Five businesses that will help you live carfree
Posted on 23. Nov, 2009 by Tony Arranaga in Featured, News
Grocery shopping, picking up dry cleaning and any errands that normally require a car can be especially tricky when you’re carfree in Phoenix. Alternative transportation like the light rail, a bike or even a Zipcar (car sharing program) can get you around, however I’m curbing my use of the latter after my record carfree spending month in October. Running errands is not a huge problem when you’re carfree, but the wire basket attached to the handlebars is limited to what it can carry because of size as you can see in the picture below.
I learned rather quickly to limit my purchases to whatever will fit in the basket and in one arm. Once in awhile, I’ll go over my maximum capacity and regret the decision the entire 10 minute ride home. I say all this not to complain or to disuade someone from living carfree, but rather to bring a solution. In an effort to save time, and possibly my arm from falling off during an errand run, I’ve decided to check into stores around the Valley that have delivery services – and see how they measure up in comparison doing it all myself.
Safeway.com – I used this site to purchase groceries and it was a breeze to navigate. The tabs were pretty basic in terms of directing you to different pages on the site. You can chose the day and time in most cases the next day if not that same day if you place the order by a certain time. I purchased 11 items ($60 worth of groceries) and the delivery cost is $12. From what I could see, everything that I would normally buy at the store was also available online and for delivery. Perfect! The delivery charge is a bit much in relation to what I’m ordering, however the convenience will be worth it. Having said that, Safeway is currently offering free delivery for first time customers and for 60 days following your first purchase. If you’re looking for great frozen food try Schwans.
GooberPetDirect.com – Carrying a small bag of dog food on a bike isn’t hard, but it becomes an issue when you have to go and buy that small bag every week or two. Especially when you could buy a bigger bag and save a trip and money but can’t carry such a large bag while riding a bike. A friend referred me to Goober Pet Direct which delivers dog, cat and small animal food (like rabbit and bird) right to your home. Cost wise, the bags are comparable in price to the same product I bought at the store. I ordered a bag of food, but couldn’t find anywhere on the site to schedule a delivery? I also wish they had a close up picture of the dog treats. The best part: free delivery!
NaturesGardenDelivered.com – I’m so excited about delivery service because of four words: natural, organic and local fruit. There was a good variety of fruits and vegetables to choose from in addition to the size of your order. I purchased a tiny box of approximately 20 pieces of assorted fruit for $28. Although the fruit will most likely be gone in a couple of days, I figured I would try a small box first just in case to see how quickly I eat it and how long the fruit will keep. You order early in the week and Nature’s Garden delivers later. Bonus: free delivery!
OrganicDryCleaners.com – My dry cleaner doesn’t deliver, but I have used Organic Dry Cleaners on Thomas back in my pre-carfree days. Organic does a great job, but the prices were a little higher than most cleaners and you can cut that price down a little with the special internet only offers on their homepage. I’m not sure if this service would work for me because they require a three piece dry cleaning minimum per order and I’m usually going to get shirts laundered. The delivery is free.
Baker Nursery – Schlepping a heavy bag of dog food is the least of my concerns compared to a prickly cactus for my patio or a house plant to green my living room. Problem solved with the Baker Nursery delivery service. The cost for delivery to the Downtown area is $20 and is more expensive from there depending on how far east or west you are from the nursery which is located on 40th Street.
The most important thing to remember, as with most carfree living, be sure to plan ahead when ordering for delivery. The stores I mentioned above may not be able to deliver the same day or even the very next day, so waiting until the last minute could mean you’re back to running errands on your own.
Did I miss any errands? Have you used a delivery service either here in Downtown Phoenix or where you live?
Jacqui
24. Nov, 2009
This is great, thank you! I definitely want to get away from using my car so much at least on the weekends. Great idea for a list, and I’ll keep my eyes out for others.
Tony Arranaga
10. Dec, 2009
Thanks Jacqui! I guess this is a good time to update: the dog food came through brilliantly! They even threw in a box of dog treats as a first time order. Safeway: I think there was operator error on my part … I never got my order. Nature’s Garden is in the works. And I will probably call the cleaners to come pick up in the am. I also just thought of another one that would be good…Arrowhead water…BUT I think a Britta container with a filter that you refill from tap works just as good.
Let me know if you have any that work well.
Chloe
14. Dec, 2009
I just wanted to add a comment on Safeway. I really like online grocery shopping and it worked extremely well for me when I live in Miami. I really can’t handle Safeway though. I like to use my canvas bags when I go to the grocery store, so it kills me to get an online order from them and I get a hundred plastic bags with one or two items in each. Literally, one or two items in a bag. I feel like it negates the positive effect of not taking a car to the store. I also find their website cumbersome and slow as compared to other online grocery sites.