Vacation time does NOT equal trash time

After a nice family vacation in the finest (okay, only) 50th state around, it's hard to get the family back to the normal grind. But, since it's the start of summer, it's really not that hard!

Vacations are great - you get to laze around, read more books and mags, and really play with the kids. What's not to like? But, vacations can also create laziness - the bad kind. While away from home, it's pretty darn easy to slip into "non green" mode. You know what I mean- you stay in a hotel so you don't care about excessive water or electricity usage. You run the A/C full blast even when you're not in your room. You let the kids use a billion napkins at the pool or you succumb to paper plates and plastic disposable cups and utensils if you're in a condo. You make a lot of trash, but hey, so what? It's not your problem, right?

So, this year on our vacation we really made an effort to follow the same living patterns that we do at home (but with the added bonus of a mai tai or two on the lanai some evenings!). Since we were staying in the same place as last year, I knew I could actually measure (well, not physically weigh the trash and recyclables!) whether or not we were sliding into the abyss.

After one week of high vacation living (and daily servings of shave ice!), we only took 1 can of trash to the curb. A miracle. Last year during the same period, we were so full of trash we had to sneak some into our neighbors cans. Victory! And, we didn't purchase a paper plate or plastic cup. Our water usage was minimal, and our A/C and fan usage was dramatically lower.

I was so proud of us, but the best part was that no one thought it was weird. It's just something that's become part of our lives. Even our snacks on the plane were packed in reusable storage containers (and just 2 baggies!).

So, take it from someone with experience. Just because you spend a summer vacation in someone else's house or a corporation's hotel, it doesn't mean that the planet will forgive you for being wasteful because you're "away from home". You've worked so hard to change the way you live - why wreck that by making a bigger mess?

Now, I'm not saying you have to spend your summer holiday in an eco pod somewhere in the Amazon. Enjoy your vacation - wherever you go. Just remember to show Mother Earth some love while you're lazing around.