When life keeps you busy and there’s hardly any time to keep your car clean and organized, you might feel stressed and anxious about getting behind the wheel. Your eyes probably stray to the dust on the dashboard or itch to throw away the discarded tissues and wrappers scattered across the back seat. As much as you want to drop everything and put your car in order, finding the right solution to achieve a calm and clean car interior first can make it easier to maintain in the future. 

The guide below includes seven different ways you can enhance your vehicle’s interior with relaxing elements that elevate its cleanliness. Working from a clean slate makes it easier to add positive and uplifting items that support your mental well-being. When it comes to infusing your car with calming scents, rely on Drift luxury car fresheners to elevate your experience behind the wheel, every time you turn the key. 

Why is a Calm and Clean Car Interior So Important?

On a basic level, a cleaner car interior is easier to maintain and more hygienic than one full of dust, crumbs, and foul odors. For example, when you get a new car, it’s much simpler to wipe away dirt and clean up messes as they happen to retain that new car feeling. There’s also the mental load associated with wading through fast-food wrappers, scrubbing off sticky messes, and breathing in weeks-old dust every time you turn the climate control fans on. 

In contrast, a clean and calm interior can have a profoundly positive impact on your mental well-being, promoting mental clarity, improving focus, and fostering a sense of peace and order. You can also infuse your lifestyle with elements of cleanliness and minimalism to achieve a greater balance between the ambiance in your vehicle and that of your home. When both living spaces are clean, you can focus on what’s most important. 

7 Ways to Create a Clean, Calm Car Interior 

Low-profile and hidden storage products may offer the shortest path to a cleaner interior, but achieving a calming atmosphere requires more than just basic organizational tools. It also takes discipline to keep your car clean and ensure the calming elements continue to set the mood as you cruise around town. Below are seven ways you can create a clean and calm car interior, regardless of the vehicle you drive. 

1. Use Texture and Color to Create Ambiance

Certain textures and colors can help set the mood in your car’s interior, creating a soothing ambiance that promotes relaxation and calmness. Soft leather, suede-like materials, and matte linen accents represent comfort you can feel. Muted blues and greens, along with light neutrals, help create visual continuity and a sense of spaciousness.

2. Choose a Naturally Infused Car Freshener

It’s a common misconception that creating a clean space requires removing a significant amount, but in many cases, it’s more about adding items intentionally. For instance, introducing a Drift signature car freshener to your car’s interior can help elevate the space and enhance your drive. Choose from Wood, Stone, and Metal car fresheners sustainably sourced from alder wood, organic stone, and alloy metal, respectively. 

These luxury car fresheners are also infused with essential and fragrance oil blends free from phthalates, parabens, formaldehyde, and other harsh chemicals. Safe for use around pets and children, Drift car fresheners are cruelty-free, vegan, and GMO-free. If you’re looking for a natural way to infuse the fragrance of cleanliness into your vehicle, a Drift car freshener offers a stylish and natural solution. 

3. A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place

Organizing your car in a similar way to your desk, kitchen utensils drawer, or closet can help ensure you know where everything is and that every object you need or want in the car has a designated place. For example, you might put tissues and hand sanitizer in the center console, but leave an extra flashlight and paper maps in the glove box. When you’re in a hurry and need to reach something fast, muscle memory will direct you to where you’ve placed it. 

4. Rotate Out Seasonal Items

Keeping a clean car doesn’t have to mean reducing the items you keep in it to only the bare minimum. Storing the essentials based on the season helps ensure you’re as prepared for unexpected situations as possible. An extra pair of gloves and an ice scraper ensure you’re ready for winter, while sunshades and a few extra bottles of water keep you cool and hydrated during the summer. 

5. Invest in a Compact Trash Bin

Remember the point above about having a place for everything and everything in its place? A compact trash bin helps corral all your garbage in one spot so you can easily remove it once it’s full. You won’t have to go picking out gum from your carpets or melted chocolate from the floor mats again with a compact trash bin at hand. 

6. Learn the Art of Collapsible Bins

Automotive manufacturers find ways to incorporate storage spaces into the vehicles they produce, but sometimes you need a few extra portable storage options to stash your personal items. In times like these, collapsible bins are invaluable for holding your emergency supply kit, groceries, and anything else you might need. When you don’t need them, they fold up and store easily. 

7. Add One Calming Object

Even the cleanest and calmest car interior can feel empty without something to liven up the space. Introducing a calming object can help you center your energy and attach positive thoughts to a tangible thing. Examples of a calming object include a decorative visor clip, a dashboard bobblehead, or an interactive air vent clip. 

Scents That Reflect the Calm You’ve Created

After establishing a calm and clean car interior, it’s time to choose a signature scent. This fragrance will infuse your car with fresh scent notes to help establish a soothing ambiance. Here are a few of Drift’s most popular car freshener scents: 

• Amber: Eucalyptus, golden amber, vanilla, French lavender

• Cabana: Bergamot, coconut, cedarwood, sea salt

• Grove: Juicy citrus, vanilla sugar, mountain greens, blond wood

• Open Air: Fresh air, crisp linen, morning dew, white wood 

• Pine: Mountain pine, moss, cedarwood, musk

• Teak: Cedar atlas, amber, teakwood, oakmoss

Unsure which scent best suits your personality? Take our Scent Quiz for expert recommendations on scents you might like based on your answers. It’s the quickest way to a freshly scented car that’s clean and calm. 

How Organization and Minimalism Create a Calming Atmosphere

You don’t have to have every element of your life pre-planned out to recognize the value of a little organization. When items are where you expect them, you can rest assured that you’ll have what you need when you need it, without having to dig through piles of greasy take-out bags and gym clothes that you swear you threw in the laundry a week ago. Add minimalism to the mix, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a spacious, inviting car interior that makes any trip feel like a stroll through the park. 

So, what does this combination of minimalism and organization look like in action? Instead of piling everything you might need into your vehicle, you’ve prioritized the essentials. Every item in your car has a place and a purpose, whether it’s a phone charger that tops up your battery on your commute or the emergency bag you hope you don’t have to rely on if you get stranded. 

Creating a calming atmosphere with organization and a minimalist approach starts with feeling comfortable behind the wheel. Having fewer items in your car and more space to breathe can help reduce anxiety and foster confidence as you go about your day. It’s as if your list of to-do items shrunk to simply existing as you go about your day. 

Fragrance: The Invisible Detail That Transforms Your Drive

The beauty of sophisticated car fresheners is that you can infuse your vehicle with different scents that all enhance its cleanliness and calmness. With Drift luxury car fresheners, it’s easy to swap out scents and find the one that best suits your personality. Join the Scent of the Month Club to explore even more expertly curated scents, courtesy of the experts at Drift.