new in October - and it pains me 😅

I have a fitted cover on the back seat, and I need to drag that out and get it washed / dried. I then need to hoover and wipe the mud from the doors as I have one dog who climbs the door a bit when we get home.

The boot isn't dirty, but it is full as I am carting around bags for the charity clothing bin ... which is perpetually full. The front of the car is clear though.

Mine is dreadful. I used to blame the fact I had small children in it, but they're older teens/young adults now and it's still as bad.

In my defence, I'm a community carer, so I've got a lot of 'stuff' to carry around with me, and I eat my packed breakfast/lunch/tea in the car too.

I often think I should clean it out but, if I'm honest, I've got enough going on and I can't be arsed.