LauraGB Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I don't ride in the back seat. So I don't often look in the back seat. I did today. I have no words for what I found. Tons of books, on the floor, seats, stashed in the pockets on the backs of the front seats. Empty, topless water bottles - maybe 7 or 8? Pencils, sucker sticks (who gave them candy, anyway?), gum in the handle tray. 3 socks (3!), crackers and crumbs mashed into the floor under the books and my son's grammar notebook (which had a muddy footprint on it). There's more, but I think I have blocked it from my memory. I have vaguely wondered what's back there when the kids get out and paper blows away. In the front seat (my space) is a lot junk, too, but at least its all organized in some stack-like way. Why I've got a hose sprayer and a toothbrush up there, I don't know, but I can honestly say they've been there for a while. They are right next to SOTW cds (neatly in the container, btw) and a copy of WTM, which I was digging through during dc's tennis lessons yesterday a.m. LOL I have a Blazer, and in the back, the trunk, the hatch, whatever its called(which is where I assume dc pitch stuff from the back seat to make more room) is so much stuff that I have to set the groceries on top of everything. Two cookie sheets, pots from plants I gave to a friend and she returned (only a little dirt spilled out), plastic bags and clothes. Winter clothes. Backpacks, and items I can't even remember. The windows only have handprints on ds's side, but the front passenger side windows are smeared with doggie nose and tongue prints. Every spring and every fall I do empty the car and take it to a place that cleans it top to bottom. I realize it looks like that when I get in, but when I get out and go into the house, I completely forget about it...until I get into it again. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, first thing, that thing is getting cleaned out. It will be a family affair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in Jax Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 YES. My van looks like a tornado touched down inside it.:driving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Hmmm, you're saying this like it's unusual for a car to have that much junk in it ... I'm sorta hurt, since it sounds like you're describing MY car. Seriously, we used to live next door to a car dealer who was sort of anal about vehicle cleanliness. Once we took his 4yo dd to the pool with us; she got in the car and commented, "Wow! This car is really dirty." I just calmly said, "So what -- it's just a car." Because, really, a car is just a way for me to haul stuff from point A to point B, and I don't care if it's pristine. But I'll admit I draw the line at rot and mold. Did you see the Baby Blues cartoon about dirty cars a couple of weeks ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in NY Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Oh, I can truly relate. My poor little minivan is ALWAYS disgusting and wouldn't you know it, to day we were rear-ended and I had to throw the doors open for all the world to see! Well, at least a couple of policemen and the lady in the immaculate car that hit us. It was mortifying. I had to clean it and vacuum it before I could take it to the body shop and it still looked bad. There are some things stuck to the back seat floor mats that will never come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleB Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Did you see the Baby Blues cartoon about dirty cars a couple of weeks ago? Was that the one about the "trail mix" she made out of the food she found on the floor of her van? :lol::lol: What's *really* embarrassing is when you open your van door and there's so much junk in there, it falls out. In the church parking lot. In front of everyone else who actually washes and cleans their cars on Saturday. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Sounds normal to me! You didn't mention the jockey shorts -- am I the only one with those back there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 LOL! Your car sounds *exactly* like mine! So there are two of us, yeah! (I just heard the other day that carrying all that extra stuff around takes more gas....) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Oh no, there's a whole assortment of underwear in mine, LOL.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Sure you weren't inside MY van today? Oh, no, you couldn't have been b/c you didn't find moldy chicken nuggets, juice boxes, french fries, markers w/out caps, water-damaged library books due to a leak in the van, etc. Yep. It's disgusting. I try, oh how I try to keep it clean. We have trash bags in every row. We have a box for toys and books but it's empty. :glare: You're not alone. My van is awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 LOL! Your car sounds *exactly* like mine! So there are two of us, yeah! (I just heard the other day that carrying all that extra stuff around takes more gas....) LOL - I thought the extra weight was supposed to be good for traction in the snow, though. So glad to hear I am not the only one. I parked next to an unbelievably clean car at the grocery store today and the driver was sitting in it. I was embarassed to open my door and let her even get a glimpse of what was inside. We hurried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I've heard that it's a regular science project in the back. But I never go there myself. I keep to the front seats. :) DH