If you do one thing this week...

Pencil in a car de-junking day.

Is your car full of old coffee cups, kid's socks, and crumpled water bottles? If so, it's time to conquer the chaos. It's amazing how quickly the car can get filthy when you're running from school to soccer, PTA meeting to music lessons. Snack (both the snack itself and the wrapper), changes of clothes, balls, school papers. It all seems to float from front to back and everywhere inbetween.

If you're embarrassed to open the door or are constantly making excuses for your dirty car, these six steps are going to help you tremendously;

1) Carve out 30 minutes to empty the entire car and vacuum inside. Sort stuff into two piles - what belongs in the car (registration, maps, napkins) and what doesn't (bubbles, hair brush, screwdriver).

2) Buy a "car-bage" bin. Don't get debris get too comfy. Besides being dirty, it's germy and certain things can become moldy and toxic. Outfit your car with a functional trash can. This particular one from Amazon can be anchored under a car mat to the floor, hung from a headrest or attached directly to the carpet. To take it a step further; put a small trash bin in your garage. Before going inside do a quick sweep of the car and toss any trash from the day on your way inside. This works wonders for me!

3) Limit passengers. Meaning - Barbie. Elmo. Woody. Of course, let the kids pack a friend or two for the ride, just not the entire toy box. Keep extra playthings in a tote that lives in the car.

4) Toss trash while you pump gas. One of my favorite multi-tasking activities. Spend half a minute throwing garbage into those convenient bins at the pump. Even if you only can get the front seat and cupholders cleaned of loose wrappers, it will help.

5) Don't let anyone leave the car empty-handed. As a rule - everyone should get out of the car with what they came in holding; soda cans, video games, homeworks, hats.

6) Put your trunk to work. You're most likey to clean the car if you don't have to run inside to fetch your keep-it-neat supplies. Two essentials worth storing in the trunk or in a small plastic bin in the back of your SUV; 1) a handheld vac (the Eureka Easy Clean 71B for $40 on Amazon gets high reviews) and 2) Car Upholstery wipes (try Armor All Cleaning Wipes, $5.50 for 25 at Walgreens).

Here's to a productive week ahead!!

Comments

Tame the Tum: Spare tire or stress bulge?

For many women, getting bikini ready means tackling one dreaded area in particular — our tummies. Most of us still think the best way to achieve a washboard stomach is by doing hundreds of sit-ups. Not so, says A-list trainer and body guru James Duigan. James, who sculpts supermodels Elle Macpherson and Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley among others, insists there is no ‘one size fits all’ method for getting a flat belly. Instead, he’s identified five key ‘tummy types,’ all of which require a different approach to achieve successful toning. Once you figure out your tummy type (mine is the STRESS BELLY) thanks to the UK Daily Mail , you'll be on your way to getting the perfect midriff... THE SPARE TIRE TUMMY The spare tire: This is one of the easiest tummy troubles to eliminate because it's caused by eating the wrong foods and not exercising enough. HOW TO IDENTIFY THIS TYPE These people are likely to lead sedentary lives, perhaps with jobs that k...

FLATFORM SHOES: Yay or Nay?

Yes, you heard right. It’s the flatform, not the platform! The flatform is really just a flat sandal elevated on a platform sole and it's said to be the "IT" shoe for Spring 2011. This geisha-inspired look is basically one of those styles that you either love or you don’t. And it’s another shoe that is trying to compensate for the painful high heels that have been so prevalent in past seasons. Women are asking for change. Women are wanting the height that the high heel gives but without the foot pain associated with them, so the shoe makers and designers are trying to come up with different ways to solve this problem and give women what they want…but in a stylish shoe. Key word - "stylish." I am by no means a fashion guru but these are light years away from stylish in my book. Glamour magazine however seems to think they are. But then again Glamour magazine doesn't always speak to the , around town girl that isn't trying to look avant-garde on a daily ba...

CHICKEN NUGGETS anyone??

If this doesn't stop you from going through the drive thru - then we have quite a bit of work to do! "Mechanically Separated Chicken" is the actual name for this pink paste that looks nothing like chicken. Eventually this pink paste will be shaped into little boots, fried and placed in Happy Meals around the world! Clear explanation of Mechanically Separated Meat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanically_separated_meat Lets choose something else for lunch today shall we?

Hailey's Helpful Hints

Search This Blog