Last year, almost to the day, my husband and I got our mini-van. We knew our life as a family of four was coming to an end, and we needed more space in a vehicle. We thought about getting an SUV, but settled on the mini-van for now. I wanted the automatic sliding doors, that was the deal breaker. So here we are a year later and here are my thoughts.
1. I still love the automatic sliding doors. For school carpool they are perfect.
2. It has stayed really neat and clean throughout the year. It took me awhile to sort of set it up how I wanted, but I will say, that while I can store a lot in there, it doesn't feel messy or cluttered. {Tip for keeping it clean: DON'T ALLOW FOOD! I know this is hard, but it makes such a difference. It is my number one van rule, and while I break it some for long drives, if I do let them eat, it is something easier contained and not sticky, crumby or melty.}
3. Select your stroller wisely. I am guessing if you are cruising in a van AND reading my blog, you are a mom, probably with young kids. I had a baby trend jogger and it took up SO much space in our trunk, we ended up buying the City Mini Baby Jogger because of how small it folds up (among other reasons)
4. Completely clean out seasonally. Why keep things in here you know you won't need for months. When changing the items, it is also a good time to deep clean the seats and floors.
5. While I do like some of the features of my van, it's still a van, no one drives one to look cool. The space is nice, so I know I need that, but I think a nice
6. The travel potty = lifesaver. You don't have one, or know what I'm talking about, get one! They are not only great for travel, but also for playgrounds that don't have restrooms (or nasty ones), and the baseball fields that the restrooms are across 3 fields and you don't wanna miss your kids at bat. (yes that happens every time.)
Head over to my YouTube Channel to check out the way I organize the inside of my van.
I love my mini-van and I see me driving one for a while. The automatic doors is the reason I got one and we bought ours when we only had one kid. LOL We knew we would eventually be adding to our family and we needed to change vehicles anyways. I was having a terrible time with my wrist (carpal-tunnel) and lifting my then 12 month old into his car seat in our big Yukon SUV. Now he can climb up in his seat all by himself. They are awesome but I am not the kind of person that really gets into "car image." I am happy as long as it runs good, is comfortable and not horrible on gas.
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