This post about how to Escape to the Tropics on the Dreariest of Days with Gain is brought to you by Gain at Walmart. All opinions are my own.  

Tips for Planning a Tropical Escape

Watch for the RedPlum coupon book in your 2/11 Sunday paper or pgeveryday.com for $2 off Gain Liquid Detergent (valid through 2/24). Combined with the Rollback price on Gain right now at Walmart, this brings the price on your “getaway” down to just $11.44 for 150 oz. of Gain, or less than $.08 per ounce.

Tips for Planning a Tropical Escape and save too

It is a gray and dreary day here. It is supposed to be like this all week. As much as I know it is not fair, I can’t help but allow my mood to adjust with the weather. I don’t like grey and dreary weather. I like to be out and about, in the sunshine with the kids, soaking up all the outdoors has to offer. When the weather outside gets me like this I look for escapes. Something to take me back to my trip to Hawaii and the warm sunshine on my back and sand between my toes. For me, that escape is not terribly far away. It is as close as my laundry room. When you use Gain Laundry Detergentespecially the Tropical Sunrise scent, you can inhale the scent of the escape we all so badly need!

Tips for Planning a Tropical Escape and pour it in

Laundry is a chore. There is no way around that. There really is no way to make the repetitive task better. Sort, wash, dry, fold, put away. Over and over again until the end of time. It has to be done. Unless we want to live in dirty clothing. We can get help from kids but, let’s face it, it is just easier for us to do it.

Tips for Planning a Tropical Escape and soak in the sunset

There is no general joy in doing laundry for me but there is one way to make it better: by using a detergent that can not only clean my clothes the first time – no one likes rewashes – but also leaves that clean, gentle scent of sunshine that lasts. I love walking into my laundry room and instantly being transported back to the smell of the ocean crashing into the beach. The sound of the seagulls squawking as they fly overhead. The gentle whisper of the palm trees flapping their long leaves in the wind.

Tips for Planning a Tropical Escape like the beach

As I look outside and see none of the above, I still want that escape. One of my favorite ways to get out of the doldrums of the weather outside is to plan my next escape! Even if I cannot book it now, I can at least plan it! Here are my steps for planning a tropical escape even on the grayest day:

  1. Choose your location: This may seem like a no-brainer but choosing your location can be as important as what to pack. I choose based on my budget now, not on what I think I will have by the time the trip occurs. I love Hawaii but, for me, it is a trip that costs thousands. If my budget is slimmer, going to a tropical escape I can drive to is optimal. In Texas we have several beaches that are within driving distance. There are even resorts really close by that still feel like an escape! So, choose your location based on your budget now.
  2. Choose your guests: Are you looking for a vacation for you and the kids? You and the spouse or a gal pal getaway? It is important that you know ahead of time who you are taking. A gal pal getaway requires different amenities than one with the kids.
  3. Use the tools available to you: When I went to Hawaii this last year I had two days at the Four Seasons. However, I could not afford the $500 a night room the rest of the trip. So, after searching almost every hotel on the island, I turned to one of those vacation home rental sites. There, I found a great high-rise condo that had everything I needed, steps from the beach, for only $59 a night. Because I saved on that, I was able to get a convertible rental that allowed me to enjoy even more of the Hawaiian sunshine! So, use all the tools out there to search for the best deals!

Tips for Planning a Tropical Escape and use your resources

  1. Be flexible: Whether it’s an insane wait for the rental car you reserved for hours earlier or it’s getting a parking ticket if you don’t move your car for the car sweep by 6am Friday morning, you have to be flexible on vacation. This is your tropical paradise, after all. Your time to toss the schedule, the stress and the chores and to-do list out the window. Don’t let the little things get you down!

I am planning as we speak. But until I can get it all booked, I will just have to live through memories. With Gain Laundry Detergent wafting through my laundry room, I feel like I am already there!

Tips for Planning a Tropical Escape and inhale

Where do you escape to?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Gain at Walmart. The opinions and text are all mine.