Tips for a Clean Backseat
Backseat trash is my never ending nemesis in the car.
My kids eat in the car. They draw in the car. They open things in the car. They create trash in the car. We clean out the car weekly, and the girls are supposed to carry out all their trash daily, but there’s still a mess more often than I’m ok with.
What frustrates me most is that the solutions that work so well for adults in the front seat just don’t seem to transfer well to my kids. They’re too small, they tip over, they get crushed by backpacks and dance bags.
What worked for us was actually a solution we stumbled on – plastic storage bins with lids!
We’d had a small storage container in the car to transport some things to school, and the container was carried out by one of my kids and ended up in the backseat. When my kids went to empty the backseat later, my older daughter piled all the wrappers and papers inside and put the lid on to carry it to the garbage can and I thought that this could be the solution we were looking for!
- It’s low and flat, which makes it stable and easy to fit in the middle of a bench seat or between two captain’s chairs. It’s sturdy and won’t be crushed under bags or gear.
- It has a large enough opening for what the kids are throwing away, but is able to fit a trash bag stretched over the edges.
- It has a lid that the girls can easily open and close, and if they close it between use, the chance for spilling is almost non-existent.
Nothing is perfect, but so far, so good!