Dirt Mobile
My car is always dirty. Sometimes inside, sometimes out. Often both. When I park it under the maple tree, the winged seeds land on my hood and windshield, leaving little, hard to remove stencils of themselves. Then when I park it on the other side of the driveway, the birds annoint it. And the inside? Well, when it comes to cleaning- the house or anything else- I have to pick my battles. I ask myself, who is likely to see this? How long will it take me to clean this? Will it become a health hazard if I don't clean it?
So when it comes to the car, I don't really sweat it. Not many people outside my immediate family ever see the interior, so I let a lot of things slide. You can generally find Cheerios in about every crevice, old sippy cups, books, an assortment of David's "geek" stuff, loose change and who knows what else. It's kind of like the fridge- the deeper I dig, the scarier it gets.
But the outside is pretty filthy and has been for a while, and whenever I drop a large chunk of change on the car, (new radiator...ugh) I feel compelled to give the old girl a good scrubbing. And it looks so nice when it's clean. I think. I can't really remember.
I keep trying to get the kids to go through the carwash with me, but thanks to an episode of "Calliou" they saw recently, they don't want to go to one. I don't know why we keeping watching that show. Every time we pass one on the street I point it out to the kids and say, "Hey! You guys want to go to the carwash?" and two seconds later they both shriek, "NOOOO!!!" and then I tell them how cool it will be and don't they remember the last time we went and how they thought it was really neat with all the soap and water and what not..."NOOOO!!!" they repeat. I believe they are convinced they will get wet during the process, even though I have assured them this will not happen. So today we'll be washing it at home, instead. I guess it's more cost effective this way and they can feel good about helping take care of the car.
And they will learn the hard truth that you are far more likely to get soaked washing a car yourself than you are taking it through the wash-o-matic.
So when it comes to the car, I don't really sweat it. Not many people outside my immediate family ever see the interior, so I let a lot of things slide. You can generally find Cheerios in about every crevice, old sippy cups, books, an assortment of David's "geek" stuff, loose change and who knows what else. It's kind of like the fridge- the deeper I dig, the scarier it gets.
But the outside is pretty filthy and has been for a while, and whenever I drop a large chunk of change on the car, (new radiator...ugh) I feel compelled to give the old girl a good scrubbing. And it looks so nice when it's clean. I think. I can't really remember.
I keep trying to get the kids to go through the carwash with me, but thanks to an episode of "Calliou" they saw recently, they don't want to go to one. I don't know why we keeping watching that show. Every time we pass one on the street I point it out to the kids and say, "Hey! You guys want to go to the carwash?" and two seconds later they both shriek, "NOOOO!!!" and then I tell them how cool it will be and don't they remember the last time we went and how they thought it was really neat with all the soap and water and what not..."NOOOO!!!" they repeat. I believe they are convinced they will get wet during the process, even though I have assured them this will not happen. So today we'll be washing it at home, instead. I guess it's more cost effective this way and they can feel good about helping take care of the car.
And they will learn the hard truth that you are far more likely to get soaked washing a car yourself than you are taking it through the wash-o-matic.
posted by Kristen @ 8:19 AM
10 Comments:
At 10:26 AM,
Anonymous said…
I just washed and waxed my car this weekend--my semi-annual seasonal prep. Yup, I do it in spring going into summer too. Then a touch up drive through with wax mid-way through the actual season. I also am meticulous about the inside. When I first got my first car in my name only ten years ago, I made a pact to keep the inside looking like it was fresh off the lot, at all times. And sure enough, I did. The day I finally drove its final drive to trade-in, you still couldn't find a speck of dust or lint anywhere, and even the carpets looked brand new (yup, 130,000 miles after I first drove it!) I'm doing the same thing now, with my latest car.
Yes, I'm a freak. (This is usually confirmed by the horrified reactions of passengers who see the inside for the first time! Yes, it is so clean at all times that the reaction is NEGATIVE.)
But I know, being childless has a lot to do with that!