did take it in to be detailed earlier this spring because he wouldn't ride in it until it was clean. The dealer had to keep my van overnight to run fans on it so it would dry out--"It was the dirtiest car we've ever detailed, sir." :glare: Anyway a week later it was back to disgusting. But we do try to maintain it now. Before they can pile out they have to gather an armload of garbage. I'm surprised at how quickly it accumulates in there. That said, I do get embarassed opening the side door and having to chase papers, rolling cups/bottles, matchbox cars, McD's toys, headless & neked Barbie dolls, and runaway shoes in parking lots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Oh no, there's a whole assortment of underwear in mine, LOL.... Do you kids take off their underwear between where ever they were and home? Mine leave their shoes in the car all of the time, but never their underwear. How does that work? I do survey the floor of the van for books whenever we drop anchor, but only because I'm not so careful about snacks and bottled drinks. And snacks + bottled drinks + shoes + books = mounds of tortured and killed books. Things fall out when we arrive places. We have to vacuum and scrub before we can take folks for rides. Yeah. Our van is clearly infected with homeschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I've heard that it's a regular science project in the back. But I never go there myself. I keep to the front seats. :) DH did take it in to be detailed earlier this spring because he wouldn't ride in it until it was clean. The dealer had to keep my van overnight to run fans on it so it would dry out--"It was the dirtiest car we've ever detailed, sir." :glare: Anyway a week later it was back to disgusting. But we do try to maintain it now. Before they can pile out they have to gather an armload of garbage. I'm surprised at how quickly it accumulates in there. That said, I do get embarassed opening the side door and having to chase papers, rolling cups/bottles, matchbox cars, McD's toys, headless & neked Barbie dolls, and runaway shoes in parking lots. Stuff rolls out of mine, too. I just hold my head high and show people that I pick the garbage up and throw it back in my van. Surely that impresses them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 ROTFL! (At myself, of course!) Good grief! At church, I'd REALLY rather park FAR away from the other cars just in case someone is walking by when we open our doors. Yes, I've had to chase McDonald's cheeseburger wrappers around the parking lot. It's mortifying. The worst is the melted crayons. It's summer and I have several little artists who forget the crayon stash when we get out of the van. Yuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay in Cal Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Was that the one about the "trail mix" she made out of the food she found on the floor of her van? :lol::lol: What's *really* embarrassing is when you open your van door and there's so much junk in there, it falls out. In the church parking lot. In front of everyone else who actually washes and cleans their cars on Saturday. :D :iagree: What's really embarrassing is that this frequently happens to me... and I'm the pastor. Luckily, after 7 years, they know I'm not the "wash and clean my car" type, and I only generate a few chuckles. Hmmm.... trail mix, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beansprouts Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Yes. Have you seen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umarider Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 My car is always a mess! DH gives me a hard time about it, but he almost never has the kids in his car, so what would he know? Kids = messy car My car has become the "barn" car. I was so happy when we finally got a locker at the barn so I no-longer have 3 saddles in the trunk of my car! (talk about a mileage killer!) But I have boots, chaps, LOADS of dirty socks, books, crumbs (dd13 can't seem to eat w/out making lots of crumbs!), water bottles... etc. etc. But things have improved over when dds used to do gymnastics and they would change in the car under a blanket on the way from school to the gym. I took the car to be detailed and when I got back in, there was a pile of kids' underwear on the backseat that the detailers had found under the driver's seat! Yikes! Talk about embarrassing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyinTN Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 No, but here's why. My wonderful husband takes all the cars/truck and cleans them every Saturday. They get vacuumed out, taken through the car wash and gassed up for the week. I'm so lucky to have him!:auto: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Oh good gracious yes. My truck is pretty bad. The odd thing is, we don't eat in there all that often. Yet..we have an abundance of crumbs ?? I don't get it. Wrappers of all sorts, tucked in every crevice. Toys, Star Wars figures, some dismembered. Papers, crayons (eek!) and pens..usually in parts. Towels, shoes, and dolls. And if my husband has been in there I always end up with a tool box behind the seat and inevitably a few loose tools. Argh! I can't seem to get 'projectiles' through to this man. Or if I manage to get him to contain all tools, he leaves the toolbox at the feet of Eldest who must fidget with things, removing several things from the box as we drive down the road. These things may or may not make their way back to aforementioned toolbox. The back