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?!?

Mine is disgusting and I’m pretty much the only person who ever goes in it. My roof is leaking and desperately needs re-waterproofing but it’s too wet out to do it. Everything that was in the tiny boot is now stuffed behind the seats so they don’t get too wet. The dehumidifier box thing I bought tipped over so the passenger mat is sticky and horrid. My reusable shopping bags have gone a bit mouldy in the damp.,

I have all the stuff I need to make it look nice again but it won’t stop bloody raining long enough for me to actually do the work.

I have a rule that anything kids take in the car, they take out again at the end of the journey. If they have rubbish in the back that comes out too. The car itself gets a clean/wipe down inside once a month or so and it just about keeps on top of it.
if they eat and spill/crumbs etc I do prioritise cleaning that straight away.

although you get home at bed time it sounds like it’s worth prioritising 5mins to empty/sort the car a few times a week or once a week even.

Lol not just you

Ive had my car 8 years and I dont think Ive cleaned it once in that time. I have tidied it out occasionally but I dont think its been hoovered or wiped.

Not sure how often the outside has been done, maybe once or twice.

I have 3 kids under 6. My car is messy, okay or tidy ish. Messy for me is coats and book bags, toys, hats, gloves.

I take all the food rubbish out every day eg orange peels and crisp packets. My aim is okay. It’s never spotless but it’s not hideous

I don't have kids and mine is a tip. I'm the only person who ever goes in it though - it gets cleaned out if I'm going to be having anyone else in it! It's not the end of the world.

Yes, mine's a mess. I have the dog in the boot so took out the parcel shelf and can't use the boot space. Everything that used to be packed tidily into a boot holder (beach bits, extra coat, jumper, window washing/de-icer/first aid kit, blanket etc all now has to go on the back seat if I take people somewhere they get shoved under seats in a mess. I also always have muddy boots, with my daily car use being dog walking. I have mud mats and the boot is well covered, but there is a lot of dried mud in the front and boot. So I blame dog ownership. I realise many people have multiple shoes in their car and I even saw a lady with a washing up bowl rinsing her boots after a walk at the nature reserve yesterday, so I clearly just don't care as much as some.

No, I'm very anal about my car 😬

I get it washed every couple of weeks and hoover it on the same day although there's often very little to hoover up as there's only me who will have been in it!

There's nothing in the boot and very little in the glove compartment except the car manual, power bank, cable and tub of chewing gum. Thinking back, it was like this when the kids were little too, we just took everything out of the car when we arrived home.

Yes, our car is horrendous. Mainly because I let the kids eat snacks in it. I know I shouldn’t but if it’s the choice between a 20 minute car journey with 3 young children fighting and screaming or a relatively calm one with snacks, I’m going to choose snacks.

I’ve accepted this is just how it’s going to be while the kids are little. My best friend showed me hers last week to make me feel better and it was the same. I think it’s normal.

I’ve recently started getting it valeted at a local shopping centre while I take the youngest to soft play. Once every few months and it makes such a difference. It’s a huge help. Is that something you could budget for, even just once or twice a year?

Mine has become a shit tip on wheels. It needs a vacuum and a good dettol wipe all over. It’s just not a priority. My focus is on the house.

With a 7 year old child, a baby and dog I’m not managing my time well enough to keep on top of it. I feel like I’m always running from one place to another. In fact, keeping on top of anything feels like a struggle. I don’t know how other people do it. I try really hard but there’s always something that needs doing, or one chore that has been neglected. I feel like I’m misunderstanding something key to being on top of modern life and everyone else is just doing better than I am!

My car is disgusting. There is really no excuse for it than pure laziness.

I won't lie, I'm totally blind to it 95% of the time because I've been driving for 11 years and it's never not been like this.

I wish I could be that person who takes packets/empty bottles out every time I leave the car, but I am not.

I no longer drive, at 81, but when I did my car was a mess and the DSs called it ‘Mum’s Wheelie Bin’.

I got a bin for the car which attaches to the back of the arm rest, also have a boot organiser for stuff I keep in there, gloves, deicer, scraper, tissues, wet wipes. We've also got a boot with a false floor so blanket, triangle, high Vis, breathalyser etc lives in there (we drive in Europe most years). Costs and bags go in the boot and get taken out when we get home. It gets cleaned inside and out about once a month/6 weeks so it's not spotless but I can't stand it being full of junk.