Christa, Day 44: No Can Do

Here's some information about my car: It gets P. and us to the doctor, though we have walked her to the ER once before. It gets us to New York to see my mom and my grandparents. It gets me to work in a town with very limited local public transportation. It allows me to pick up free toddler clothes and gear from Freecycle. It makes doing things like buying groceries and seeing other people possible in our terrible white winters.

All of which brings me to today's simplification idea:

Try living without a car. OK, this isn’t something I’ve done, but many others have. It’s something I would do if I didn’t have kids. Walk, bike, or take public transportation. It reduces expenses and gives you time to think. A car is also very complicating, needing not only car payments, but insurance, registration, safety inspections, maintenance, repairs, gas and more.

Well, Leo, it IS something I've done. I had no car in Brooklyn for some time and even no car in Queens for a little while. This was doable because I was a hip single gal living in Brooklyn and then Queens where there were plenty of Asian markets and, later, a supermarket down the block and great 24-hour public transportation and also everything I needed at all hours because I was in New York City. Carless in Boston might be possible, but everything closes at what feels like 9 p.m. - including the public transportation!

Carless in the north shore? Ahaha.

Could I do it? Yes. I'd have to find new doctors for all of us and while we do have a grocery and bank and post office within walking distance, it would be a cold horrible experience to get to them from December to March, so I'd probably just feed my family un-cashed checks and unsent mail all winter. I'd have to quit my job, or give my reluctant boss a telecommuting ultimatum. We could still visit our New York family, but getting there would be a day's worth of train rides (commuter rail, 1 hr w/ walking, to Amtrak, 4+ hrs, to LIRR, 2 hrs) and a lot more expensive. No more free stuff pick ups.

Yes, owning a car is more expensive than taking a bike everywhere or using public transportation. Provided there even is reliable public transportation. Look, we walk. A lot. And bike.




Weekend shopping is often a by foot affair that includes the whole family. I like to use my car as little as possible. But life without a car where we live? Would be downright complicated. Figuring out something simple like how to visit with a friend would be such a pain in the butt that I'd become a hermit. I would not make the effort or spend the money to see my family. And I'd be shopping every day for things since I'd be limited to however much I could carry home in a wheely basket. Which was perfectly fine in New York when the stores I frequented were a block away. Not so much here.

Call me whiny, if you will. But this is an idea for city dwellers, not us current suburbanites.

Christa, Day 34 and Day 35: Downsizing the BIG Biggies is Doable?

Here's a bit of trivia for you that's never going to come up in a pub: My house measures up at something in the neighborhood of 1,100 square feet of space, and that includes an entirely unfinished room that's currently a repository for bags and bags of baby clothes and toys outgrown by my daughter. Here's a fact that might come up in pub trivia: The average home size in the U.S. in 2009 was 2,700 square feet. Which brings me to, er, yesterday's simplification idea:

Consider a smaller home. If you rid your home of stuff, you might find you don’t need so much space. I’m not saying you should live on a boat (although I know some people who happily do so), but if you can be comfortable in a smaller home, it will not only be less expensive, but easier to maintain, and greatly simplify your life. Read about downsizing your home here. 

Can I check this one off? Sure, it feels like we live small, but I think if we ever found ourselves in the position of needing to move, I wouldn't be totally against downsizing further. Consider a small home? Okay, I'm considering it. I can't say I'd follow in the Attorney at Large's footsteps and go for full on studio living, but I could do a two or three bedroom condo comfortable as long as the location was right. Right now, we're comfortable with our style of living small, which statistically sees us living smaller than most in the U.S., though plenty bigger than many people in the rest of the world.

The thing is, our tiny Cape Cod Revival may be small, but I've been careful to keep furniture scaled appropriately. And as small as it is, it's still a four bedroom house with a good sized finish basement. Tedd, the P., and I could all retire to separate rooms for days at a time, if we wanted to. Sure, we don't have a dining room and do it all in an eat-in kitchen, but we never did host dinner parties anyway and no one has ever complained about having to eat outdoors on the deck in the summer or in the living room in the winter. We have one full bath along with something akin to an airplane bathroom, but so far our schedules have allowed for that - and I don't mind doubling up in the shower, woo woo. 

I literally cannot count the number of times we were told we'd get sick of our small house quickly or feel cramped as soon as we had a child - mostly because it's not like I tried to keep track of a number - but that hasn't proven true. I know Tedd would like more private space, but we're working on that. The unfinished room I mentioned will become his office one of these days. P. and I, on the other hand? We like to keep things cozy. I like a small house... it's easy to clean and keep neat with minimal effort, it encourages family time, and it's relatively affordable to heat and cool. Would more house be nice? I guess. But it actually feels like we have a lot of space right now.

And now for Day 35's voluntary simplicity idea:

Consider a smaller car. This is a big move, but if you have a large car or SUV, you may not really need something that big. It’s more expensive, uses more gas, harder to maintain, harder to park. Simplify your life with less car. You don’t need to go tiny, especially if you have a family, but try to find as small a car as can fit you or your family comfortably. Maybe not something you’re going to do today, but something to think about over the long term.

We have a... crossover? It's a Kia Rondo, which I believe they stopped making in favor of the Soul. It's kind of like a tiny van or a slightly steroidal station wagon. Are smaller cars totally doable for families. Yes. Would they make life any simpler for MY family? No. Like many family vehicles, ours contains a car seat, and like many safety obsessed parents, we're keeping that car seat rear facing because that is safest. You can squeeze a rear-facing car seat and a toddler into a tiny car, but it's not comfortable for most involved.

What else? Our car provides stroller storage, which is a plus since our house is so tiny and our stroller is so gigantic. We travel to New York fairly often, too, and that means hauling our somewhat larger than average portable crib and then, on the way back, whatever stuff the fam decides to bequeath us on any particular visit. Our car has been useful when hauling mass amounts of garden supplies, bikes, weight benches, furniture, and Christmas presents. In Tedd's words, "We've stuffed that car."

In conclusion, having a slightly larger car has improved our lives, the gas mileage isn't bad, and I like being able to move stuff around. Give up my large-but-not-huge car? Nawwwww.