Your Car Is A Disaster: What To Do About It

So you have accepted it is time to clean out your car. Or maybe you are preparing for when the inevitable happens. Being a student athlete means I rarely have time to deep clean anything, let alone my car. But I need my vehicle to be clean because I am driving to practice, class, and giving teammates rides here and there. There is nothing more embarrassing than telling someone "one minute, let me toss out this 3 week old ice latte from your seat". . .

This is how I keep my car mostly clean, especially during busy times like being in-season for my sport!

I am very strict on my trash rule. Like I said, I'm a busy bean, so the occasional take-out actually is pretty often. This is my greatest challenge. To keep my take-out trash outside of my car. So, I HAVE to be strict and disciplined to take it with me when I get out of my car.

Let's be real though, we don't always want to walk into a lecture building with a McDonald's bag, so occasionally it will find a home on the floor of my passenger seat. What I have done to at least keep all the garbage in one neat space is to have a car-specific trash bin. They will usually pin nice and neatly either behind your seat or center console! Every time I get gas, I make sure to empty my car-bin while I am waiting for my tank to fill up.

Another tip I have been practicing for years is to keep a small cleaning supplies bin in my trunk. You don't need all the fancy stuff like polish or conditioners, but do keep some paper towels, microfiber towels ,and multi-purpose cleaner. I swear they have saved me from having to scrub and shampoo my seats several times. One product that has recently made a permanent rotation in my car cleaning supplies bin is the TUFF STUFF interior deep cleaner. I have seen it literally disintegrate stains in seconds without any scrubbing. Amazing stuff.

When it comes to choosing an air freshener, I highly advise against buying the usual stuff you find at the store. A study conducted at the University of Washington concluded that they have negative affects on our respiratory system and brain health! If you want something to perfume your car, buy a loose-leaf tea infuser and fill it with fillers like dried lavender, or you can fill it with an essential oil infused cotton ball(only the kind on that link will work for this). Hang it from your rear view mirror, and now you have a healthy alternative to chemical-filled air fresheners, which if we are really honest, never smell that good to begin with. My favorite combinations are orange + lemon, and Eucalyptus +peppermint if I am a little stressed.

Now, general car maintenance. I have had my fair share of cars break down and die on me. There are ways to avoid that however. It might seem entirely overwhelming and impossible for us to be able to work on our cars, but you MUST study and understand at least the basic mechanics of your vehicle. I once had a mechanic want to charge me $800 to change my spark plugs and wires... The parts alone cost about $60 and the only tool I needed was a flat head screw driver... Now, I am not a licensed mechanic, but I will swear my life on the youtube account Chris Fix. I have saved literally thousands of dollars just by typing the symptoms of what is going wrong in my car and that youtube account had every solution with clear step-by-step instructions. This is assuming your car is broken, but doing regular maintenance like oil and transmission oil changes will ensure your car will last as long as it needs to. Here are the easy maintenance checks I do myself on my car and that you are completely capable of doing too:

• oil and oil filter change every 3000 miles (I opt for full synthetic. It is more expensive but will make your car last a lot longer)

• fuel filter change every 20,000-30,000 miles (will save the life of your entire fuel system and save you a lot of $$ and headache from the future)

• clean and coat battery terminals with battery cleaner protectant

• Check and fill tires with appropriate PSI air pressure

• check oil level with a paper towel (will let you know if your car is leaking or consuming oil. Dark and dirty oil will indicate a need for an oil change as well).

I hope you are able to take at least a few tips from this blog post! If you like what you read please like and share this pin! It helps me grow the platform and help more people like you!

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