http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683 The dirty car fairy comes to visit me often.&nbsp; I'll have cleaned it out just four or five days ago and then after school dropoffs and a requisite errand, I'll notice that my van, is now, utterly destroyed.&nbsp; This tends to infuriate me, because with 3 kids, cleaning out my car is not an easy task. It takes many grocery bags, multiple trips in and out of the house, a laundry basket or two and usually some baby wipes.&nbsp; (the all-purpose cleaner, right?)&nbsp;&nbsp; How DO cars get so&nbsp;cluttered in the first place?&nbsp;My husband doesn't understand it one bit.&nbsp; His rationale, is &quot;why don't you just empty everything out each time you get out of the car?&quot; (easier said than done for someone who doesn't transport 3 children all day)&nbsp; Well, once I've started out&nbsp;with a cleaned car, I&nbsp;have every intention of removing each unnecessary item from my van whenever I&nbsp;exit the vehicle.&nbsp; My brain and body have other plans.&nbsp; Usually when I'm getting out of my car, I've got in my arms: an 8 month old, my purse, the diaper bag, a fast food cup, a pacifier or two,&nbsp;infant toys, my keys and a partridge in a pear tree.&nbsp; Since these items are taking up all the available space on my body, that leaves no room for school papers, receipts, gum&nbsp;wrappers,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Target bag,&nbsp;lip gloss that fell out of my purse, an empty bag of snacks, the kids' socks&nbsp;that&nbsp;they didn't have room for in their hands and a backpack or lunchbox.&nbsp; As for making two trips?? HA! I'm usually rushing home to get the kids down for a nap before I, myself pass out from sheer exhaustion due to that&nbsp;day's activities. After a week&nbsp;of this happening daily, it gets to the point&nbsp;where I'm scared to open my&nbsp;sliding doors for fear of what might fall out.&nbsp; I'm embaressed to admit that I occasionally will opt for a further away parking space at school, because I don't want the other parents to see what's lurking inside my van.&nbsp; I just&nbsp;know&nbsp;that the parents of the kids that my children attend school with, have&nbsp;perfectly attended&nbsp;to vehicles at all times.&nbsp;&nbsp; But now everything changes!!! (hopefully?) On Saturday my husband took the van&nbsp;to get an oil change, tires rotated and washed.&nbsp;&nbsp;He came back with a MUCH nicer surprise - a fully detailed&nbsp;car including shampooed carpets, a clear windshield and a shiny paint job.&nbsp;&nbsp;The almost 3 years of dirt and grime on the floor mats was gone!&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;Starbucks that was spilled during the holidays had been erased! and I could even see&nbsp;clearly out of my rear view mirror.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had to promise I'd keep&nbsp;it this way and so far,&nbsp;so&nbsp;good.&nbsp; I even went so far on Sunday evening as&nbsp;to make the kids remove their shoes&nbsp;after playing at the park.&nbsp; The dirty car fairy has been fired.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone met the&nbsp;clean car fairy yet???&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The dirty car fairy comes to visit me often.&nbsp; I'll have cleaned it out just four or five days ago and then after school dropoffs and a requisite errand, I'll notice that my van, is now, utterly destroyed.&nbsp; This tends to infuriate me, because with 3 kids, cleaning out my car is not an easy task. It takes many grocery bags, multiple trips in and out of the house, a laundry basket or two and usually some baby wipes.&nbsp; (the all-purpose cleaner, right?)&nbsp;&nbsp; How DO cars get so&nbsp;cluttered in the first place?&nbsp;My husband doesn't understand it one bit.&nbsp; His rationale, is &quot;why don't you just empty everything out each time you get out of the car?&quot; (easier said than done for someone who doesn't transport 3 children all day)&nbsp; Well, once I've started out&nbsp;with a cleaned car, I&nbsp;have every intention of removing each unnecessary item from my van whenever I&nbsp;exit the vehicle.&nbsp; My brain and body have other plans.&nbsp; Usually when I'm getting out of my car, I've got in my arms: an 8 month old, my purse, the diaper bag, a fast food cup, a pacifier or two,&nbsp;infant toys, my keys and a partridge in a pear tree.&nbsp; Since these items are taking up all the available space on my body, that leaves no room for school papers, receipts, gum&nbsp;wrappers,&nbsp;the&nbsp;Target bag,&nbsp;lip gloss that fell out of my purse, an empty bag of snacks, the kids' socks&nbsp;that&nbsp;they didn't have room for in their hands and a backpack or lunchbox.