Staying cool

[thebratqueen]

Now that summer heat is hitting some of us, I thought it might be a good idea to do a thread dedicated to ways to keep cool while still keeping the energy bill down.

Obviously the big one is the AC. If you have one, great, but it can be an energy hog. So what are ways to avoid using it?

Comments

[eac]

Perhaps this is silly, but strategically running errands in air conditioned places during the hottest part of the day (or, the hottest part of the day that you'd otherwise be home) can be helpful.

[thebratqueen]

Not silly at all, that actually makes a lot of sense. You remind me of the year my apt didn't have AC and it was the hottest summer on record. I spent a lot of time at the mall just so I could be in the AC. Didn't buy anything, just wanted to stay cool.

[wesleysgirl]

We do this. During hot weeks, we plan our trip to the library for the afternoon on the day that's supposed to be hottest. It helps that the children's room at our library is not only a/c'd but also in the basement. :-)

[wesleysgirl]

One of those little personal fan + water spray things. Drink lots of cold water. I've read that because of all the blood vessels in your hands and wrists, submersing them in cold water briefly can cool you down. Popsicles!

[thebratqueen]

My plan for this weekend is to make Alton Brown's fudgcicles. Which sounds so dirty out of context...

[giglet]

Ooh! Recipe?

[thebratqueen]

Good Eats Fudge Pops.

I've never made them before so can't vouch for how they taste, but I figure they'd be fun to try. =)

[thebratqueen]

Good ideas! Consider me slapping my hand to my forehead for forgetting the microwave as an option.

[morrigann]

A cool wet cloth on the back of your neck helps tremendously. you can also make small sachet type pillows with flaxseed (think smaller eye pillows) and toss them in the freezer and when you get really warm toss one in your cleavage ladies it will cool you down in a hurry.

[thebratqueen]

When I lived in New Orleans one of my roomates got one of those headbands that you can soak in water, freeze, then wear during the day. She swore that it kept her nice and cool, even while leading walking tours out in the worst of the afternoon heat.

[morrigann]

I bet she did. NOLA in the summer is like living on the surface of the sun it has already been into the 80's and 90's here for weeks

[thebratqueen]

I lived down there for a few years, including the El Nino heatwave, and dear god does it make you want to shoot yourself. I could actually deal with doing summer walking tours so long as I had my bottle of ice water, my combo sunblock/bug repellant, and my sunhat. But when El Nino sent the afternoon rain over to Texas the heat just climbed and climbed and didn't stop.

The worst was my tourists who wouldn't believe me when I told them they needed to stay cool and hydrated, and no alcoholic drinks did not count towards hydration. Those were always the ones passing out halfway through the tour.

[leenah]

things i've done in overly hot rooms in the past:

moved the mattress to the floor. even a foot lower the air is cooler than at the full bed height.

placed a bowl of ice cubes in front of the fan, and directed the fan to blow on ME. instant cold air!