Getting ready for the upcoming holiday travel season? You're not alone. This year, millions of families will hit the roads to reach their preferred holiday travel destinations. Even those who may not be traveling long distances might have some exciting short trips coming up for local events. When you're traveling any distance with your family in tow, you'll want to make sure your car is in tip top shape.

Keep it clean

One of the easiest ways to prep your car for a quick or extended trip with the family, is to keep the inside of your car clean. If you have kids, you know how quickly a seemingly organized vehicle can become a battle zone. You can keep handy items in the car to help keep it clean and organized, as well as set some ground rules for older children.

Top items to keep the car organized...

A back seat organizer will help you and your kids keep items organized. There are lots of different sized pockets which can hold a variety of different items. Place on on the back of each front seat, so each child has their own space to organize their belongings. Keep the toys they bring into the car to a minimum, and make sure there is space left to hold their tablet, headphones, a drink, and a snack. Having wet wipes and tissues within their reach can also be a big help in the event of a mess.

For smaller kids, a back seat organizer like this one is more within their reach. The inside of the cube has pockets and plenty of storage. The outer pockets can hold small toys, books, drinks, and small snacks. The best thing about this type of organizer, is that the lid actually flips over, and can be used as a tray table. The tray can sit on a lap and provide a hard surface for coloring, for playing with LEGO pieces, creating with stickers, etc.

If you plan to eat meals in the car, do yourself a favor, and provide the kids with a place to put their food. Nothing is worse than one of the parents having to constantly hand individual items to kids in the back seat. More pieces of food will be dropped and lost to the dirty floor gods than will wind up in someone's hands. A simple and sturdy flip down tray is perfect for older kids who can reach the back of the front seat. They can easily lay their sandwich on it. Drinks can be placed in the car's cup holders, or in pockets of the organizer.

Toddler travel trays are perfect for little ones who cannot reach in front of them, or beside them on the seat. These types of trays often fasten to the car seat, so parents don't have to worry about the trays winding up on the floor. Like other organizers, there are pockets to hold various sizes of items a youngster might need or want.

If you're going to be heading to any local events as the holidays start up, you may want to think about cleaning out your car, and then organizing all of the kids' belongings that you find in the back seat. It's okay to ask for their help in cleaning up/cleaning out. If you want to get creative with the kids, display some of their artwork that they've created from previous trips at the Trout Museum of Art Nov. 1st - Dec. 6th. The Call for Art Littlest Members Biennial Exhibition allows parents to submit up to two pieces of art per student/child. The whole family might also enjoy the Merry Festival of Trees, coming up November 12- December 13th.

No matter where you travel to or from this holiday season, keeping your car organized will help you keep the rest of your family life organized, and make for a merrier holiday season!

Brought to you by Kolosso Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram.