I certainly had to be organised this morning as we headed off bright and early to Melbourne. We usually catch the train if we have things to do in Melbourne but today we had several errands which really necessitated a car so we combined them into what turned into a mega-trip. I even plotted our route to the various locations to make sure that we made the trip in the most efficient way possible.

Ready to go.

One of the bags on the left was some things I needed to drop off at our daughter’s place. The other contained bags of fabric scraps which I can drop off at a specific point for textile upcycling. Our packed lunches and water bottle were in the esky which is always handy in case we happen to but any groceries that need to be refrigerated. Finally, the plastic tub contained an assortment of buckets and large jars as I was going to stock up on bulk dry goods at Graina. They offer a discount of 20% on Tuesdays if you bring your own containers. It is definitely worthwhile doing a bit of planning and preparation.

After dropping off the bag to my daughter and doing the grocery shopping we then headed to IKEA. Our goal was to buy the components to build the shelves and hanging space in our walk-in wardrobe. This was only partially successful as the shelves are currently out of stock so it will be another 4-6 weeks before we can get them. However, it is good to have all of the rest of the components ready to go.

We then ditched the car in favour of public transport and caught a tram into the CBD to drop off the fabric. I also had a bag from my daughter as well as the 2 bags of my own scraps. Our last stop was Cheaper Buy Miles at Footscray where shopping can be a bit like a lucky dip. Today I picked up some rice cakes, dark chocolate, bacon and cream.

By the time we arrived home it was 8.5 hours since we had left (1.5 hour drive each way). I was tired but pleased at what we had achieved in a single trip.

The foodstuffs unpacked on the bench in the pantry and ready to put away. We are well-stocked with dry goods for a few months.

Yesterday we were in Bendigo with a similarly mixed list of errands, including medical appointment, chemist, Aldi, greengrocer, Bunnings and Specsavers. I am now looking forward to several days at home with a couple of local meetings and appointments.