We are now officially a one-car, two-bike household. For the first time since I bought that silver '86 Subaru in my last year of college, I do not officially own a car. Of course, I'm not totally car-less because Noah and I share the Jetta, but even going to a ratio of fewer vehicles than people in the household is a big jump, and a very non-standard move for 'normal' Americans. We also have access to a small pickup to borrow for farm tasks, so when we need to make a haul of strawbales, manure, lumber, etc., we have some flexibility.
Part of equation in cutting back on jobs to make room for our own work has always been trying to reduce expenses and complications. The car cut-back is a part of that. The Toyota was pretty reliable and low-maintenance (2.5 years of running solidly with no repairs needed--just some basic oil and filter and fluid changes), but it still had some operating costs. Fuel (and its mpg was half what the Jetta gets), oil changes, insurance...and the constant possibility that we'd continue to depreciate it with incidental body damage while building chicken coops, etc. (have I told you that story yet? hmm). Luckily that dent in the rear gate from our late-night chicken coop construction last fall didn't actually take its value down too much, and it sold easily.
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| The Toyota Rav4 (or as Noah always called it, "The Rave" served well for several years, but has been passed on. |
I had hardly used that car over the last year, so it's exciting to have it out, have the insurance charges for it off the budget, and not need to worry about servicing, repairs, or even just where to park it. Having just one vehicle does require a bit more creativity and advance planning, but since the home office is now just a short walk from the home kitchen, I think we can make it work. It's part of a process of paring down and simplifying a lot of things out of my life and space, and so far it's going well.
Just two bikes? Does that include the tandem?
ReplyDeleteHi Patty,
DeleteYes, just two bikes....we got such great use and fun out of the tandem while we lived in town, but once we were looking at 7-mile trips each way to get into town, we found we weren't so likely to use it for the long hauls. We each have one nice bike now, and though it was hard to part with it, we decided to trade it out for a bike trailer so we can more safely transport Malaya by bike. And of course deliver coffee! We advertised it for sale or trade for a trailer on the Missoula non-profit listserve, so we know it has a good home. It went to a woman who works "Missoula in Motion" an alternative transportation non-profit that encourages biking, walking, and bus. She was really excited to use it to take her young son to school and soccer practice and such (yes, my seat will now be filled by a 6-year old boy). Hopefully we'll see it around town!
It was really tempting to keep it just for occasional fun and guests, but as part of the dedication to only holding on to things that are really getting regular use, it made sense to trade it out for a trailer, which we'll use more often. We're still looking for that, though!
-Mary