quick tip for a clean car

I've been teased by many people for being a bit "obsessive" about keeping my vehicle clean. In fact my neighbor used to tease that she could eat off the floor of my van. :)

Here are the 3 things I do to keep it clean

1. Keep trash out

• I keep a plastic grocery bag in the car at all times to stash the trash. Empty it when it's full and every time you fill up the car with gas.
• Take the extra 15 seconds to remove all fast food litter when you get home.

2. Keep "stuff" from accumulating in the car that doesn't belong

• I keep a small reusable bag in the car to toss in those toys, socks, hats, etc. 
• Take the bag inside when you get home so your car doesn't become a closet

3. Clean up a mess the day it happens.

• Invest in a small hand held vacuum. Clean up the cheerios mess when you get home. It will take just a minute but save you from cleaning up crumbs ground into your carpet in a few weeks.
• Keep a pack of baby wipes in the car. These are great for wiping up spilled drinks and for wiping down a dusty dashboard.

Hope these tips help! Remember your car is your most expensive investment (besides your home). Keeping it clean is important for resale.

*I know I need to add photos to these posts to make them much more interesting. However, I still need to decide whether or not I'm gonna keep up with this whole thing.

sorry Sam

If you know me you know its no secret that I don't really care too much for Walmart. So of course we would move to NWA where Walmart's home office is located. Yeah, it's been quite an adjustment for me. When we lived in the KC metro I did most of our grocery shopping at Costco, Super Target, or Hyvee. In the 2 years that we lived in Lee's Summit I never went to Walmart. Never ever...seriously, never.

So, we move to Arkansas where there is no Costco, Super Target, or Hyvee. It's been an adjustment. We tried Sam's for a few months and I absolutely hated it. The customer service was terrible. And we never had a good experience with the food court. That seems like a silly thing to be upset about, but that is part of the wholesale club adventure for us. Finally, I decided I could keep complaining about how terrible Sam's Club was or we could just quit going. So, we cancelled our membership. It was a great decision.

Last Saturday we needed a few things from the store so we went to Target as a family. We pull in and Micah says, "Why are we at Target on a Saturday?" "Honey, Target on a Saturday is better than Walmart any day of the week." and right on cue 2 tour buses pull up in front of Target and about 100 international Walmart shareholders descend on Target.

God has a sense of humor.

Walmart Shareholders are in town this week. While I was out and about today I heard that this meeting brings an extra 18,000 people to NWA. I'm just glad this week is almost over and NWA will return to "normal"

As for me, I'm REALLY trying to have a better outlook and attitude when it comes to Walmart. It's such a silly thing to get so frustrated about.

and off to Aldi's I go to grocery shop :-)

Stuff Evan Says

Here are a few of my favorite things Evan has said today. Really wishing I would have kept up with this all along, but I can't go back.

"Mom, I have another friend besides Caroline in our new neighborhood. Uh, it's a God name….oh yeah, Jonah. But not the dead one in heaven from the fish, a different Jonah."

"Mom, I'm gonna just wear my shoes to bed. My shoes and my clothes mom…yep, gonna wear them for 3 days so I don't make dirty clothes AND I'm always ready to go. Well, I will change my underwear…don't worry mom."

Back to blogging, maybe?

Been thinking a lot about getting back to blogging. It's really a pretty simple way for me to keep track of the happening in our lives.

I obviously don't blog as a business.

Might be the creative outlet I need and a way to "get it on paper"

Here are a few things I've considered documenting...

-Evan's kindergarten year
-potty training woes with Eli
-my weight loss journey, at least I think it might be a good way to stay accountable
-our home building adventures
-life in NWA
-how we make it work as a one car family
-how/why we live with a minimalist wardrobe
-home organizing tricks and tips
-whatever else pops up in my brain.

don't you just love this stream of consciousness writing?