When the weather heats up, the urge to travel naturally increases. Traveling can be both fun and exciting, but unfortunately it also has a largely negative impact on the environment. Before you rush out the door to parts unknown, make sure you are traveling in an eco-friendly manner. Whether you’re headed to another city, country, or continent, keeping the environment in mind can still be a priority. Even though the changes you make may seem small, we can do what we can to help reduce our ecological impact.

Research your Companies

Eco-friendly travel may be somewhat of a challenge, but it used to be much more difficult. Fortunately, there are more companies dedicated to sustainable travel.

Hyatt for example, currently holds a 64% Corporate Social Responsibility rating, which is very impressive for a hotel conglomerate of their size. They’ve also announced an Environmental Sustainability Strategy to reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. I loved the Hyatt Place I stayed at in Charlottesville, North Carolina. My friends rave about cruises though I’ve never been on one. Virgin Voyages is an all-inclusive luxury cruise line which has the practices of eliminating ocean waste, and converting geothermal heat into clean electricity.

Whatever kind of trip you’re planning, doing some research before you book will ensure you’re patronizing like-minded companies.

Do Not Disturb

If you’re planning an extensive stay in a hotel, consider cleaning your own room. The maintenance staff at a hotel will use copious amounts of water per day washing their patrons’ sheets and towels, and waste additional energy and electricity on continually vacuuming rooms. You can do your part to reduce this by simply utilizing your “Do Not Disturb” sign when you leave your room during the day. Cleaning up after yourself is not only a good habit to be in, but it will help guarantee no additional water or energy will be unnecessarily used on your behalf.

Some hotels give you the option when you check in to do housekeeping only after 2 or 3 days.

Go Local

Once you’ve arrived at your destination, the best thing you can do to support sustainability is to shop, eat, and drink locally. Giving your money to the community helps local culture flourish. Eating locally also encourages you to try new foods that you wouldn’t normally find at home. One of my favorite parts of traveling is trying the local cuisine.

Be sure to gently enjoy the natural areas around as well. Each new place gives you new wildlife to observe and views to take in.

Before You Leave

Sustainability starts at home! Even though you may be headed elsewhere, you may still be wasting energy at home. Most appliances and devices will continue to draw energy even when they are turned off. For some, the difference in energy consumption while they’re on versus when they’re off is negligible. Items like a washing machine, Apple TV, or your cable box will continue to use almost as much power while they’re off, while things like your television, routers, and modems, are never technically “off” to begin with. If you want to keep your energy usage to a minimum, make sure that all non-essential appliances and devices are fully off and unplugged before you leave for your trip.

These are just some of the things you can do to make your next expedition eco-friendly. What are some of your favorite tips and tricks for travel?

Many people I talk with think they don’t have time for fun. They have all the other duties, tasks, kid activities that they can’t play.

Often the real reason is people don’t think it’s a priority so they don’t plan any. They forget the energy and joy you gain from fun. The connection when it includes other people. And the release of have tos for a moment.

Think about the last time you had fun. Would you like to add more into your life?

Planning fun is helpful especially when you are rusty in that department. For instance, my hairstylist is near Lake Michigan. If I plan to leave 30 minutes earlier I can get a little walk in at the beach. And it’s a lot less time than taking another day to drive the 20 minutes there.

• What fun item can you add to an errand?
• Make it easier to find fun, local activities by getting their emails or follow them on Facebook (your city, the next city over, the county parks, local newspaper, radio station, etc.)
• Weekly plan one thing you can look forward to each day – it can be as small as blowing a few bubbles or doing a cartwheel
• Write out a fun list and post to your bulletin board for when you need an idea
• Ask your kids for ideas
• Some ideas for fun
• Notice when you are trying to get out of fun with “I’m too tired, too busy, etc.” Ask yourself what that is all about.
• Expect some guilt and learn to be ok with that.
• Sneak in fun – a 30 second funny video, cutting pancakes into shapes, dance crazy to one song, bounce on a mini-trampoline, keep a deck of uno cards in your purse for waiting time.

How do you plan for fun?

It is cold here in Michigan at the moment. Soon it will be, “stay outside 15 minutes and get frost-bite” cold. It’s time to hunker down. We’ve already had snow days and there are more to come.

What can you do with the kids when they can’t get outside and everyone is antsy?

Some frugal, family-time options:

• Set up a card table and put up a jigsaw people for everyone to doPop some real popcorn on the stove and catch some family-friendly movies.
• Build a pillow and blanket fort
• Light candles, gather blankets and make hot cocoa for a family reading afternoon
• Have a dance party with fancy outfits and glitter lotion
• Write real cards or letters to friends and relatives. Better yet, make your own!
• Board game/card game night
• Pull up Karaoke on Youtube and have a sing-a-long. Or if family members play instruments do a little talent show.
• Set up a table to do crafts – paints, play-doh, or some snow day only crafts
• Do some fun, science experiments
• Create a scavenger hunt where kids need to find items from a list you make up
• Bake cookies from Grandma’s recipe

Stay cozy this winter!

Yesterday morning I was walking along the beach. My grandpa loved to sail so I always look at the boats in remembrance.

There are always many more boats at shore, than in the water.

When I mentioned that to my husband he said that from growing up around here, he’d see people come in from Chicago just twice a year to spend a weekend with their boat. Even the smaller boats like his co-workers have are not taken out much.

I told him that if we had a boat we would take it out every weekend. Then I thought about the blowup kayak which has not seen much use or the tent or the picnic basket.

It’s time to take them out. Let’s use our fun things. Mark on your calendar so every year it comes up to schedule time with the boat, go-cart, fishing rods, or whatever it may be.

