Tuesday, June 20, 2006

A Spoonful of Planning Whittles the Errand List Down

I finally got tired of asking my sons to open their curtains rather than turning on their bedroom light in the morning, so I took the lamp out of their room for a few days. Suddenly, they understand that if you open the curtains you let in light. Sometimes you have to make your point in a dramatic way.

I was able to get a lot accomplished yesterday with the help of a list and some preplanning. I looked at everything I needed to do and plotted out the stores that were closest together to minimize time and gas use. For example, I needed dog food so I went to the hardware store that was closest to the pet store, rather than the one I'd normally go to. From there, I stopped at the grocery store across the way to get the few things I needed. You get the idea.

Today is pickup at our CSA. While out on that errand, I'll pick up my paycheck, hit the bank and drop some books off at the library. When I get home, I will be done with my errands today, yeah! I often couple trips to the post office with trips to the library since they are around the corner from each other. It just makes sense. I think this is why I love the summer so much, almost everything we do is in walking distance. My car will sit all week without moving.

2 comments:

Barbara said...

I try to make trips in sort of a circle. Save gas. And now that it's summer and since Portland is so bike-friendly, I do some things, like trips to the library and some grocery stores on my bike. I have two rear panniers and a rack so I can carry quite a lot of things.

Barbara

Katie said...

I'm so jealous that Portland is so bike friendly. I wish that were the case here.