Are you ready for the Summer? Have you made a list of all of the interesting and fun projects you’re going to complete? Is there something you’ve been longing to do? Need inspiration? Here are 10 ways to get started:
If you’d like to give back a little and soak up some culture at the same time, perhaps a charitable volunteering vacation is for you.
Check out Voluntourism.org for some interesting (and possibly rewarding) summer vacation ideas. Programs such as Bike & Build send young adults on working bike trips. During these trips, participants stop along the way, between 8 to 10 times, to help build homes with the local affordable housing groups in the area. Past trips have included the mid-west and the Gulf Coast.
Educators have the unique opportunity to volunteer teaching time all over the world. Explore volunteerinternational.org for additional resources on overseas volunteering. As a teacher, you can decide which program is right for you. They have many different levels of autonomy and creature comforts. You can also decide whether you would like to go to an urban or rural area.
More travel ideas and suggestions from Yahoo! Can be found at travel.yahoo.com/ideas.
Fodor’s has a wealth of information on hundreds of destinations around the globe. Go to fodors.com/world.
Fodor’s also have information on cruises and travel deals.
2. Do a little DIY. Seasoned do-it-yourself-ers know the best place to find great information on any home improvement subject such as painting, windows and doors, flooring, decorating, remodeling, electrical work, plumbing, bathrooms, kitchens, or yard work is the official DIY Network (diynetwork.com). Go to this site for expert advice, inspiring ideas, and sources for purchasing home improvement related products. Better Homes and Gardens also has a great section on DIY projects (tinyurl.com/bhgdiy).
3. Read a Good Book. A great way to find out what everyone else is reading is (of course) to check out the New York Times Bestseller List. (tinyurl.com/nytbk ). They categorize all genres and age differentiations, as well as hardcover, paperback and e-book editions. What should you read next? Whatshouldireadnext.com) is a great website to use for suggestions on your next literary conquest. Simply type the title of the last book you’ve read into the search field and a list will be generated of several appropriate titles.
4. Recycle an old t-shirt. Don’t throw it away! There are so many ways to repurpose old t-shirts. Check out these ten ideas on the Greenopolis website. (tinyurl.com/greenop). Or this neat little grocery bag from a conscientious blogger: tinyurl.com/greengrobag).
5. Throw a party. Now is the time to reconnect with old friends and cultivate new relationships. It’s easy to plan a party of any size when you have a theme in mind. For summer, if you have a grill, you might want to have a traditional barbecue, a shish-ka-bob party, or a fish fry. If you’re a vegetarian, you could have a vegetarian chili cook-off and have your guests bring the main course. Crock-pot pot-luck parties are always fun — just provide some side dishes, put out some power strips, and let your guests plug in!
Here are a few sites to help you plan the perfect summer get together:
Summer Party Planning from Country Living Magazine (tinyurl.com/clsummer).
Summer Party Planner from Real Simple Magazine (tinyurl.com/RSsummer).
Summer Party Menu Planner from Epicurious.com (tinyurl.com/EPIsummer).
Great Summer party planning tips from the site She Knows (tinyurl.com/sheknowsSummer).
Summer party planning tips from the Food Network (tinyurl.com/fnetsummer)
6. Improve Your Cultural Cred. You may just want to kick back and do nothing but lie around all day this summer — but don’t squander that opportunity to learn about something new. Plug into your ipod and veg out to these excellent culturally enhancing and mind-expanding podcasts.
The Dinner Party Download (tinyurl.com/dpdnld)
Interesting stories about history, current events, food, and celebrity interviews. The Splendid Table(splendidtable.publicradio.org) Hosted by Lynn Rossetto Kasper , this is the best podcast in the country for recipes, ideas, and food-related information.
Open Culture Library (tinyurl.com/oclibr )
Hundreds of downloadable cultural and educational podcasts.
7. Redesign your surroundings. Have you developed a personal style for your home and surroundings? Over the years, people acquire things that may not be in line with the core style that they want for their homes, and over time, the overall style of their homes become unclear. Use the time you have this summer to take stock of what you have and purge those things that might be diluting the core style of your home. It would help to first choose a specific style, source, or period, (i.e. mid-century modern, rustic, mission, French country, minimalist, pottery barn, West Elm, Design Within Reach, etc.) that you find aesthetically pleasing. Here are a few sources to inspire:
Design*Sponge (designsponge.com)
Design*Sponge is a design blog run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. Launched in August of 2004, the site updates between 6-8 times per day and was declared a “Martha Stewart Living for the Millennials” by the New York Times. Design*Sponge attracts a diverse group of devoted readers across the globe.
Apartment Therapy (apartmenttherapy.com) Their mission statement says it all: “Helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.”
8. Beautify Your Table. Nothing brightens up a room or makes a positive impression like fresh flowers. Summer is a great time to start brightening up your table with a nice vase full of fresh flowers. Whether from your own yard or the store, fresh flowers make a subtle statement in any room. Here is an excellent video about creating summer floral arrangements from Master Florist Chris Giftos on the Martha Stewart Show: (tinyurl.com/msflsum)
Go here: tinyurl.com/florclass for an excellent outline of all the tools and techniques you need to create professional looking flowers arrangements.
9. Improve your eating habits. In a recent documentary, Forks Over Knives, scientists show how a healthy diet with little or no animal products improved common medical problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Even if you’re not willing to give up your cheeseburgers entirely, it might be a good idea to use the summer as a kick-off for healthier eating. Here are some interesting sources on the web:
Healthy Recipes from the Food Network.
(tinyurl.com/healtheat )
The official Forks Over Knives website has success stories, recipes and more. forksoverknives.com)
10. Stay home and relax. Sometimes the best thing you can do for yourself is nothing. Or almost nothing. Use your relaxation time to reflect on yourself and work out your thoughts. The simple act of becoming relaxed can have great health benefits. Here are some great resources for learning how to relax. Stress management and relaxation techniques from the Mayo Clinic. (tinyurl.com/strsmgt) Blissing Out: 10 Relaxation Techniques To Reduce Stress On-the-Spot from WebMD. (tinyurl.com/blissout) Go to Naturalnews.com for relaxation news, articles and information.
Whatever you choose to do this summer, have a happy, safe, and healthy one!
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