Monthly Archives: May 2011

The summer travel season is upon us! As you plan trips to the beach, the islands, Europe or the ‘Staycation’ destination in your city, remember you can still go green away from home. Here are a few tips on how to maintain your green lifestyle as you travel through the summer months.

Participate in Hotel Water Conservation. Do you wash your towels and sheets everyday at home? Why do you go on vacation and expect a new towel every day? By reducing the laundry load in hotels, you save water, detergent and energy required to treat so-called “gray water” once it has been used in the wash. Make sure to ask the hotel staff or write a note to the housekeeper to ensure that your expectations are met. If staying with multiple people in a room, use safety pins with different color beads to denote which towel belongs to whom.

Pack Reusable Water Bottles. This is practical for both the environment AND your wallet. Don’t waste your money buying multiple bottles of water when you can fill one up for free. Most hotels have drinking fountains or water coolers with drinking water if you don’t trust the tap. Plus, you can take the bottle with you when you leave the hotel for hydration throughout the day.

Do Homework on Your Airline. American and Continental Airlines are both instituting energy saving upgrades for both in flight services as well as gas reduction, weight removal and waste management. Southwest is working on a program to ensure that all waste produced in flight is recycled. Book your trip with a company that is as sensitive to the environment as you are.

So as you indulge in all this world has to offer, make sure you leave behind an equally beautiful destination.

Mother’s Day is this weekend and if you have yet to make any plans or get a gift, we’ve written a list of five ideas to help you out. Consider Mom’s wants and needs before deciding on a gift: what does she love but doesn’t have time for? What stresses her out? What does she do for you all the time that she could use a break from? Here is some inspiration:

Gift cards. Who doesn’t love free money?! More personalized than handing Mom a wad of cash, a gift card ensures she spends it on something extravagant for herself. Give her a gift certificate for her favorite nail salon or for a facial at a spa. Living Social and Groupon oftentimes have great deals on spa packages and other indulgent services.
Electronic reader. If it’s in your budget, invest in an e-reader like a Nook or a Kindle for Mom. She will love not having to carry around heavy books in her purse anymore. Electronic books are also cheaper than the physical ones so she’ll get twice the reading for half the cost in the long run.
Scrapbook. Make Mom a scrapbook of all her favorite pictures, ticket stubs and other keepsakes that are just lying around. Everyone knows that homemade presents make the best gifts anyway and this one is extra personalized. She will appreciate the time and energy you took to gather all the photos and trinkets AND the extra space in the closet that it was taking up before.
Organize family night. Mom’s love spending time with their families, but oftentimes we are too wrapped up in our own lives to make time for family night. Take the initiative and work around everyone’s schedule to plan an evening for some quality time. Play board games or have a movie night, just make sure you do something everyone will enjoy and plan in advance so everyone can plan accordingly.
Baby keepsake. If your wife is a new Mom, make her first Mother’s Day extra special with a hand or footprint keepsake of your new baby. It’s easy, it’s affordable and it’s sure to be cherished forever. Babies grow up so fast and it is important to make every step along the way as memorable as possible. If you’re nervous about dipping your child in ink, you can always get a shoe bronzed; they make great bookends.

Whatever you decide to give her, make sure your gift is from the heart and makes her feel truly special. This is her day and the perfect opportunity to thank her for all she does day in and day out throughout your entire life. After all, without here, there would be no you.