Thursday’s Thrifty Tips: Keeping cool when it’s hot outside.
Hi there,
In the past couple of weeks, I’m finally beginning to see some of my Simply Thrifty community. Thank you so much for all of your comments and kind emails! I’d like to make this more of a group participation blog, however. Welcome to Thursday’s Thrifty Tips. Every Thursday I’ll throw out a topic, usually about saving money, and ask you all to chip in your two cents. Let’s share our tips and ideas with each other!
Here’s today’s Thrifty Tip Topic: Keeping cool when it’s hot outside
I’m not a huge fan of air conditioning. I never had it growing up and never had it in any of my adult apartments. It wasn’t until my husband and I bought this house five years ago that we were introduced to air conditioning. First I’d like to say, one can become awful spoiled with the AC on every day. