These are very useful tips for stress free driving. I normally don’t refuel with Ampol because there is no service nearby but all the discounts they offer are always welcome

Great tips. I agree about keeping on top of interior mess. It’s always more stressful when having mess….but it’s also hard to keep a car clean with kids haha

Thank you for all the great tips. It makes sense if you are spending so much time in your car and relying on it to carry your kids to many different weekly activities, that you would try to keep the car running smoothly, use the most economical fuel and have it serviced regularly.

Ampol is my go to too!

What about suggesting that the grandparents come to their place so that they can watch the children open the presents etc? I don’t think you are being at all selfish and I think that it is the way to go, but this is an alternative.

I like stress free driving and have always managed to do just that. As far as keeping the car clean, we always had bags hanging from the seats and everyone put their rubbish into the bags as they needed to dispose of it. It was so much easier at the end of the drive to just empty out the bags and put empty ones or clean ones depending on what had been stored in them back into their spots. No stress and everyone liked their clean positions.

Well she doesn’t look too stressed but everyone is different I suppose, we keep the car clean because I do it , it is easier to do it yourself and then keep it clean. I have a bin to drop things I don’t need so it keeps okay so no stress.

Sounds like Jessica is a very organised and a very busy mum. Having routines with clearing things out of the car each time you get home, is a great practice and a good habit for the kids too, so they don’t rely on mum to pick up all their rubbish and belongings.

#mumlife, I feel i live in the car and filling up too! I’m all about a clean car inside and out to ensure i’m in a calm environment. Having a messy car stresses me out.

That’s a great list! I really need to get on to teaching my kids to remove all of their clutter at the end of each day. I end up with all sorts of stuff in their footwells. My car always seems to look messy and it’s not me that’s leaving the mess!

Stress free you have got to be kidding Car a hundred thousand dollars plus . House right next to the beach. Large House with double garage .What stress does she have you have to be joking or are we all living the way she is. I like the most of us don’t have what she has and I find it easy to be clean. What an insult to the majority of us.

We always keep on top of cleaning the car and maintenance of the car. The car does indeed get a lot of use during the week and it is essential to ensure it is well maintained and cared for every weekend. We clean and maintain it every weekend which is good for the budget and for safety reasons.

This is probably sensible advice but I just don’t care very much about my car. As long as it’ll get me where I need to go safely, I don’t care.

I have only 1 child but am always taking other kids places in my car. The struggle of keeping the car clean is really real. I recently purchased a bigger car that is more of a family style car rather than my old hatch back and although it has more room it also has more room for mess!!!. I have actually started trying to keep it clean and clearing it out every day or every second day otherwise it just builds up and never gets sorted. I don’t use premium fuel a lot but do try and use it when the cost of fuel is a bit lower as it is out of my weekly budget to use all the time but definitely worth doing every now and then.

I have 4 kids and the struggle is real when trying to keep the car clean. Especially after beach trips! There are some good tips in this article and cleaning the car out after each use is definitely one of them. So much easier to stay on top of things rather than drown in the mess.

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  • • Ellen replied
    • 07 Nov 2024 , 5:34 pm

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  Oh yes, the mess in the car after a day at the beach is a whole different story and a mess of a whoile different level The sand in the car can be hard to remove and lol the sand in the house, in the shower and in the washing machine upon returning home may take some days to disappear

Too many people just hop in and drive and expect the car to take care of itself. Keeping it in good nick is vital to getting more years out of it and getting about safely. Quality of petrol & petrol stations can vary so it is always worth considering wwhere you shop. .

Thanks for sharing your tips. Our cars are very important in our lives indeed toi get us and our belkloved kids where we want and need to be. A well looked after and trust worthy car is certainly important. I haven’t heard of these Amplify Premium fuels nor did I see them around locally.

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  • • Ellen replied
    • 07 Nov 2024 , 8:53 am

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  It’s interested to think that when i lived in the Netherlands (till I was thirty eight years old) I literally did everything on the bike. You could still see parents biking with up to three children in bike seats to go to the places they want and need to be. On average I biked two or three hours a day. In fact I only got my driving license when I was 41

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    • • mom93821 replied
      • 12 Nov 2024 , 6:12 am

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    Bikes are so incredibly good for the environment and so good for physical fitness too. We do love to use our bikes and the big bonus is there is limited cleaning needed when using a bike. A bike still needs some cleaning and of course maintenance but is a good alternative for local trips.

Clearing out the clutter is a good one, we just did ours yesterday!

Good tips, I think a clean car is important.

Ah keeping the car clean is always a constant struggle for us!