Reduce... cutting out a car

I'm trying to keep up with my 2009 list, and though I've been making progress in real life I haven't blogged about it much. I'm trying to catch up on that this weekend! One list item that I'm trying to have a good focus on is this "Good Habit":

Instill 10 new "reduce/reuse/recycle" habits and blog about each one.

Habit #1: Cutting Out A Car

One way that we've consciously decided to reduce the impact that we make on the world, reduce our fuel consumption, etc is by not replacing my car. Our oldest had the unfortunately situation of not being able to band-aid her car back together again, so we sent my car to live with her. (Much like Humpty Dumpty, it was beyond repair. Death trap is more like the nickname it deserves. Money pit. Car of doom... lol) It's been an adjustment but one we are getting used to as part of our life.

For years I've tossed around this idea that what people think we are entitled to (a second car) or what people think is necessary (a bigger house, not to mention a second car) in today's society rather than the luxury that it once was. I'm not lacking because we have to share a car with my husband. I remember stories from my grandmother and mother about growing up in a one-car family, and everyone in their neighborhood was like that. My kid isn't going to be socially scarred because we have one car. (Can you tell that we've gotten flack for it?) We're not poor because we only have one car. In fact, I counter that we are quite rich because we've realized that we don't need that second car, but again I'm going against grain. I'm also quite sure that fifty years ago my house would have been viewed as a large home. By today's standards, not really even close. It's a modest 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, and having a grandmother that didn't always have indoor plumbing I'm extremely appreciative of that half bath on my first floor. ;) If you look at the homes in the original part of our city (our specific suburb, not the greater metro area) you can tell that the average house was significantly smaller than what is out there now. Let me preface this with saying that I am not talking about my lovely friends with large families. I'm talking about how certain people in our lives view us as having less because we have a smaller home. We have ONE child remaining at home. So far I count that as having one extra bedroom. I didn't always grow up in a home with an extra guest bedroom, so I think we're doing pretty good. (Though, eventually that room won't be an actual guest room with a big-people bed... it will have our pack and play for the grandbabies as well as be a place for our crafty closet, etc. But, I'm getting off point... lol)

Back to the car...

By not having a second car we are saving a surprisingly large amount of money in gas and "wear and tear" repairs, and it's only been a few months. I would love to have actual figures, but I'm not that organized at the moment. I just know that it isn't as pinched when we figure out the grocery bill. :snort: We're spending more time at home purposefully. We're finding that I know more about dh's schedule, and he knows more about ours because we are purposefully planning together what our week will look like. I'm actually very happy about it. And, I learned how to drive dh's truck which is sort of like winning a personal battle for me. lol (I'm 5'3" or 5'4" depending on who measures me, so getting behind the wheel of a HUGE Dodge Ram 1500 intimidated me!) Granted, I wish that we had a vehicle that was more fuel efficient, but we can only tackle one thing at a time. It's paid for and that counts for a lot in today's economy.

By dropping one vehicle, we're doing a bit to help all of those good environmental things... reducing our use of fossil fuel, reducing our contribution to the yucky stuff in the air and environment, and quite frankly, we're one less car out on the road to get yelled at during most rush hour days. I'm sure I'm helping reduce someone's stress level. lol ;) (Kidding!)

Please understand that I'm not knocking those two (or three) car families out there. We have a very specific and unique situation that allows this to really work well for our family. My husband works from home, we homeschool so our schedule is free for tweaking, and we have a small family. Our two oldest are on their own building their own families, so just our youngest is at home. And, my mother lives around the corner in our neighborhood so I can buddy up with her. We've been trying to conserve gas for a while by making sure we run most of our errands each week together, and that we schedule those errands in a way that make less driving. This is just one more small tweak to the plan that was already in effect. I am fully aware that there are other families that can't survive on one car because of work schedules, school or event schedules, etc. I truly believe that every family needs to find what works for them. Because of our specific situation with food allergies and sensitivities, as well as diet choices that we've made, we can't fit into the coupon revolution like I wish we could. We very well may spend more on groceries than many other families with only one child. So, we're making a decision to purposefully change what we can. And, the car is it. :)