I will also watch when I buy limited use, seasonal items. To make sure I have the money AND the time to use them. I already nixed the idea of a porch swing. It sounds nice, but I know I won’t use it much and we don’t have anywhere to put it.

What can you play with this weekend?

I created a workbook to help you make time for fun and self-care. You can learn more here.

So many people seem exhausted lately. Their leisure time is not renewing them. Often lack of presence causes that feeling of dullness. Too often recreation is the background music to our thoughts.

In order to really be reinvigorated we need to be there – seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling.

If I am in nature but I don’t see or hear because I am too busy in my own thoughts, nature can’t nurture. Crafting is relaxing in the feel of the fabric, the colors, the rhythm of the needles. When you don’t notice, you don’t get the relaxation. Reading renews when you are immersed in a book, not when you have to read the same page 5 times because you drift off.

I was reminded of this at a writer’s retreat I was on recently. We were to take an hour in nature for writing inspiration. Instead of looking around I was deep in thought – in my head again. To my left I heard what sounded like hammering. I saw a little grey and black woodpecker with a tuft of red on its head.

The bird continued to disturb the peace, but made me smile. I was out of my head and back in the world of seeing the beauty. A tiny toad almost hopped on my toe. Another huge toad was completely still for minutes. A white butterfly joined us. I smelled the wildflowers and heard the birds.

The woodpecker flew right in front of me to a tree on the right. Finally it noticed me and flew off. I stood up to leave as well to continue my walk. This time with eyes open.

***

We talk about soft time and focus in my Change Your Relationship to Time class.

I had been feeling a little jaded and cynical. Life didn’t feel very sparkly after a period of overwork. Then a ran across the word

fascination

Giggles bubbled up. What would it be like to allow daydreaming and imagination? Riding through the galaxy in my mind on a unicorn.

To be immersed, digging deeper and deeper into interest and truth.

Wondering.

Playing instead of working in my mind.

Re-connecting with soul, meaning and awe.

Feeling so alive that enthusiasm shines like sun on glass.

I want to be fascinated.

Are you feeling tired, cynical, or hopeless? What do you want to be fascinated by?

To add a little light to your day, try these elephant coloring pages. Mine are printed out to color today.

***

Photo is a screen capture of the elephant coloring page by Easy Peasy and Fun.

After a wonderful church service, the beach calls to me. I drive there with the windows down. When I arrive, I leave my shoes in the car. When my feet first melt into the dry sand, it is immediate relaxation. As I walk the pier I hear different languages spoken. Many are posing for pictures on the huge rocks next to the pier. A big black duck with a orange beak suns on one of the rocks.

Others take pictures of the bluer than normal Lake Michigan water with a purple haze at the horizon. White sails of different sizes are near that horizon, almost as many as the seagulls resting on the water. Someone sits at the end of the pier meditating.

I walk back off the pier so I can walk the shore. The cold water surprises me, but makes me feel alive. The rhythm of the gentle waves lapping the shore seems to match my breathing.

A family of ducks visit a couple on their beach towels. They simultaneously take pictures and try to shoo them away. Children laugh as they splash. An artist uses elaborate containers to create a sand castle.

My feet reach the sand once more. The sand feels warm against my numb feet. Now I walk to the channel and watch the boats slowly go in and out to Lake Michigan.

I am renewed.

Last weekend, my husband and I rode the motorcycle to the "Blessing of the Bikes" in Baldwin. We stopped by the usual diner, to meet other riders we go up with. Half as many motorcyles were in the parking lot when we pulled up.

One of the riders got a big smile when he saw us come in. "I am so glad you showed up or I may have had to ride home and do some work."

We ate our breakfast as the others filled us in on people’s absences. Mainly people didn’t come because they were working on house and garden projects.

I felt so sad. This event only happens once a year and they all seem to love the ride. They missed out on the gorgeous weather, the conversation, the people and motorcycle watching. So they could work on projects.

I see this as a huge trend. Instead of living life, a lot of people are doing more and more work on their houses to match what they see on HGTV and other shows like that. Every weekend they are working on their houses, missing out on renewing fun and other people.

I think house projects can be a delightful, creative outlet. But, when all your leisure time is eaten up by your house, you may be missing out on living life.

On my "Things I want to do this year" list, for the past few years has been "Go out dancing."

I hadn’t done it. For years.

I didn’t want to go out by myself. My husband is a no-go on any dancing. My close friends, I thought would not be interested in going out dancing. Not that I actually asked them.

So every year I thought how fun it would be. And every year I didn’t go.

When an acquaintance of mine invited a group of us to go dancing at a live band walk in a nearby city you think I would have been saying, "Yes!"

But, then that snotty voice appeared. "You don’t even know these people all that well. It will be so awkward." "You are too overweight and old to be going out dancing." "You can’t really even dance." "Boy that is late. You won’t get home till after midnight."

I almost talked myself out of doing what I had wanted to do for years.

Instead I tucked my ego into my pocket and went out dancing. I had so much fun and got to know a group of ladies better.

Do you have anything in your life that you’d really like to do, but that ego talk is getting in the way?

Do you want to save the rainforest, but don’t want the room Moms to look down on your for not bringing baked goods? Do you want to take a "frivolous" class that would light you up, but then you might have to ask your husband to drive the girls to gymnastics? What would the church ladies say if you started riding on a motorcycle for fun? (For me, absolutely nothing.)

We simplify our lives so we can do what fills our spirit and brings light to others. But, if we are stopped by that voice, we will keep filling our lives with stuff we don’t need and don’t want to do.

So what is one thing you would like to do? Can you move beyond the voice to do a tiny step towards that?