Staycations: The new wave in eco-vacations
Forget eco-tourism. The greenest way to vacation is to have a "Staycation." That's right, it's just what it sounds like, a vacation, where you stay home. No flying, no long car trips. Now, as someone who will actually be embarking on a staycation this year instead of a - No cooking: While on vacation, we usually eat light during the day and then have a nice dinner out at night. I can do that!
- No projects or errands: Of course, you'll have to keep up with your daily housekeeping routine, or you'll have quite a mess to clean up at the end of it. Otherwise, no taking on big projects like cleaning out the basement or painting the garage. No catching up on errands or appointments either. If you wouldn't do it on a
realvacation, don't do it on your staycation.
- Plan a few day trips: Plan a few day trips around your area. Best part is, you'll be flexible and not so bummed if it rains out one day, as you can always go the next day. Or any other day during the year, since you're, er, right in your area.
- Unplug: This one is critical. One must unplug. Sometimes I think that we deliberately seek out places for rest and relaxation just to get away from our computers and laptops and Blackberrys and cells. Change the voicemails on your phones too. For even more oomph, turn off your TV too. If you think you might be really antsy and needing some screen time, rent a few classic films that you've been meaning to see.
For more tips, see this article at Green Living Online. Also, see Staycations Holidays, which kindly reassures me that, "no longer is it a stigma when asked 'where did YOU go for your vacation?' and have to answer, "we stayed home." And then when people tell you about their fabulous trips to island paradises, kindly ask them how they offset all those carbon emissions.
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