I once found beach sand in my car six months after my last trip to the beach. It was in the crevice between the back seat and the door, a tiny pile of gray-white granules that had survived vacuuming, car washes, and half a year of daily commutes. Sand is relentless. It gets into everything and refuses to leave.

After that discovery, I started taking sand removal seriously. There are better ways than just shaking out towels and hoping.

The baby powder trick for skin

This is the one that sounds fake but works: sprinkle baby powder on sandy skin and rub gently. The powder absorbs the moisture that makes sand stick. The sand falls right off. Cornstarch works too if you do not have baby powder. I keep a small travel bottle of it in my beach bag.

Do this before you get in the car. Rub it over your feet, between your toes, anywhere sand is clinging. You will track about ninety percent less sand into the car.

Getting sand out of towels and clothes

1. Shake them out before you leave the beach. Do not just throw sandy towels in a bag. Shake each one vigorously, then shake it again.
2. Let them dry completely before putting them in the laundry. Wet sand sticks. Dry sand falls off. I drape sandy towels over a chair on the patio and let the sun bake them for a few hours.
3. Shake once more before they go in the washer.
4. Add a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. It helps loosen any remaining sand particles from the fabric.

Getting sand out of your car

• Floor mats come out. Remove them and beat them against a wall or fence. A vacuum alone will not get all the sand embedded in carpet mats.
• Use a stiff brush on carpeted areas before vacuuming. The brush loosens sand that the vacuum misses.
• Compressed air — if you have an air compressor or a can of compressed air — gets sand out of crevices better than any vacuum attachment. Point it into seat cracks and along door sills.
• A squeegee on fabric seats drags sand to the surface where the vacuum can grab it.

That pile of sand I found in my car after six months — I scooped it up with my finger and just stared at it. Half a year. Through ice storms and heat waves and grocery runs. The beach never really leaves you. It just hides.