Photo courtesy of North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
I designate several days each week as car-free days. On those days, I go without using my car. Fortunately, Eddy and I live very close to essential services (work, bank, post office, library, farmers’ markets) that we enjoy 3-4 car-free days every week.
On days when I drive my car, I combine errands into one trip. Combining errands saves time, gas, and wear and tear on your car by reducing the miles that you drive. Did you know that your car uses more gas when the engine is cold than when it is warm? According to the U.S. Department of Energy, several short trips all begun with a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a single, longer trip that covers the same distance.
When you save errands and run them all at once, you don’t have to drive in and out of your neighborhood multiple times, saving you time and gas.
Earlier this week, I ran the following errands within 2.5 hours:
- Stop at a gas station to fuel up
- Allergy shots
- Liquor store
- Local feed store to pick up feed for my chickens
- Grocery store
- Wild Birds Unlimited to pick up seeds for my backyard birds
- Hillcrest Artisan Meats to pick up cheese
Since I combined my errands and ran them all at once, I can now enjoy car-free days for the rest of the week. Two car-free days a week can cut greenhouse gas emissions by 1,600 pounds a year. So, I saved time, money, and the planet by combining errands. Can’t get better than that!
Next time you have errands to run, plan ahead and combine them.
