A car, to an extent, is a moving house. It is not just a means of transport; you can take your meals, sleep, read newspapers, charge your phone, or do other sorts of things in your car. But after, do you know how to reduce litter in your car? let’s find out
Furthermore, your car can accumulate waste faster than you remove them. It happens so subtly that by the time you notice, your car has become moving garbage. You should care for your car’s interior as much as you may want to care for the environment.
As we will find out, prevention is the best way to minimize the waste or litter in your car.
What Is Car Trash Or Car Littering?
For this article, let’s say car litter is simply anything that should not be in the car. Anything, even a pen, can become litter if it’s in the wrong place.
Why is trash bad, especially for the car?
We often say that you use more fuel when you overload the car than when you don’t. That’s why a good driver should always ensure the car carries exactly what is necessary at any given time.
Moving around with trash in the car can significantly contribute to the load weight.
So, how do you reduce the waste in your car?
1. Have a Waste Bin
Without a waste bin, you or your passengers will throw the water bottles, sweets wrappers, sugarcane peelings, etc., on the car floor or the dashboard.
Another alternative if you don’t have a wastebasket is to open the car window and throw the litter out. You must not resort to this last alternative if you are a responsible driver who also loves the environment. Instead of throwing plastics through the windows, you can always take them and dump them at an everyday dust bin when you stop at a gas station.
Anyway, the first step to deal with car waste is to have a bin. This will put you in control of the waste at any given time.
You can buy a wastebasket for your car or create one if you are creative enough and can apply some DIY tips.
2. Get a Backseat Organizer
Kids like to throw things around as part of playing. The backseat becomes a playing ground where things are thrown.
But it’s not just kids who dump things on the backseat: you and other adults no doubt temporarily place newspapers, bottled water, and other items on the backseat. This is alright until the backseat starts to look like a dumpsite, littered with documents, books, wipes, toys, etc.
You can invest in a backseat organizer to hold all the items you, the passengers, or kids usually put on the backseat. You can then decide what is worth keeping and discard anything else.
Also, a backseat organizer will help you to keep your car tidy and clean.
3. Inspect the Trunk Regularly
The trunk is the primary storage, but it can end up being a dumpsite, carrying things you think you need but which are unnecessary.
Things you are likely to find in an average car trunk include soccer balls, hockey sticks, gumboots, and emergency tools.
You need not clutter your trunk with the things you are unlikely to use for each particular trip. Again, instead of throwing emergency tools here and there in the trunk, you should invest in a toolbox.
You can then fill the toolbox with the items you will always need (flashlight, water bottles, jumper cables, screwdrivers). Remove the rest.
Over time, inspect the trunk to check its state. You may find you added things there that are anything but necessary.
4. Clean The Dashboard Often
Documents like proof of insurance, car maintenance log, emergency contact information, pen, notebooks, etc., are usually somewhere on the dashboard where you can get them as fast as possible.
But the dashboard can also be the hideout for other items that should not be there: phone charger, matches box, matchstick, bottle caps, chewing gum, makeup stuff, handkerchief, sunglasses, etc.
By cleaning the dashboard more often, you get the opportunity to remove the things you don’t need. Some of these things may be useful, but they are trash when on the dashboard.
5. Have a Cup Holder for Loose Change
Money (yes, money) is another litter that can make your car look untidy and disorganized. It’s not uncommon to find coins on the car floor, dashboard, or seats.
You are always going to pick them up, but that will only happen after a critical passenger points your attention to them.
You should get a cup holder where you put all the loose change you get after buying this or that along the way. This way, you can easily account for everything if need be or access them quickly should you want to buy something small.
How Do I Remove The Odor In The Car?
Driving a car should be fun, but an awful smell emitting from who-knows-where can ruin the journey. Your kids or the passengers may have thrown some snacks or fruit leftovers on the floor days ago.
Something is rotting somewhere. Under the seats? Okay, you can search for it later; right now, you want to breathe fresh air until you come to the end of the journey. A pleasant odor can be a distraction.
You should try the baking powder. We readily mention it because it’s one household item you can always readily get. There is no town worth its name that you will stop in and fail to get baking powder in one of the roadside shops.
Better still, always have some baking powder in the car as part of emergency items.
Some drivers prefer to use air fresheners, but these only mask the odor. Baking powder can actually eliminate the odor in the car, though you should still take the time to remove the source.
Wrapping it up
It is nice to drive in a clean, tidy, and fresh-smelling car. A disorganized car says more about you than about the car.
If you are a taxi driver, the number of your regular clients can be tied to how organized your car is. Therefore, keep learning more about car care tips.
Would you want to learn to drive? Consider Pierre Paul Driving School in Brooklyn, New York.