DIY Life

Everything is expensive nowadays, and let's face it -- a summer vacation just may not be in your budget this year. You don't have to sacrifice family fun just because you can't get away, though; instead, follow my tips for a frugal staycation filled with old favorites and new adventures!

Come on in -- the water's fine!
No staycation would be complete without a day at the beach or pool, and you've got lots of cheap options.

• Got a friend with a pool? Bum a visit, and bring burgers and hot dogs for everyone. You've done your share -- and gotten a free day of swimming.
• Find a state park (here's a list of all U.S. state parks) with a lake and beach. They are usually only about US $5 per car; they often have BBQ pits so you can cook your own meals, and you could even rent a canoe.
• If you live in the mountains, you can probably pull over to the side of the road and frolic in the rocky river for the day, like we do when we visit New Hampshire. That's free, folks!
• Living near the ocean is quite a perk, and can cost anywhere from free to about US $20 per car. If you are coastal, you've got to take advantage!

With skyrocketing gas prices, and the subsequently rising costs of food and what seems like everything else, most people just don't have quite as much room in their budget for vacations as they used to.

It's no surprise that staycation seems to be a major buzzword this year. This summer, my son and I are sticking quite close to home. If you ask my son, his favorite "vacations" of this summer may be the camping trips we've had in our own backyard.

I know it sounds silly, but there's something about setting up the tent and bringing out all the gear that's just thrilling for a kid. Even if the scenery is the same thing you see every day, somehow it looks new through the mesh window of a tent.

With a little creativity, you can make this no-cost activity actually feel like a vacation. Just think of the things you would do if you were camping away from home, then recreate the experience as much as possible. I'll share some ideas after the break.

S'mores are traditionally melted over a blazing camp fire. I enjoyed these summer evening treats when I was younger, and want to pass on the ooey-gooey tradition to the sweet toothed kids in my life. We just can't get out in front of a campfire this year, but that isn't going to stop us from indulging in the graham cracker goodness.

When I first heard about microwave s'mores, I was horrified at the whole idea. I really thought that s'mores should be left where they belong: on the campgrounds.

After trying them, it's all I can do to not microwave one for myself right now.

Summer vacation keeps rolling along. How long until your kids go back to school? Are they spending too much time lounging on the couch? Here are a bunch of summer projects to trick your kids away from their air-conditioned sanctuary and out into the great outdoors of, er, your backyard.

Okay, okay. So the backyard is not the great outdoors. True. But the main thing is to get the kiddos out in the fresh air, learning about nature, and learning about the noble pursuit of maintaining a garden.

Getting their hands dirty
1. Ask them to help with the weeding. Pay them a small amount of pocket money for their time.

"Home, home on the raaange." Camping, campfires, and campfire songs are so much a part of the American summer. Kids especially love this stuff. "Can we go camping, Mom/Dad? Can we? Can we? Can we?"

Don't have the budget/energy/time to drag the whole family to a real campground? Consider building a stay-cation-style camp site at home. You can do this inside, or try setting up outside on the lawn or on your porch, deck, or patio. Invite all the kids' friends and make a party out of it!

Fake fire will be your centerpiece. I found suggestions on building a faux campfire at TheMeBuilders.com and at Cadvisor.com. This basically involves positioning a fan and some red-colored lightbulbs underneath your "campfire" (bundle of logs). A piece of colored silk scarf flickers and billows when the fan is turned on. Never, ever leave the setup unattended in case the bulbs overheat.

Mention gas prices in any crowded area and you'll likely get a collective groan. I paid $3.30 a gallon today, an improvement from last week's $3.45. I've no idea if they're meant to go up or down by summer, but I do know that even taking a day trip is a lot costlier than it used to be.

Whether or not it's gas prices keeping you home during your vacation this year, turning your vacation into a "staycation" might actually end up being more relaxing and enjoyable in the long run. No suitcases to pack, no crowded cars or planes, and sleeping peacefully in your own bed every night...sounds good, doesn't it?

The secret behind a proper staycation, though, is planning ahead. The Seattle P.I. has a few good tips to get you started. Ditch the to-do list, and spend some time getting to know your own community a little better. Visit new-to-you parks, restaurants, attractions, and trails. Learn a new hobby, or return to that fun project you had to drop due to lack of time. Spend time with your kids, or catch up with an old friends face-to-face, rather than through email. Who knows... you might end up staying home every year!

Most of us used sleeping bags throughout the summer for various camping trips and overnight adventures. Unless you're going survivor style in the snow, you've packed away your camping gear and brought out your down blankets and warm coats. How you packed away that sleeping bag will make a big difference as to how well it serves you next season.

These instructions for proper sleeping bag maintenance and storage are particularly useful. If you read through and find that you didn't clean your bag thoroughly or don't have it packed away in the best manner then you'll want to dig it out of the closet right away. Take care of those things and pack it away confident that it will be ready when you need it. Here's how your clean and dry bag should be stored:

With August upon us, many of you are probably trying to make the most of your last days of summer.

If you are planning any day trip or driving vacations, you may be dreading the long rides with your squabbling children. The "A is for Apple" car games have gotten old and you can think of nothing to keep peace in the tiny cabin of your minivan.

Never fear, Kaboose is here, with make-your-own travel games sure to please children of all ages.

My favorite is the Car Bingo game. It isn't just bingo you play in the car, it has pictures of transportation items on the game boards. And the fun part? You place a marker on the item when you see it out the car window.

Now if that can't keep your kids from touching each other, I don't know what can.

Summer time is vacation time. Some people are trying to travel as much as they can while the weather is nice, and some people have to finish their trips before the kids go back to school. Either way, why not inject a little crafty fun into your jaunts by decorating your luggage?

At the Baxter Bulletin, DIY superstar Kathy Cano Murillo suggests several ways to spruce up your bags. Whether you go with polka dots, rubber stamps, or glitter, you'll find something to set your stuff apart at the airport claim area.

If your luggage is nice and new-looking, and you don't want to follow Kathy's suggestion of picking up a small carry-on to decorate instead, you could try customizing your luggage tags. You can experiment without fear: the project is so small that the stakes are very low.

At best, you'll have a tag you love and the courage to work on your new luggage too, or to pick vintage luggage up from a thrift store and give it a new look. (You can see something like this in the photo above.) At worst, you'll wind up buying a new tag.

Let's say you're on vacation and need to take some info with you-- an address, a map, or several paragraphs of info. Maybe too much to write down, but not enough to hunt down a printer (a futile effort in many hotels). Why not take a pic and let your camera hold the info?

My camera (shown in the gallery), a Casio Exilim Z60, happens to have a Text mode for capturing printed and on-screen text. But most any camera will work provided the following:

• Macro setting is mandatory. Zoom won't do, as usually you can't hold the camera steady enough.
• Flash: macro usually means turn it off, and computer screens will look blank with it reflecting
  
• Make sure autofocus isn't squirrelly.
• The bigger the LCD screen on the back of your camera, and the easier to navigate or zoom into a pic, the better your results.

Be aware that this is a completely improvised method. In theory, you could carry a small (32 MB) memory card around just for grabbing info vs. memory shots. But I find it's just less fuss to grab some info at the hotel and just scan back on the camera until I find it. Usually this info isn't needed all night. It helps that my Casio has a calendar too, which adds to the faux-PDA concept. Amaze your friends by pretending you can access Google Maps on your camera!