We are set to trade in our van when we pick up the new car this weekend so I have spent more than two hours cleaning it. First pass was to pull out all of the physical items, like toys, and garbage. Pens, pencils, crayons, beads, paper and beach items. Plus a whole lot more, just know that we kept the van well stocked with useless crap. Next I climbed into the van on my hands and knees and vacuumed every square inch that I could fit the nozzle. Inside the chairs, the stow and go bays, the trunk, and any side compartments we have. I let that sit for a few says, then went at it with the vacuum again. Today I took out the car seat, and the shopping bags, jumper cables, 407 transponder, and whatever was left behind from my kids since Tuesday/Wednesday cleaning sessions. Today I climbed aboard armed with various wet wipes, and a plastic bag. I nearly filled the bag with soiled wet wipes. Just black, brown, grey and all around nasty. My kids are grimy little toads. And it still isn’t “clean”. Just less violently disgusting to the senses. So I’ve probably spent nearly 3 hours tidying it up, and I bet they junk it almost immediately. It requires an extensive detailing job, body work, and some type of wheel bearing or joint up in the front end.
Our old dog had hair like porcupine quills, and they are deeply, deeply embedded into the fabric, and textiles contained inside the van. Just a nightmare to remove. I could only do it by picking them one by one, and I gave that up real quick. I thought our fine toothed dog brush would work, but it did not! So – yeah. Unless they strip it for parts, I don’t see this van having much of a life beyond the 167,000 Km that we gave it. We also bought it second hand in 2015 with 60,000 Km on it already, so we didn’t go hog wild with it over the course of the ten or so years we had it. 107,000 Km in a decade is not a tonne of driving if you ask me. Once it stopped being our go to for cottage, or Ottawa runs it really stopped getting a lot of wear and tear on it. I used it to drop the kids off at school, grocery shop, and run the kids to programming, and various appointments. I n the last few years I didn’t want to drive more than 20-30 minutes away because it wasn’t as reliable as one would like from a family vehicle.
While this is the cleanest the van has been since early September when I did all this the last time, it isn’t exactly a show stopper. Still a bit embarrassing to put other people in it. The new puppy whom puts dirty paw prints on everything doesn’t help. I’d love to say that we’ll contain him once we get the new car, and that they kids will be less messy, I can promise neither of those things becoming a reality.
What I can promise is an air freshener in the new van from day two onwards, and a garbage bag/bin so that I don’t find juice box straw wrappers stuffed into the seats, and mouldy kleenex tucked down inside the cup holders. That sort of nonsense I can do without now that both kids are nolonger toddlers, or really small little kids. They know better than to do that now.
Anyway, this cold drizzle filled Friday is full of surprises. Last night my eldest child had a performance to fundraise for their new play. We are going to get to see a version of Newsies come late spring, early summer 2025. The kids all sounded good. I have high hopes for it.
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