Photo by Julie B

Aloha Maui! If you have trouble keeping your car clean, then you’re probably like most people; you’ve got things on your mind, you’re busy (all the time), and your car’s cleanliness is what suffers. After all, it is much faster to quickly throw a wrapper into the passenger seat than to tidy up. In this case, the trick is to get ahead of yourself to keep things clean. Here’s a few easy tips that will help you keep your car looking presentable and organized.

Photo by Julie B

Control the Garbage

Keep a bag in the car. If you know you’ll throw wrappers and empty soda cups into the passenger seat floor, and neglect to throw them away, give yourself an out by keeping a designated trash bag close by, and throw your trash in there. Save your paper bags from your grocery store visits and keep one on the passenger seat floor. Next time you’re at the gas station you can just throw the whole thing away and start over.

After you’ve handled the trash, it’s time to clean up all the crumbs, bits of sand, and dirt. You can kill two birds with one stone by visiting a car wash equipped with vacuums. If you find yourself in Kahului, come visit us at Maui Express Car Wash! Vacuum use is free with every car wash.

Photo by Julie B

The Windshield

A dusty windshield with nothing to wash it off is an unsightly hazard. Circumvent this by keeping an extra bottle of windshield washer fluid in the trunk. If you know you’ll keep putting off visiting the store to pick one up, keep one step ahead of yourself, and always have a spare on hand. Washer fluid is cheap, so don’t worry about the cost. Your busy past-self will thank you for sparing them an extra trip inside the closest gas station to buy more.

Photo by Julie B

Beat the Dust and Grime

Next time you’re at your nearest auto parts store, take five minutes to put together a bucket of cleaning supplies for your car’s interior, so you’ll always have them on hand. Throw in some multi-purpose wipes, a microfiber duster, a travel-size bottle of hand sanitizer, a roll of paper towels, and an ashtray if you need it (there are special odor-reducing ones that fit right into your cup holder).

Photo by Julie B

Tackle the Trunk

You might know where everything is in the pile of things in your trunk, but to avoid embarrassing situations and to make room for your groceries, pick up a bin or two to keep everything sorted out. Get some plastic bins cheaply at a hardware or home supply store, a secondhand shop, or grab some cardboard boxes (anything is better than nothing!). Organize by types of items. I usually separate by repair items, and being on Maui, beach supplies. Your trunk will be much more manageable this way.

Photo by Julie B

Don’t Forget the Exterior

If you can never seem to get around to making a trip to the car wash, find one that’s attached to a gas station, so you can get it all done in one trip. The nearby option of an express wash will make it all the easier. Plenty of car washes will also give you free wipes and an air freshener for your purchase. Mahalo for reading, I hope this short guide helped you have a nice clean car that you can be proud of! Aloha, a hui hou!