Car Seat Cooler {Beat the Heat with this DIY for Less}

2

Find all the supplies and steps for a DIY Car Seat Cooler. With temps in the triple digits all summer, these are a must-have for any mama!

Summer is now in full force and with our temps already hitting 120 degrees (seriously?!) we are all experiencing first hand how brutal the heat can be on our kids. If you ask any mom, she will say that one of the worst parts of the AZ summer is getting kids in and out of the hot car. Cars can reach temperatures of up to 175 degrees, making it unsafe to leave children in car seats.

Since I first started leaving my daughter’s car seat in the car, I immediately started using a car seat cooler. At the time I could not find a retail option, so I set out to create my own. Since then I have been sharing my cheap, super easy design with every mom possible. I truly feel as though it not only increases comfort for my girls, but can also potentially save kids from over heating and burns.

I will start out by saying that this DIY is not pretty, but it is incredibly easy to make, and super inexpensive! Walmart had the best prices on the items needed (shown below), but they are available on Amazon and at Target as well.

Items You Will Need:

DIY Car Seat Coolers | North Phoenix Moms Blog*The ice packs shown above are bulky, but they stay cold the longest. If they are too heavy for your liking, Target has the Igloo brand ice packs for $1.99 (2 pack). They are significantly less bulky, fit in the pockets just as well, but are thinner, so they may not stay cold for as long.

Step 1: Cut along the halfway mark of the shoe organizer… just after the third row of pockets.

DIY Car Seat Cooler | North Phoenix Moms Blog 002Step 2: To prevent fraying/unraveling of the stitching, I recommend using Fray Check (can be found at Walmart, Joanns, Hobby Lobby, etc..), or glue, and dabbing it on the ends of the newly cut stitching.

DIY Car Seat Cooler | North Phoenix Moms Blog 003Step 3: Tie ribbon (measure to the height of the top of your car seat) to two outer top holes and insert ice packs into the middle two pockets of each row. The ribbon is optional and the car seat cooler normally stays put without it. I like to have the ribbon in place to throw over the top of the headrest with my toddler’s car seat, or top of my baby’s car seat handle, just in case it ever slips down.

DIY Car Seat Cooler | North Phoenix Moms Blog 004Step 4: You have now have a car seat cooler! Seriously…it is that simple! You also have the option to create a second one with the bottom half of the remaining shoe organizer. If you would like the ribbon, you can simply sew the ribbon onto the top edge of the bottom half of the shoe organizer, or you can easily go without it. All you need to do is buy 6 more ice packs!

Now just roll your car seat cooler up and throw it in the freezer! For transport, I picked up a cooler bag at Trader Joe’s. It keeps the ice packs cool in between uses and makes it easy to carry it to and from the car. Leaving the empty cooler bag next to my diaper bag also serves as my reminder to not leave the house without them!

The car seat coolers, with the weight centered in the middle via the ice packs, fit snuggly into both toddler and baby car seats. Keep the car seat cooler in the bag for the drive. Take your child out and place the car seat cooler in their seat.! When you arrive back at your car remove the car seat cooler from your child’s perfectly chilled car seat and place it back in your cooler bag to stay cool until your next destination.

Now, if you just can’t get yourself to make your own car seat cooler, be sure to check out the amazing car seat cooler by Cooltech at www.coolcarats.com.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Never heard of or even considered a car seat cooler, but this is a GREAT idea! I might actually make one for the front seat so I can stop burning my thighs when I wear shorts!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here