On a trip I made to Italy last year, where the prices of gasoline make
ours look like a bargain, I took note of some practices that we could
well adopt here.
Those folks don't just jump into their cars and drive to the local
grocery store solo every couple of days, they SHOP-POOL.
Several (3 or 4) families carefully make lists of what is needed, and
they all go TOGETHER in a van every week or two to the grocery stores
and buy in one trip.
Makes gasoline very cheap that way. Less wear and tear on your auto.
Less traffic on the streets.
Not to mention the social aspects.
Everyone knows their neighbors VERY well.
DO YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORS?
Why would each family go solo almost simultaneously
to shop, probably to the same store, when they can do
it together and save?
If one of the neighbors MUST go to the shopping district solo,
they ALWAYS call the others and ask if they need anything at all picked up.
Common sense.
Recently, I was visited here by an Italian friend. We went shopping.
We stopped at one store, then decided to visit another store about
a block away (within view). We could have walked over
(That's what they do in Italy),
but I drove to the next store, as usual. He was aghast. He asked,
why did we drive that short distance? I told him that I wanted
him to see what the average American does. He shook his head.
If we would all would just walk a block or two, rather than start the
car and burn gasoline, it would probably pay huge dividends.
Saves gas, and many health benefits of walking.
(I noticed there that it was very, very rare to see an overweight
individual there - unlike here in the US), and their coronary disease
rate is much lower. They walk, they bike, and EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE
OF THEM had fruit trees and a vegetable garden.
Just some thoughts...
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Haven't you also noticed that in Europe they don't have those giant fridges that most people have here, all loaded up with so much convenience food that it goes bad before it gets used, like those bagged salads, or cut-up fruit in plastic containers (expensive!).
If you walk or bike, shopping more frequently gets you fresher produce (unless you garden) and excercise- both.
This is all good stuff to think about.