One More For The Arsenal

Another Mean Mommy clean-up trick: when cleaning out your car, empty it of toys and shoes and clothes when it is parked outside. Just toss the items out of the car onto the ground. Once your child sees where her stuff is, suggest that it might rain. She will bust her butt picking everything up and hauling it inside. Of course, she might dump it right inside the front door, but at least your car will look a little better.

I devised this trick yesterday when I was fed up with the amount of stuff in my car. Most of it was in the back seat. Now, I'm sure it seems unfair that I get to keep most of my stuff in the front seat (you know, first aid kit, backup sunscreen, notebook, backup sunglasses, bug spray...), but I felt that the back seat was a little out of control. In addition to the inevitable crumbs, cups, wrappers, and tissues, I counted:

• 1 Barbie 
• 4 Princesses (mini)
• 1 stuffed animal/backpack thingie
• 2 empty totebags
• 1 3-D puzzle 
• 1 drawing pad
• some play food
• 4 pairs of shoes

To be fair, some of this was leftover from a recent day trip, but it's still a lot of stuff (I'm trying hard not to call it "crap"). And, it looked bad. I mean, I take my car out, you know, like, in public.