&nbsp; As for making two trips?? HA! I'm usually rushing home to get the kids down for a nap before I, myself pass out from sheer exhaustion due to that&nbsp;day's activities. After a week&nbsp;of this happening daily, it gets to the point&nbsp;where I'm scared to open my&nbsp;sliding doors for fear of what might fall out.&nbsp; I'm embaressed to admit that I occasionally will opt for a further away parking space at school, because I don't want the other parents to see what's lurking inside my van.&nbsp; I just&nbsp;know&nbsp;that the parents of the kids that my children attend school with, have&nbsp;perfectly attended&nbsp;to vehicles at all times.&nbsp;&nbsp; But now everything changes!!! (hopefully?) On Saturday my husband took the van&nbsp;to get an oil change, tires rotated and washed.&nbsp;&nbsp;He came back with a MUCH nicer surprise - a fully detailed&nbsp;car including shampooed carpets, a clear windshield and a shiny paint job.&nbsp;&nbsp;The almost 3 years of dirt and grime on the floor mats was gone!&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;Starbucks that was spilled during the holidays had been erased! and I could even see&nbsp;clearly out of my rear view mirror.&nbsp;&nbsp;I had to promise I'd keep&nbsp;it this way and so far,&nbsp;so&nbsp;good.&nbsp; I even went so far on Sunday evening as&nbsp;to make the kids remove their shoes&nbsp;after playing at the park.&nbsp; The dirty car fairy has been fired.&nbsp;&nbsp;Anyone met the&nbsp;clean car fairy yet???&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; en-us <p>I think I backed over the clean car fairy in my drive way about 5 years ago, coincidentally the same age as my oldest.&nbsp; Or maybe it's not a coincidence?</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230769 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230769 <p>I think I backed over the clean car fairy in my drive way about 5 years ago, coincidentally the same age as my oldest.&nbsp; Or maybe it's not a coincidence?</p> <p>The other day my daughter noted that my car was still clean--because the crushed goldfish crackers that had previously littered the floor under her carseat before the last carwash hadn't been replaced by more crushed goldfish yet.&nbsp; Yeah, that about says it.</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230777 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230777 <p>The other day my daughter noted that my car was still clean--because the crushed goldfish crackers that had previously littered the floor under her carseat before the last carwash hadn't been replaced by more crushed goldfish yet.&nbsp; Yeah, that about says it.</p> <p>Got the van detailed a couple of months ago, and I've been keeping it clean.  Yep, the detailing motivated me.  I also keep collapsable container in the van that stores toys, books, wipes, kleenex, and paper towels.  It sits right by the car seat, and when kids exit the van, I make sure nothing is on the floor.  If it's trash, they take it (or I take it), and if it's a toy, it goes in the box or in the house.  Wonder how long I can keep this up?  Oh, and my Starbucks stain is gone, too :)</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230784 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230784 <p>Got the van detailed a couple of months ago, and I've been keeping it clean.  Yep, the detailing motivated me.  I also keep collapsable container in the van that stores toys, books, wipes, kleenex, and paper towels.  It sits right by the car seat, and when kids exit the van, I make sure nothing is on the floor.  If it's trash, they take it (or I take it), and if it's a toy, it goes in the box or in the house.  Wonder how long I can keep this up?  Oh, and my Starbucks stain is gone, too :)</p> <p>Oooh I forgot to mention that part :) I bought a little plastic bin to keep in back. It's holding baseball gear, extra snacks and bottles of water, sunglasses, sunscreen, hats for the kids a couple park toys etc.  Keeping it by the carseat might be an even better idea though!</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230817 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_230817 <p>Oooh I forgot to mention that part :) I bought a little plastic bin to keep in back. It's holding baseball gear, extra snacks and bottles of water, sunglasses, sunscreen, hats for the kids a couple park toys etc.  Keeping it by the carseat might be an even better idea though!</p> <p>still doing it?&nbsp; i have moments of inspiration too, but i'm not what you call the &quot;follow through&quot; type!</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_236206 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/Christina/25683/#c_236206 <p>still doing it?&nbsp; i have moments of inspiration too, but i'm not what you call the &quot;follow through&quot; type!</p>