It’s the end of June, school’s out and summer is in full swing.  Because of the storm in October that resulted in power outages of over a week, area schools didn’t release for summer until this week.

Rejoice!  As Alice Cooper sang, “School’s out for summer!”  Picnics, games, hanging out on the back deck or in the back yard, and summer camp.  It’s a great season for the outdoors and for one, I do enjoy it.  It’s  lot less pressure in the kitchen, and the children aren’t inside as much.

However, with increased outdoor activities comes other hazards.  Sunburn, mosquito bites and heat exhaustion can make even the most fun summer outing miserable.

Here are some summer tips that may keep you problem free so that you can snuggle up with a loved one and watch the fireflies at night.

Mosquitoes

These little buggers love, love, love, standing water.  To keep them from multiplying and biting you to death, empty any standing/stagnant water you may have outside.  This goes for empty flowerpots and/or plant containers to recyclables waiting to be picked up.

To keep from being bitten at an outdoor festival or cookout, leave the sweet smells at home.  Don’t wear any scented hair-care or body-care products if you can avoid them.

It’s not an official insect repellent and is not sold as such, but I’ve found that the original scent of Skin-So-Soft (the green bottle) from Avon is rather effective at keeping away bugs.

Picnics!

Picnics are a staple of summer, but can often be difficult to pack for.  A good idea is to keep a ‘picnic go-bag’  handy for those times where you want to take the family on a impromptu adventure.  Your picnic go-bag should contain:

Start with a large, lightweight bag with straps.  Yes, a picnic basket looks cool, but is rather unweildy and may or may not trap crickets from Connecticut that end up in Times Square….but I digress.  Get yourself a good bag that will be easy to carry.

Nix the picnic blanket.  Get an old sheet to use for ground cover.  Or you can get a water resistant outdoor blanket such as the “Neat Sheet” Ground Cover. (Check eBay for the best prices).

Wet wipes.  Essential for wiping the dirt and dust off hands before eating and the sticky goodness off your hands after.

Box of plastic cutlery with plastic plates.  Make them re-usable if you can.

Trash bags – Use those from the grocery that  you can’t seem to get rid of.

Once you’ve got your picnic go-bag, all you need are drinks and food!

Happy Summer!

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Dahlia