How to Clean your Car {naturally}

Friday, August 24, 2012
Happy weekend!!  What plans do you have?  Cleaning your car??

Today, we have a guest blogger that might motivate you to do just that!



Nicole has been married to her amazing husband, Eric, for almost six years. She has two teenage step-children and two preschoolers, so her house is never dull! Nicole is a work from home mom that loves to share her passion for organizing, cleaning, and making families healthier. Her blog, A New Normal, is a mixture of family, organizing, cleaning and general posts of the craziness that is her new normal!  







Hi there! I am Nicole from A New Normal and I am a proud driver of a killer mini-van. We have enough room for everyone in the family with tons of storage space as well. With a four year old and a three year old constantly in tow, the car can get pretty messy. Every so often, we deep the killer mini-van. Usually, this process starts with a good wash- of course we use Basic H! But, we have been having a killer monsoon season this year and it makes no sense to wash it, just to have it pour an hour later, ya know what I mean? So instead, we went straight for the inside! First thing we did was empty the whole entire car. We can accumulate some serious crap-o-la! I was shocked! After the van was empty, I busted out the good old degreaser that I made from Basic H . Here are some awesome before and after pictures that are seriously embarrassing:


This is our center console....that is just nasty. And the worst part about that is, I can't even blame the kiddos for that! They don't sit up there- that's all me.
Gross.

Looks so much better....the stuff that's left- stains. Yep- I can stain plastic. I've got skills.


So apparently, I not only make a mess in the cup holders, but my arms are nasty dirty too and leave marks. This picture makes me shower- big time.


Better:)


Again, this is the front seat. What in the heck? I just spill and let it run down the side? And you know what, I remember when one of these spills occurred, we were at Sonic and I ordered a root beer float. I, being the brilliant person I am, set it down on the console, not in the cup holder, and Eric hit it with his elbow. It was like slow motion- we watched it as it glubbed, glubbed, glubbed, down the side of the seat. Wow, do you feel better knowing that story?


Yay! Clean and no sign of the Root Beer Float incident


There is it! My trusty degreaser. Want some of your own? 


Delaney was using the Basic H wipes to clean the back of the car. I love that the Shaklee products are safe for the kids to help out!


Now she is cleaning the windows (made with Basic H- 16 oz of water and TWO drops of Basic H).

I love when the van is vacuumed, so after I am all finished scrubbing it down, I vacuum and then I just sit in it and love on it and pretend like it will stay that way forever. 



Back to reality.....


I am an organizing freak. I love to be prepared (sometimes I am so over prepared, that I make myself laugh) so when it came to the killer mini van, I loaded that bad up with everything I could think of. Call me a nerd- I am okay with that. 


Here is the inside of our center console:


Kinda hard to see, but the storm was rolling in....on the left, there are our Entertainment books, Basic H wipes, and my little make up bag that has spare make-up and lady products in it. On the right, in the fancy green  basket, there are Boogie Wipes, scissors, straws, gum, hand sanitizer, business cards, and pens.


(pre-vacuumed)

This is the definitely the chocolate to my milk. I love these storage bins....I can pack a ton in there!
Don't believe me? 

Proof:


You never know when you may find the perfect spot for a picnic. Or maybe a impromptu road trip (yeah, like I could handle that;) that leads you to a lovely park....we would be ready.
I love my picnic basket-it has everything I need to make a picnic wonderful:


Again, bad picture, sorry- in the garage.


See!? There's a tablecloth, plates, baskets, napkins, plastic utensils, salt and pepper-everything!


This is the other side of the storage bin. Everything we need:) 

In the trunk (I guess it's called a trunk, maybe we just call it the back)....I have some hanging organizers I got from the dollar store. I also have a organizing bin that I put groceries in and that's where I keep my cooler bags (inside of those, I keep my reusable grocery bags too)



Left to right, top to bottom:

Extra cups, sunscreen, plastic utensils and 2 spare toothbrushes, a lint roller, and ponchos. Yes, ponchos, because you just never know.


Band aids, hair bands, brush, the empty space is supposed to have baby wipes in it, a first aid kit,spare pull-ups, spare chonies:)

I used to have an umbrella, but Brody got to it....enough said. 


Btw...in case you were wondering what that strange thing is in the corner.....it's a stain from a small amount of Lysol toilet bowl cleaner that spilled when we moved. 

Can you say scary?? 

So happy that I have switched to the non-toxic Get Clean line!!

So there ya go! That's my car! 

Thanks so much Bonnie for letting me guest post on your AMAZING blog! 

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Thanks so much Nicole! :)  I am off to clean my van out.  I needs it! 

Have a great weekend!

Bonnie :)