The Mail Room

Photo courtesy Flickr

A thoughtful cousin asked if she could compensate me for sending several parcels, and her request has me thinking about the economics of freight. Fourteen years ago, I threw my car away in disgust with Seattle traffic and as a hopeful gesture towards the environment. This decision is not for everyone, but it works in a neighborhood where the bus lines converge.

Transportation, it turns out, takes hidden forms. When I was spending twenty hours a week in second gear on surface streets as Mrs. Wheels, most of my trips were to stores or to thrift outlets to unload things I’d bought earlier. Putting aside a personal vehicle has allowed me to put aside those behaviors.

Owning a car means insuring it, and the cost of insurance reinforces driving to get the most out of the fees. Living independent of a car is a matter of expanding transportation options rather than subtracting the principal one. One of the major shipping companies maintains an office a few blocks away. It has slowly dawned on me that the most efficient way to get things from here to there or there to here is to use their “virtual doorman” service. Shipping costs are nothing compared to the price of a tank of gas and the amount of time it takes to play teamster.

It is tooth-grindingly annoying to keep shipping materials in the house. Corrugated boxes are bulky, unsightly, house mites, and mar woodwork and furniture. Now, I just keep tape. When it’s time to ship, I pick up the right sized carton at a freight outlet or a freebie at the post office and go for it. Empty egg cartons are good fillers, but my favorite is packages of prime local potato chips, not cheap, but a treat for a homesick loved one.

Using the shipping service is so efficient I bought my last washing machine this way. When traveling, I pack the tail end of a roll of tape and a bold marker so I can send purchases ahead and stay light on my feet.

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