Bissel sells portable hydrosteam vacuum models that handle upholstery and carpeting very well. Good for pets and spills around the house too.

I tidy up my car every time I get gas. While the gas is pumping I collect all of the trash I can find and throw it out. I also collect anything that needs to be taken into the house and put it all in a bag so it is easy to grab when I get home. If you have a van I will highly recommend getting a small whisk broom. They sell them without a handle it is just the bristles. I keep that under the front passenger seat. In less than 5 minuets I was able to sweep 90% of the crumbs off of the seats and the floor and brush them right out. I did that maybe every other week. When our older kids were in sports I would do that while waiting for them at a practice just to try and take advantage of my time waiting for them.

A much better option (and far easier to kept clean) is a cargo ebike with kids seats.

When kids drop crumbs while eating, they just land on the ground. Nothing to clean up. Nature will handle it with birds or squirrels. A cargo ebike is a much better alternative than a minivan.

Drove my spouse crazy, but 99% of the time I was driving the minivan, and I didn't care. I would clean it if I knew I would be driving others, but just me and the kids? Let the mess be messy!

So those of us with small children who eat often in the car, leave crumbs, pencils loose paper, how often do you clean your car? Tidy up vs hand vac vs shop vac? Do you take it to be washed at a service center often?

We basically hand hav (plugs into car power) the car every 3 weeks but it gets old and needs a deep clean but I worry about blowing $100 bucks and they make a mess again in a week!