At 10:39 AM,
Anonymous said…
I've seen your car, mine is far worse and I have one less kid. Maybe you'll catch up to my empty juicebox/granola bar wrapper dirtyness when you have 3 kids! Damon cringes everytime we have to switch vehicles for the day knowing he has to drive the dirty car AND his will be in the same condition when he gets it back!
At 12:28 PM,
Anonymous said…
I generally only clean my car if I have to pick up my father or the debris the kids leave in the back starts to have an aroma. I strongly believe a dirty car is the sign of a brilliant mind. At least, that's what I keep telling myself.
At 1:12 PM,
Anonymous said…
I saw Michelle heading out to the van this weekend with paper towels and baby wipes in hand. I was afraid to ask why. One of my boys decided to invert his drippy sippy cup over one of the openings near the armrest that was meant to hold magazines or books. Now it was a container of day old fruit punch. Ewww!
In the other domains you've mentioned -- coins, fries, cheerios, chicken nuggets, etc. -- we can totally relate!
At least your son hasn't decided to see what it sounds like when you bounce a croquet mallet off the hood! All three of mine found that fun...
At 4:05 PM,
Cat Jordan said…
I had given up on the Buick... hell, when it rained the inside always got this mildewy wetness that wouldn't go away. It was a crapper, and when fruit snacks melted into the crevices of the backseat, I let them be. Now that we have our "new" van, I've been pretty good about the upkeep. It was so clean when we got it, that it inspired me to keep it that way. I just used the car wash vacuum today as a matter of fact and sucked up many popcorn chicken bits that had migrated under the kids seats. I do have to pick up my mom from the airport Friday, so I figured it was time for the week-old poultry to be gone. Hope you had fun washing the Brick!
At 6:43 PM,
HLiza said…
If I don't have a husband, my car will be worse than yours. He always do spot-checks and nag at me for being too comfortable with the 'cleanliness' of my car.. fortunately he doesn't do that when it concern the house! I normally send it for thorough car wash.. with vacuuming and all.. maybe once a month! Had tried cleaning it myself.. but the kids just enjoy playing with water and the car doesn't look much different after that! So, better send to professionals!
At 8:36 PM,
Kristen said…
Jody- Yes,your car sounds just a tad freaky clean, but I kept my car much tidier before I had kids and was often known to "armor-all" the dash every other weekend or so. I'm pretty sure it was never as clean as yours, though...
Annette- Don't you know I just shove all the junk from the backseat under the front seats when I know you or someone else is going to see inside it??
Melissa- I like you're theory. I think I'll tell myself that, too.
Scott- Your story reminds me a little of the melted string cheese I found molded into the cup compartment of Sofia's stroller the other day (which was in the car). It had congealed and spread to fit the exact measurements of the cup holder and looked a little like old lard. Very nasty. High gag factor.
Cat- Well, when you get a new car there is certainly the tendency to keep it looking good, at least for a while. I was like that with the brick for months and finally kind of gave up. The car wash was fun, but the birds have already soiled it again. Stupid birds. Don't they know I feed them?
Hliza- One of these days I will treat the car to a good detailing...but that probably won't happen until right before I sell it.
At 8:38 PM,
Kristen said…
Melissa- would you look at that lousy grammar...I meant "your" of course. This is what happens when I'm tired...
At 8:46 PM,
Anonymous said…
Kristen - I said "brilliant mind" not "brilliant grammarian". If that is a word.
We are still brilliant. Besides, pregnancy produces severe swiss-cheese-brain syndrome, so you automatically get a pass.
Also, while I have not found cheese melted into the stroller, I have found old bottles of milk under the seats which, frankly, I just threw away rather than clean. Don't tell my husband, but I do this a lot. With other things. Like tupperware and/or socks. Shh.
At 9:14 AM,
Anonymous said…
I hate that damn show.
Also, I can't do the carwash because of that episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Cheryl got diarreah while trapped in the car wash. Totally freaked me out.
I guess TV is bad for you after all.
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