At the end of shopping trips I tend to leave non-perishable groceries and other newly-purchased items in the car, because I've just been out shopping and I'm tired and I tell myself I'll bring them in later when I have more energy.
Or, we go on outings and I load the car up with things we'll need, but when it's time to unload them (and the other junk we've accumulated on such outings), well, we've been on an outing all day, for goodness sake, I'll do it later.
HOWEVER, you never know when it might come in handy to have a messy car.
Like when you're not at home and your kids are hungry, you just happen to still have, in the car, 5 boxes of cereal that you bought at Smith's two days ago (along with 2 bottles of ketchup and a case of soup cans).
Baby soiled his outfit (or discarded his socks) at the park? No worries, you're bound to find something he can wear. Probably the Sunday clothes you changed him out of at Grandma's last week.
Maybe you show up to your daughter's first soccer game, and realize her shin guards are sitting at home on the counter. Having a messy car means you can improvise using stuff you find in your cupholders and under the seats.
Improvised Homemade Shin Guard Tutorial
Materials:
- Scissors (from the last time you wrapped a present on the way to a party)
- 2 20-ounce soda cups (from your last trip to the Costco food court)
- 1 (unused) diaper - ours just happened to be a Little Mermaid swimming diaper that has been in the car since the last time we went to a pool (September?)
1. Cut the 2 cups in half, removing the bottom.
2. Cut out the padded middle of the diaper, and cut it in half to make 2 rectangles.
3. Sandwich the diaper padding between two soda cup halves.
4. Pull the soccer socks all the way up, place your "shin-guard" on the shin, and fold the top of the sock down to cover it. Tuck the edge of the sock under the bottom edge of the "shin-guard" to hold everything in place.
5. Assure your daughter that nobody will even notice that her shin-guards are Coca-Cola brand.
Okay, so my messy car sometimes has its merits, but here's my question. Do you have a set time for car cleaning? Are you good about unloading stuff after every outing (or shopping trip)? How do you keep your car clean, or clean enough? I really wanna know!
8 comments:
Okay, I am really impressed with your shinguards! Seriously, you are awesome! I wish I could think to do something like that.
Every time I clean out my van, I swear we are gonna keep it clean. That lasts a little while. Until I'm too tired to bring something in, or one of the younger kids throws such a big fit about leaving their beloved toy home(which really must not be that loved if it sits on the floor of the van for a month after the initial bringing it in to the van).
You are the genious of all women. If Martha Stewart was a mom..well, you would totally have had your own show..and your own insider trade information too. You rock. Creative minds like yours do not need cleanliness, the more disorder, the more creativity that flows..in my opinion anyway!
Shayla - you are so creative and so much fun! I think that your kids couldn't ask for a better mom!
That made my day! That was hilarious! I don't keep my car clean either so I have no advice for you. Very impressive shinguards!
That is so great! I think that if my kid ever decides to take soccer, I'm not going to waste my money on shin guards....I'll just do this. You are beyond creative!
As for the car. My goal is to clean mine out every weekend. It doesn't always happen, but if it is a weekly goal, it gets done enough that it isn't totally disgusting.
Sometimes I talk Jeremy into doing it for me because I'm "too tired"...he he!
Whenever I left my shinguards at home I just played without them. I totally wish that we would have had diapers or something like that to make some! Those were awesome.
Eric told me that if I didn't keep my new car clean that he would take it away from me. That was totally enough motivation to help me keep it clean!
I love this post! So funny. It was a great justification for leaving things in your car! I never leave anything in my car, and sometimes I wish I had useful stuff like food.
Jim has bad memories of growing up with trashed minivans, and seeing a parking lot full of trashed minivans every Sunday at church. I keep ours clean so that every time he gets in, he feels like he's driving a nice family car, and not a minivan. I think it helps him feel more masculine. At least that's my motivation for cleanliness.
Oh, and if I leave anything valuable in the car, there's a good chance someone will break in to get it. Philly rocks.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! Would you stop already you are just to good! You are making the rest of us look bad lady. Haha that is awesome and you can tell Elise that I was at the game and had no idea that she was wearing homemade coca-cola shin guards.
The way I keep my car semi clean is having a small car so you can't have a bunch of stuff in there or the people who need to get in won't fit. My biggest problem is the crumbs and junk my kids leave behind under their car seats yuck! I think my husband leaves more stuff in my car then I do. I was raised by a clean freak set of parents so it is ingrained in this crazy mind of mine so don't worry about it so much its all good. Way to go Shayla you rock!
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