row is the worst. My mess maker 6 yr old sits back there. His spot is THE worst. He packs things in his pockets. Pack rat. Then starts pulling things out to play in the truck. I have NO idea how he fits so much in his pockets. The funny thing is, I never notice. His pockets aren't bulging in the least. Maybe he sneaks out there ahead of loading time? I don't know. But his seat is a mess. And we'll just not even talk about his window :blush: I swear I need to run the thing through a car wash with the windows DOWN. hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mysticamethyst Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 :D Just yesterday we were driving down to the medical center and my old dd droped her stylus and reached to get it and pulled up a french fry. I have no idea how long its been back there. I suppose we could look at some really interesting stuff under the microscope. Wonder if I should clean it, nah, maybe tomorrow.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaniceO Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Mine was disgusting until Tuesday when I finally decided to clean it out and take a vacuum to it. It was SO nasty. It still has stuff ground into the carpet or seeped into the seat latches, but it's tons better than it was before. Oh, and I didn't wash the outside of it. Haven't washed it for probably at least 6 months or so. It's filthy dirty. Before I cleaned it out, things would drop out of it or blow out of it every time we opened the doors. We would just pick it up and throw it back in real quick like and hope noone saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 My van is called the dumpster on wheels. Need I say more?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 LOL, I guess that does sound funny, doesn't it? We are constantly running from one place to another, so they often have to change in the car, then they just don't collect their discarded clothing when they exit the vehicle back at home. For instance, this summer, on Thursdays I've had to collect my younger son just before his swim practice is over so that he can get to a 4-H Growbiz group in a timely manner. So he pops out of his swimsuit and into his clothing before I exit the parking lot. And just this past week, we were touring a college campus in a nearby town until right up to the time we needed to leave to get to a swim meet, so both boys changed from their clothes into their swimsuits in the parking lot before we headed out. They're experts at changing in tight quarters, LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Oh, oh! One time, when I had my Explorer, which had solid pockets on the backseats, rather than netting as I now have, I found a chicken strip down in the bottom that had started to ferment! I kept smelling a buttermilk sort of smell for days and could NOT figure out what it was, LOL! I had to soak that pocket in cleaner a million times to get that stuff out, geesh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 LOL, I guess that does sound funny, doesn't it? We are constantly running from one place to another, so they often have to change in the car, then they just don't collect their discarded clothing when they exit the vehicle back at home. Ah, that makes sense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalinakel Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 You have to see the 'mom my car' video on youtube. hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in FL Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 This is so funny. Dh is dropping my van off at the shop tomorrow morning. I made the kids pick up everything from the back and put it in grocery bags. They filled a kitchen garbage can full of trash and brought in enough stuff to fill my mud room, I went through all the grocery bags today. Needless to say, now I know why dd never has any socks, they were all in the van! Also, I knew my girls had a lot of shoes but always had trouble finding them, well, they were obviously stored in the van! I think the two of them had three pairs each in the car! I swear they never come into the house from the car without shoes! Other found things included tons of notebooks and pens/pencils, and tons of books. Once I get the car back, I figure it will take a week for them to get it back the way they like it! LOL Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Yes. That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share Posted July 14, 2008 No, my car doesn't look like that at all. I can't STAND a filthy car! Every time we finish a swim meet or county fair or ???, I make the kids vacuum and wash the entire car. Were you parked next to us at a Copps grocery in Green Bay the other day when we too afraid to open our doors and let the lady w/the scary clean car see how we actually lived?:lol: I am happy to say that...dc cleaned out our car yesterday! Well, not vacuumed it yet (baby steps), but took bag after bag after bag of cra...I mean, stuff...out of it. The floors are a nice slate gray color. Who knew? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammy Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 unfortunately. I wonder why that is...LOL. I guess I don't mind living in a mess....but I don't want to drive around in one, LOLLOLOL! Tammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich with Kids Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Oh! You are truly my People :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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