I used to say that I HAD to get out of the house (drive somewhere) at least once a day. Today I did not drive anywhere. I have been clustering errands, and driving less. In general I'm just being a lot more aware of my driving and not just jumping in the car because I'm bored and the kids are restless. Now when I get that feeling I go for a walk. Or call Erica and see if we can come over and bug her and the girls! :)
Calvin is seriously looking into getting a commuter bike! That's a huge green step and I'm proud of him for even considering it.
We've looked into Terra Pass (see link under green resources if you're interested). Anyone done that? Or any tips on driving less?
3 comments:
I used to say that too. But it was Abby that changed it for me. She was too hard to take anywhere when she was first born, so now I am used to staying home more! Sometimes going to Starbucks isn't worth it, and that is saying a lot for me!!!
Matt wants to ride his bike to work, but it makes me so nervous! He is not the most vigilent of bikers and I want to see him live for me :)
I don't really have any other tips other than the errand clustering you mentioned. I'm so bad at that because I am so forgetful. I need to learn to write lists more often.
Buying online is a tip, I guess. Jennifer, didn't you say that buying online is better than going to the store, even with the shipping involved?
Just remember, you can come on by anytime! We have been taking advantage of our close proximity to eachother lately, and it's been really fun!
I guess you could say I cluster drive for both errands and my job. I still feel like I don't go anywhere most days. Like, this week. I'm not going anywhere since it's Easter break. It seems I do more driving on the days Dan is off though.
I visit schools for my job, so, I pick a day and go drive around to the different schools in one town or one section of the town.
Buying online might be great. I do buy some items online, but I don't want to be a hermet crab for the rest of my life! I do like to get out and shop and see the item in person. Plus, if we order online, who knows where it comes from. Say, back east - All that gas to get it here. Yes, there is also all that gas to get it to the store.
Maybe I'm not thinking correctly, but say Target - They have their delivery trucks. Then if you order online it comes UPS. So then that means 2 trucks are on the road using gas, where as if you just drive the 5 minutes to the local Target, there would be only 1 delivery truck on the road for that item.
Have you also thought of car-pooling? I saw this somewhere else, but maybe car-pool and go shopping for food, etc...
If you let me know 1 day in advance that your going to be in Cotati, I can walk and meet you somewhere.
Dan has thought about riding his bike to and from here to Bodega Bay for work. With the way some of those drivers are out there, I'm not sure. I'm like you Erica, I want my husband to live.
I'll be totally honest; the biking to work idea does make me a little nervous. But we talked about it. I think my fears were blown a little out of proportion. A lot of people use their bikes to commute safely everyday. I think having the right equipment and being smart about it are key.
I read that in some cases it's better to shop online in "It's Easy Being Green". You still want to pick the online retailer who is closest to you, but by shopping online it can cut out the middleman. Products go straight to you. If enough people shop online, less big box stores would continue to pop up, helping to control urban sprawl. Of course it still make sense to "cluster shop" if you are going to be at a store anyway it's better to buy something there instead of going to a store AND buying online.
Post a Comment