Right now in the back of my gas guzzling SUV (hey, it’s paid for — my next car will be much more fuel efficient) is the following:

Battery powered drill, tools, three camp chairs left over from the kids soccer games, various sports equipment, clothes.  And that’s just what I can think of right now.

All of this junk, which is unnecessary BTW, adds weight to my car.  I don’t really need any of this stuff, but yet I’m paying for the gas to carry it around.

According to www.fueleconomy.gov:  Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2 percent. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

Another strategy to consider:  remove any items creating unnecessary drag.  I remember a friend who bought a bike rack for the top of his car with the intention of leaving it there all the time.  Nevermind that my friend only rode his bike occasionally.  He basically thought the rack looked “cool”.  Little did I know at the time that he was hurting his gas mileage by creating too much wind resisitance.  Other items to consider removing:  flags, luggage racks, and antenna toppers.  

By merely lightening the load, we can save $0.04 - $0.05 per gallon.  Go ahead, get the junk out of the trunk!

Photo credit:  hrisdlugosz