While most of us look forward to the delights of summer—the long days, the road trips, the campfires and cookouts—for many of us, summer can also be a stressful season. There’s a pressure to pack in as much fun as possible from June through August, especially for parents who work double-time when their kids are out of school. By Labor Day weekend, you may find yourself out of ideas for how to spend the holiday, not to mention low on cash from and energy from earlier summer activities. It may be time for a staycation.

Also known as “holistays,” staycations have become increasingly popular in recent years as people have looked for ways to cut the cost and stress of a traditional vacation. A staycation can mean literally staying at your own home but only engaging in leisure activities or going to a hotel, bed and breakfast or campground in your home city. Have you ever had the feeling on vacation that by the time you actually start to relax, it’s nearly time to leave? With a staycation, you eliminate the hours spent traveling to and settling into a new place, as well as the stressors of finding pet care and packing the car for every possible contingency.

But how do you truly relax in the place where you live, when you can still see the piles of laundry that need folding and the computer where you could easily finish writing up that report for work? Ground rules are essential for a staycation. Make strict no-housework policies, and limit computer use to fun activities such as streaming movies. Head out to the museum or park you’ve never visited even though it’s right next door, or bust out the board game everyone in your family loves. If you feel like the urge to take care of business at home is too strong, staying somewhere else nearby may be a better option. You’ll be amazed at the things you discover in your own backyard when you take the time to really get to know it!