It’s spring break season (unless you live where I do—we “spring break” at the end of winter), and my recent trip to Florida left me reconsidering my choices when I leave home.

What changes can I make to travel a little greener?

What follows are five ideas I’ve come up with—but I’m interested to hear yours too! Most of these I learned the hard way (mistakes were made), and some I’ve been doing for a while.

Regardless of whether spring break is in the rearview mirror for you, as it is for me, I’m guessing most of us have summer plans coming fast on the horizon . . . so let’s learn from my mistakes and aim for a greener travel experience to come!   

1. Bring your own reusable water bottle. It’s a habit of mine at this point to fill a Hydro Flask before I leave home and use it throughout the trip, refilling wherever I can. At most airports, you’ll find refillable water stations within walking distance of most terminals. (I’ve also had luck refilling at some restaurants.) Just remember to arrive at the airport with an empty bottle!

   
   

   And when you get to your destination, if you’re staying at a traditional hotel, you can usually refill your water bottle at breakfast (if they offer it) or in the hotel’s fitness center (which typically has a water cooler).

   
   

   

2. Bring your own reusable coffee mug. This tip I learned from close friends of our family. We went on vacation together to see the Ark Encounter in Kentucky, and when we met them in the morning at breakfast, they had reusable coffee mugs in their hands instead of using the hotel’s throwaway cups. I loved this idea! Truthfully, I have yet to remember to pack a reusable coffee mug, but my hope is that writing it down will cement the idea in my brain.

   
   

3. Bring a large bag for clean, dry recyclables. Last summer, our family met up with my husband’s parents and siblings for a lake trip. The house we rented didn’t offer recycling, but since we drove, it worked out to use a large bag to store all our recyclable items from the week, which our family took home. (In hindsight, we also could have researched the area a bit—there might have been a drop-off recycling center nearby.)

   
   

   The main thing is, know that VRBOs and Airbnbs may only offer a trash service, so bring a bag for recyclables the same way you would bring a bag for dirty laundry.

   
   

   At hotels, I’m finding that more and more places are offering places to recycle (either in the room or somewhere on site), so when you arrive, simply ask if they have recycling stations, and if not (and you’re driving), follow the same game plan to recycle at a public facility nearby or at home.

4. Hang up your towel. Hotels have been leaving signs and pamphlets about this for years, so I’m not going to belabor the point . . . but I will say, if you’re in the camp that you want a new towel every day for cleanliness, I found this information from the Cleveland Clinic that might alleviate some fears.

   
   

   According to a dermatologist, Alok Vij, MD, the general rule is “you should launder your bath towel (or swap in a clean one) at least once a week. … And your washcloth? That needs replacing more often—at least a couple times a week.”[i]

   
   

   You might also want to know that doing the opposite—leaving damp towels in a pile on the floor—can be counterproductive to your hygiene goals, as it encourages bacteria to grow.

   
   

   So that extra ten seconds it takes to hang your towel each day? It’s cleaner and you’re saving on water and energy.

5. Treat your hotel room like you’re at home. It’s tempting when you’re at a hotel (and you’re not footing the enormous energy bills at the end of each month[ii]) to stay in the shower longer, to turn the AC lower, to not care whether the lights are off as you exit the door. But consider that the energy used (and wasted) by our poor hotel habits will have a negative impact, even if we don’t perceive it now.

   
   

   Natural gas is a finite resource.

   Fresh water is a decreasing resource.

   The fossil fuels used to run electricity are depleting, non-renewable resources.

   
   

   As we burn extra energy to make ourselves just a little more comfortable, I’m afraid we don’t realize the long-term impact we’re having on our environment. Our towns, our country, and our families may not be feeling the devastating effects of climate change right now . . . but others are:

Cape Town today . . . our town tomorrow?

No Change Is Too Small

This isn’t meant to be pessimistic, but overconsuming resources is a real concern that requires real change. And just like anything else that creeps into culture, if we’re not intentionally fighting it (whether overconsumption, materialism, or apathy), we’re likely contributing to it.

So I suggest this simple mind-shift: treat the hotel like it’s home. If you wouldn’t want to pay the energy bill at the end of your stay, don’t create the need for someone else to pay it either. And this idea can be applied not just to hotel managers paying for our energy bills, but to our global neighbors “paying” for our collective choice to overuse what the Lord, through His Earth, has not given to us in infinite supply.

Just some food for thought. And remember, no change is too small to make a lasting difference.

Wishing happy, safe, and hopefully a little greener travels to you all! 💛

Notes

[i] “How Often Should You Wash Your Bath Towels?”, September 11, 2024, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-often-should-you-wash-your-germ-magnet-of-a-bath-towel.

[ii] According to one energy company, “the average hotel in the Midwest spends over $22,000 per year on electricity and natural gas.” See https://www.midamericanenergy.com/hotel for a breakdown of energy use, including a chart that shows what “hotel activities use the most energy and cost the most.”

[iii] See Wilson Chan, “Are We Running Out of Water?”, February 9, 2019, https://earth.org/are-we-running-out-of-water/.