A major step in our move to sustainability happened today. Corey and I waved goodbye to our Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. We bought the car new in 2001, and it served us well over the years. When we bought it the mileage was actually pretty good compared to other options, or so we convinced ourselves. But recently the car has been sitting in the driveway providing target practice for passing birds.
Now we aren’t total SUV haters, so don’t get in a huff that I’m excited about selling mine. But Mark gave us a book last month about life without a car. Surprisingly, Corey snapped it up and read it first. She was entranced, constantly rattling off facts that she pulled from the book about how much money we could save and stress we could limit by reducing our dependence on cars. So we set ourselves about selling it.
We tried Craigslist first, with no luck. Then we posted it on Ebay and the darn thing sold without us even having to answer an email. Tonight, the new owners stopped over and traded us a check for the car. They were thrilled. Heck, I even threw in a bike rack because the guy is a bike rider.
After they drove off, we stood at the end or our driveway and looked at all of the open space. Now we just have a little Mazda sedan, we literally feel lighter. We are going to return the plates to refund our licensing fees and cancel the insurance. In all this move is going to save us well over $1000 each year. And I think we will be able to adjust just fine.
I’m planning on documenting our transition. We will be riding bikes and walking, and planning our trips in detail. Life just got much simpler, more affordable and way more sustainable.
