image by The Sly Gentleman

There are lots of great tips on the web and in books about things you can do to save money and reduce your impact on the environment, but today, sitting around in the lovely May sunshine I’ve been thinking about the wonderful side effects of laziness.

There are so many worthwhile things I could do today other than sit around in my pajamas reading a book I borrowed from a friend, napping and working on my writing, things that on other days hold real appeal to me, but not today.

I could go to the Green Living Expo at the State Fair grounds and find out all kinds of new and interesting information about green technology, local foods and environmental initiatives happening in my area.

I could be responsible and do my laundry, which is beginning to pile up after a week of mud-pies, baked goods and bonfires.

I could take my kids to The Festival of Nations and expose them to all kinds of interesting cultures and foods, expanding their horizons and having good quality family time in the process.

I could go to the garden center and get started on my garden for the year. The forecast is frost-free for the foreseeable future and it would be the perfect day to garden.

I could go to lunch with a friend and catch a movie.

But all of that would require me to change into my real clothes, leave my sunny lounge chair on the deck and participate in life and today doesn’t feel like the day I will save the world.

Still, I am doing some good by doing nothing. I will use no fossil fuels in my travels today from the lounge chair on the deck to the kitchen to refill my water glass, or to the restroom, or to my bed. I will forgo the comforts of modern electronics in favor of solar heating and lighting obtained the old-fashioned way, by sitting in the sun. I will save money by eating stuff I already have on hand. I will even reduce my need for water and laundry detergent by not bothering to mess up yet another outfit.

Sure, it doesn’t seem like much, but over the course of the summer lazy days like this add up. I’m not saying I’m bowing out of society completely. I’m just saying that days like today are good for balance, good for the soul and, in a small way, good for both the budget and the planet.