10 ways to spend a great sustainable weekend

Every week, some of us wonder if it is really sustainable to have so many humans sitting alone in a car during their commute to work or back home. We also wonder if our office air conditioning really needs to be that cold, or if we really need to use that much electricity. When finally comes the weekend, and we feel we need some fun, our weekly reflections about sustainability trigger in us a sense of guilt...

... how can we make our weekend fun and also sustainable?

Today, we explore 10 ways to spend more sustainable weekends and maybe return to simpler lifestyles. These activities, we know them well, and we often know they are good for us. But also quite often, other less sustainable habits have taken over, pushed by our consumerism or our own laziness. So let us review these activities that we should do more often, to be healthier and happier, and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time.

Without further transition:

1. Going out for a walk, a run, or a bike ride. How many of us always say we have to do more sport? How many of us want to spend more time outside or in nature? Don't we dream of enjoying the sun light while we are inside the office? Too often, we leave home before the sun rises and come back after it has already set. We may feel tired because of the lack of interaction with nature when the weekend comes, not motivated to go out, but this is in fact what we need to start the week with a sense of satisfaction about our life. So let's go out! Put our running shoes on, repair our bike, and bring our family for a little ride outside!
   

2. Read a good book. How many weeks have passed since we have put that book back on the shelf, lying to ourselves when saying we will finish it soon? At that time, we were too busy. But we liked this book, and since then, weren't there many occasions on which we could have taken it back? So let's go back to it, try to read a book per month, and the weekend is the perfect time for that. Reading in our comfy sofa with a gentle cup of coffee, bringing it outside on our bike ride or to a nice coffee shop while offering ourselves a treat. And if we feel that books are killing trees, we can just pay a visit to the library.
   

3. Take care of our garden. How are the plants at home? Do we have any? If we don't, we should. It is well known that plants bring us a sense of peace of mind. They probably make us live longer. But do we make them live long too? Have we been watering them regularly? It is so easy for us to forget that the plant that lives inside our home is not going to water itself, and after a few weeks those plants we have neglected are in a bad shape. After all, we all need water! So let's use the weekend to finally give our plants the time they deserve, put our hands in the soil and smell the delightful scent of humus.
   

4. Play board games. When was the last time we played board games with our children or with our friends? Don't we remember the last game and all the fun? If you feel too old for that, try again. See how much you laugh! Alright, we must concede, the games are not always sustainable with their big boxes made of paper and all the useless plastic they contain. So if those games are already inside our homes, better use them! And if not, let's ask our friends, borrow from them. The more people sharing, the more fun and the less benefits from our purchase.
   

5. Go out at night and watch the stars. Our ancestors all around the Earth had the same habit, they looked at the stars! No wonder we often feel disconnected from the world, we even lost this cheap service we have got by just looking up. How amazing is the sky at night on both hemispheres! Do you know the constellations? Can you recognize Sirius, the Lyra, or the Large Magellanic Cloud? There is so much you're missing! But our cities do not help us, their deciders forgot that a sense of wonder also bring security that street lamps and CCTV cannot replace. So if we can, let us go for a walk at night, and see the wonderful worlds that stand above our head.
   

6. Draw something, anything. Did we enjoy drawing when we were child? Do we find it peaceful and always get a sense of pride when we have drawn that animal that does not look so bad? Well, we should probably do that more often! Improving our skills, taking a class or buying a book to teach ourselves, if we think we are just too bad at it. Considering the time we will spend on your piece of paper and the great experience (somehow therapeutic) of creativity we will obtain from it, we will quickly have spent a few hours without having used any electricity and even lost the sense of time for a while.
   

7. Build something, repair something. If you are good with your hands at building or repairing things, the weekend is the perfect occasion for working on this project that you cannot really focus on during the week. There is always something we can repair or maintain at home, for ourselves or as a service to our loved ones, if we know how to do it. If we don't, it is time to learn. Obviously, we may need material and tools. We should try to use things in a sustainable manner, and even recycle what can be. How about building a bird house with our kids, or a playground for our cat? I am sure they will be grateful to us.
   

8. Call family, call friends. Better, meet them! You've probably noticed. Your phone does not get discharged as fast when you use direct calls than when using apps. How many friends and family members we regularly think about, and we always tell ourselves we need to call them. Do it, call your loved ones and your friends! Let's hear about what is new in their life, stop any other device running, and pay attention to them. We can do that also during our run, our walk, or our gardening. And if the distance between us is a few kilometers, why not both parties taking bikes and meet for an excursion. How beautiful and sustainable is that!
   

9. Organize a picnic. Sometimes we are lazy to do anything. Fine. Why don't we just prepare some simple food, pack water, and meet our best friends or family in a park for a picnic? Okay, it takes a little bit of organization, but what a pleasurable time! Please just be careful with trash, this requires a bit of planning, but nothing impossible when we simply care. If you have the beach near your home, that will be a great spot to combine a little swim with great conversations, sharing a meal, reading a book, and playing board games!
   

10. Do nothing. Why are we always so busy? So unsatisfied and craving for more? In the same way as we don't feel like going to bed when we had a boring day, we sometimes feel the need to pack our weekends with activities to repay for the terrible week we had at work. So maybe we should also focus on having a great week, and that may involve finding a new more-fulfilling job, so that when the weekend comes, we are less frustrated, less impatient, and more open for doing nothing. Also, independently from our frustration during the week, the weekend should be a period for rest. Isn't it why religious institutions call people during the weekend? The weekend should be a great occasion for resting, nurturing ourselves, taking care of our well-being and the people around us.

We have reached our list end, and there are probably more to do in weekends to reduce our impact on the Earth's climate while still having fun. This article, hopefully, will have given you some reminders about nice activities to practice in your weekends. Use your creative mind to find other great ideas and enjoy your life more sustainably.