Spring is almost here! School breaks and planned trips are in the works. Here are a few ways to keep up your green ways, even when away from home.
Transportation
Driving? Find the most direct route. Also consider renting a hybrid or electric car. It might be exciting to try one!
Flying? Again, find the most direct route without stops. Once you arrive and need to get around, use public transportation. Or walk because it's fun to explore new places on foot. Many cities also have bike stations where you can rent one for the day.
Hotel
Did you know there are hotels that are dedicated to being eco-friendly? They pride themselves to being environmentally sustainable in how their hotel is run in waste, water, energy, and other areas. There is a good list of them at GreenHotels.com.
Otherwise I try to still follow the same practices I would at home. Shorter showers, reusing my towels (put a Do Not Disturb sign on the door so the maid won't come in), turning off lights, finding recycling containers for my paper/plastic instead of leaving them to be thrown away.
Didn't use the whole shampoo bottle? Take it with you or it will be tossed.
Food and Drink
Bring along your reusable bottle from home to refill your coffee and water.
Find restaurants that source local ingredients.
Shopping & Sightseeing
Bring along a cute cloth shopping bag and add all your souvenirs in it as you buy.
I love to wear my backpack instead of my purse - fits my wallet, water bottle, purchases, and little items I may need (bandaids, lotion, sunglasses, hat) and won't have to buy if I forgot them.
Return maps and brochures to be reused again.
I would love to hear your ideas on how you stay green when traveling!
Where are you going next?
This guest post is written by Courtney, a crunchy mama of 3 boys, who is passionate about healthy living and keeping her home green. Check out her blog at CrunchyBeachMama.com