Pete Skenandore has a new perspective on grocery shopping.

Before, he'd push a cart full of groceries from the store to the car, drive home with his air-conditioner blasting, and carry the bags from the garage to the kitchen. Pretty much like everybody else.

Loading the groceries into a small two-wheeled cart attached to a bicycle and then pedaling down Fairview Avenue and Meridian Road under a hot sun - now, that's a challenge.

"It gives new meaning to bringing home the bacon," Skenandore quipped.

The new lifestyle began July 11, when the Skenandores embarked on a monthlong quest to reduce their fuel, energy and water use by half.

The idea was a whim, Christelle Skenandore said, sparked during a recent family "walk and talk" - a regular family outing where the five of them share what is going on in each other's lives.

The Skenandores brainstormed ideas on how they could "amp it up a little" and have a new, meaningful family experience.

The next day they stowed the car in the garage, turned off the air conditioner and launched a Web site to blog and track their 30-day experience.

Christelle Skenandore called Idaho Power, United Water and Intermountain Gas companies, and each told her what to look for on their home's meters to see if the family's efforts are working. On Aug. 10, they will see how well they did.

The Skenandores' motivation extends beyond improving the planet and fattening their pocketbook. It is about connecting with their new home.

"We are falling in love with this community," Christelle Skenandore, 37, said.

They moved to Meridian from the Seattle area five months ago, drawn to the Treasure Valley's quality of life, she said. And the Skenandores feel they have a responsibility to help maintain that quality of life.

"We love the clean air, the clean water. Now we have to do our part to help keep it that way," she said. They want to instill that awareness and appreciation of community in their kids.

Caitlyn, 8, suggested turning off the water while brushing their teeth and walking or biking everywhere.

Blake, 17, and Brandon, 16, who are in the heyday of teenage driving, may have given up the most of any family member by offering to toss the cars keys aside and haul out their skateboards and bicycles. "We realized we rely on the car a lot," Brandon said, especially for short simple trips like going to the store or a nearby friend's house.

"Our car has now been parked for 6 days!" reads the daily blog report for July 17.

Pete Skenandore, 42, works from home, which he thinks gives him an unfair advantage over workers who commute.

To be fair, and to prove it is not always necessary to drive a car to work, Pete decided to "commute" to work every day.

"This morning me and my guilty feelings have started commuting to work," he wrote on his blog. "It's about a 40-minute bike ride door to door. And yes, it's the same door. My door. To my house. I'm commuting to my own house. Twice a day."

Before last week, the family bicycles got little use. Now they are called into action daily, which has brought about an unexpected result. The Skenandores are whittling down not only their energy bills but also their waistlines. By halving their car use, they are doubling their exercise.

"I really feel great," Pete said.

Another pleasant surprise is increased family communication.

The blog, regular check-ins, friendly reminders to turn off a light, walking to the store together instead of one person dashing out in the car, more careful planning of errands and outings - they've brought an already close family even closer.

At night, instead of going to their respective rooms and turning on the lights to read or work on the computer, they gather in one room to share the lighting.

Christelle and Pete recently made a late-night run to the grocery store for milk, a typically banal chore.

On the Web site, Christelle noted the moment: "I felt like a kid again being out on our bikes when the streetlights were on. I started laughing because I was doing this with my husband and it was just fun."

Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428