Commiserating with your Commute

I am the queen of commuting and let me tell you, there’s nothing I hate more.  Commuting is NEVER fun in Chicagoland. I have had three jobs since moving to the area and all have been 20-45 miles from home.

Commute #1: Hoffman Estates to Grayslake (aka Now I know all the shortcuts to Six Flags)
This commute wasn’t evil, except the fact that I had to do it seven days a week for three and a half months.  What I remember most about it was The Mix completely overplaying that stupid “Shake It” song while I sipped on my daily McDonald’s iced coffee.
Commute #2: Hoffman Estates to Joliet (aka I-355 is my bff)
This commute was the evilest commute in the history of commutes. It was characterized by a brief stint on 290, followed by the entirety of 355, followed by an unfriendly part of Joliet featuring the Joliet Prison. I have lots of respect for Joliet, but driving 45 miles each morning with my cup of Trader Joe’s coffee and Sugarland CDs on repeat in the middle of February is not exactly my idea of a good time.
Commute #3: Hoffman Estates to St. Charles (aka So early I could watch meteor showers)
This is the same commute my husband has been doing since August 2008. It’s really not too bad, except I had to do it at 5:00am in order to open the coffeeshop I manage. Brewing coffee at home that early when you’re just going to be brewing coffee all day seemed ridiculous, so I enjoyed commercial-free radio with a cup of Carnation Instant Breakfast. (The milk chocolate is the only flavor worth buying.)

Now that we’ve moved to St. Charles, my commute is practically non-existent, but I’d like to share some tips for rest of you commuters, borne from my year of living in my car.

1. Get to know a mechanic. Become friendly with them. Bring them doughnuts. The wear and tear on your car after 90 miles a day is worth it. (I recommend Suburban Tire – I’ve found their customer service to be incredible!)
2. Take advantage of oil change deals you find. It seems there are always coupons at the grocery store or flyers in my mailbox. You’d be surprised how much more your car loves you after an oil change!
3. Put coffee in your coffee maker the night before. When you get up, all you’ll have to do is press the button, saving you about two minutes to check Twitter instead.
4. Make coffee at home at least four times a week. I used to treat myself to Starbucks on Wednesdays, a reward for making it through Monday and Tuesday. If I had had that raspberry latte every day, I would have spent over $900 in the first year. Cutting it down to once a week saves you over $700.
5. Download podcasts! My husband loves to listen to Click and Clack on long drives, but that’s because he’s a huge nerd. Chicago Public Radio distributes This American Life for free but if comedy is more your bag, The Onion has a free podcast as well!
6. Harass your friends into letting you borrow CDs. On my commutes, I discovered Mika, Sugarland, Adele, and the most recent Jason Mraz album.  What better way to fall in love with new music than having a free hour to listen to the whole thing?
7. Keep a plastic grocery bag in your car. Somehow, the trash piled up over the course of my commute. It was easiest to keep a trashbag in the backseat and drive by the dumpster before I got on the road.
8. Lay your clothes out the night before. I know, this is really Mom-ish advice, but you’ll never discover, “Holy crap, everything I own is wrinkled and I don’t have time to iron!”
9. Eat breakfast in the car. But please don’t eat cereal, yogurt, or anything messy that requires two hands. I need you to be a good driver. Stick to granola bars, fruit, or toaster-created yuminess. I also mentioned Carnation Instant Breakfast earlier in the article. Love that stuff.
10. Utilize the voice memo feature on your iPhone or iPod.  You can make grocery lists, to do lists, or Christmas lists all from the comfort of the driver’s seat without letting go of the wheel. Transcribe them later to avoid awkward moments listening to yourself in Target.

Hopefully, your commute doesn’t leave you at a standstill on 90 or Lake Shore Drive. But if it does, I hope these tips keep at least one person’s blood pressure down.

Popularity: 7% [?]