Little Things - Save a Car Trip

Here is a little thing that most people could do to help out themselves and the environment. Try to just once a week replace a car trip with walking, biking, or taking public transit. If the distance is short enough, walk or bike. This could be a trip to the local store, a visit to a neighborhood friend's house, visit to the neighborhood park, etc. I would suggest this over attempting to commute by bike, as commuting takes more planning and is time specific. Commuting can be explored later on. Think of a trip you usually take by car at least once a week. It should be a local, convenient trip you can make by foot or bike. For me, I like to make a Sunday morning trip down to the local grocery store to pick up bagels for me and the kids. It's about 1 1/2 miles round trip, something that is easily done by bike. Even walking if fun if we have the time. Since I am only getting some small items, I don't need to worry about how to transport a bunch of stuff back home. To make the trip more adventurous, I sometimes attach the bike trailer and take the kids. They get a blast out of riding in the trailer, and they get bagels as a treat. Other times we take the trailer to the ice cream shop for a milkshake. They really get a kick out of that.
These types of outings are good in a few ways. For me, it gets me out in the neighborhood to see it in more of a personal level, rather than zooming by in a car at 40 MPH. I also get a little exercise. Riding a bike with a trailer isn't too difficult, but it does get the blood pumping. For the kids, it gives them something to get excited about. I get to spend some quality time with them. Plus, they get accustomed to seeing bikes used as practical transportation. A trip to the store or ice cream shop does not necessarily mean a trip in the car now. If I ask if we should take the car or bike trailer to the store, the answer is almost always "bike trailer!".
So, as one gets acclimated to the routine of making one trip a week without the car, it's easy to branch out to maybe one or two other trips by bike or walking. It is just one little thing that helps us all.