Muddy Farm Life, Kids and Cars

[kmini]

My car is always in a state.

Outside - becuase we live on a very muddy farm in the middle of nowhere - so it's always covered in mud. I can always manage this with fortnightly washes but if anyone has other strategies please do tell.

Inside is another story. Ds 5, Dd 2, do not help. We live a fair way from school and just about everything- so I do keep them entertained with snacks. This contributes to the mess. Further to this, the aforementioned mud seems to always end up in the car. Like everywhere.

I am hoping to get a new car sometime this year and I dont want the same fiflth perpetuated.

Can anyone give me some strategies for dealing with kid mess and mud. Anything really. Best car hovers, things to stop mud. Really any ideas will help!

Labrador for the crumbs, and hose the children down regularly

I don’t have kids but I have a horse. I never wear my riding/yard boots in the car. I always change my shoes before I leave the yard

We have a hard standing area for the cars. If we’re going out somewhere we go along the path which hosed down every second day except in icy weather. We have 2 ‘working’ jeeps that we don’t mind getting dirty but the cars are kept clean, we also use husky liner mats which are easy to remove for washing.

We have covers for the backs of the front seats and wash them and the floor mats regularly. When we are all truly hideously muddy, we kick as much off the boots on the tyres/scrape off with sticks, then take wellies off sitting on the edge of the boot and then kids climb in their socks over the back seats into their car seats, adults change into normal shoes which live in the boot. We have a boot liner so that doesn't get too muddy either.

And finally - we get the car valeted every once in a while so it doesn't ever get to a really hideous state.

@IWishItWasSummer - huskyliners is exactly the type of product I was thinking about!

Do you have to get a new car?!

My twins are 10, just replaced my car this year. You’re going to have a few more years where your kids just make a massive mess I’m afraid especially if they need to eat in the car.

Limit the types of snacks? I’m no help- our car is usually disgusting!

@kmini they’re really good as they have quite deep sides and are easily washed. I got ours from Amazon but eBay also do them for loads of different cars.

I constantly marvel at cars at school that arent dripping with food. Anyone found a brilliant car Hoover?

Why do they need to eat in the car?

Just buy an extension lead and use your house hoover. Keep a pack of car wipes in the car plus old plastic bags.

Ours change out of muddy wellies and riding boots before getting in the car. They go int back in a plastic box.

In the boot i mean

Also on the snack front do you have to keep them entertained with snacks? Audio books, looking at picture books even if they can't read independently yet, Cbeebies Radio, singing along with your favourite bands? Give each of them a laptop tray and a notebook and a biro on a string? Or change the kinds of snacks to ones that don't make crumbs?

Get trays that fit over their laps and strap around the car seats. It helps minimise the food mess. Get a little soft bun for in between them and get them to chuck rubbish in it.

Thanks @Pipstelle good suggestion.

@Trewser and @Xiaoxiong - kids eat in the car because we live 35 mins from school/nursery and most of our friends are at least 30 minutes drive away. So they will often have a snack in the car. Good suggestion on audiobooks!

Sorry - but noone needs a snack for a 30 min car drive, but if it makes your life easier than go for it

Kids don’t need to eat in the car. They can just sit in the car and chat to you!! What’s going to happen?!

DS used to be a hangry mess sometimes coming out of Primary School. Drink and snack solved the issue quickly in the car on the way home.

We have a teenager and dog now and my car is constantly a mess. DH is usually highly impressed by how much mud I can get on the car in a week

DS’s secondary school is very rural and I have to pick him up from there sometimes, and that usually involves a meal in the car as we are on the way to activities which usually involve him not getting home until about 10pm (although he does ask for dinner then too!)

My job also involves me travelling between rural towns and villages. And I too probably add to the crumb issue as sometimes eat my lunch in the car between visits.

I’ve just got used to the mess, so not much use to you OP.

Thank you @ineedaholidaynow. Everything you write sounds very much like me!