Why I Only Run Errands Once A Week
How many times a week do you “run to the store” or “run errands?”
I feel like those are common sayings as parents, aren’t they? There are often things to be bought, events to plan for, and things to do. But how often do we really need to be “running errands?”
Now let me say this. For us, there are times when it’s just good for all of us to get out of the house! Definitely the case in our household!
With that said, when we first got married, I found myself running errands multiple times a week. It was a bit of a shocker when we moved to Minnesota and things were a bit farther away and the gas to get to town, I wasn’t sure I wanted to use. So, I made it my goal to try and run my errands once a week. That meant trying to get all of my groceries, appointments if I could, and other little things done, in one run. Of course it didn’t always end up that way, but it was always my goal.
And that is my goal to this day. I still try to run my errands all in one morning. Then of course you run into the instance when romaine lettuce is re-called and I need to go to the store yet again to pick up some more lettuce, but ya know…
Though why do I only try to go once a week?
- It saves me time – sometimes it’s nice to just get out, but I’d rather spend my time doing other fun things with our daughter than running errands.
- It saves me money – I’m not tempted to buy things we do not need or more food than we will eat.
- It saves me gas – simple as that.
- It saves me sanity – long lines at the grocery store aren’t always fun (though Aldi is speedy), and sometimes it’s hard to keep a 3 year old entertained for that amount of time too.
So what are the things I always take along or do to ensure we only have to go out once a week?
- I always take a water bottle for both Mazy and I along, to keep in the car
- I always take snacks – for the both of us
- I have the app DO on my phone and it is an app that I can just jot random thoughts down on…or things I need to remember to get from the grocery store
- Take a cooler in those warm summer months
- Finally, BUNDLE. At the beginning of each week, figure out or anticipate what you might need to prepare for. I try to run our errands mid-week so that I can plan for the weekend, but have nothing to eat at the beginning of the week. But in doing so, I sometimes I have to run a few different places to plan ahead, so I try to bundle them altogether.
How about you? How many times do you run errands in a week? How many times do you WISH you ran errands in a week?
