For me, a car is something you use to get from A to B.  As long as it doesn’t break down, I don’t really mind if it’s old or the paint is chipping; it just has to get us reliably to swim class or the zoo.

For my husband, it’s a different story.  He’s the master of the car domain. 

Now thankfully, my partner isn’t overly car-obsessed; I mean, I think the fact we have two kids makes that physically impossible…but it’s the unspoken rule that all-things car in our household are definitely his territory.  And while I’m secretly glad that he takes on the car-related tasks, it got me wondering… what IS it with dudes and cars?

Here’s what I mean…

Cleaning

Me:  Willingly picks up mop, sponge or wipe and will get our kitchen clean 

Him:  Avoids cleaning the kitchen with a 10 foot pole (or in his case, a 5 foot mop)…but put my husband in front of our car and he has a field-day cleaning the interior and exterior with as much care as the guy who polishes the Hope Diamond.   He’ll happily clean unidentified sludge out of his engine compartment, but good luck getting him to clean the tub.

Before, this obsessive cleaning used to annoy me.  I mean, “It’s just a car, right?  We LIVE in our home!”  But now I secretly love it.  Why?  Because two kids sprang from my loins and like it or not, we now spend WAY more time in our car than we ever thought possible.   The evidence of this is apparent:  crackers now litter the car floor, blueberries are squished into car seats and droplets of foul-smelling milk cling to the back windows.

Now I’ve tried climbing over those carseats and contorting my body to wipe our back windshield, but it wasn’t pretty, nor successful.  Yet my husband somehow does that with the speed and efficiency of a well-trained ninja.  I thank him for his car-cleaning obsession...And the bonus is that he takes the kids out with him and they all have a good time with the bubbles and the water-hose!

 Organizing the Garage

Me:  Would rather get a root canal than clean out our garage.

 Him:  Makes it his personal mission to reorganize the place like he’s auditioning for “Extreme Makeover: Garage Edition”.   He pokes fun at how I obsessively organize our bathroom drawers (and ok, I am a little obsessive), but when it comes to arranging the boxes and tools in the garage, he files things away like he invented the Dewey decimal system.   Twice a year, our dingy garage is suddenly transformed.  Boxes labeled “Family photos 2006”, “Elle’s clothes: 6mos-2T” are stacked tidily to one side; power tools that I don’t understand (seriously, I once thought the circular saw was some sort of gardening device) are neatly arranged, and any stains on the ground are bleached away. Hey, I’m not protesting…I’m just saying I don’t know what it is with dudes and garages…

Packing a Trunk

Me:  Can awkwardly fit a stroller and 3 bags of groceries in the trunk of our car.

Him:  Can pack one stroller, 2 suitcases, 2 carry-on bags, one bulky diaper bag, a portable potty and  probably five bags of groceries inside same said trunk.  I don’t know why, but for some reason, my husband can pack a car trunk like a Tetris champion.  Every last piece of luggage is perfectly placed; every nook and cranny of the trunk is efficiently filled.  Needless to say, he does the packing for all road-trips...(because we need to travel with more than a stroller and 3 bags of groceries.)

So there you have it.  Questions but no answers…I really don’t know what it is with Dudes and Cars, but I’m not complaining!

Is there someone in your life who is master of his/her car domain?  Tell us what he/she does with their car. Post your answer to the comment section below by 12:00 AM 07/30/11 and we will randomly select one lucky commenter to receive free coupons for a supply of Clorox® Cleaning Products to help keep your home (or your car!) clean.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. 18+. Eligible in US/DC only. Visit http://www.clorox.com/legal/promotions/ for full rules.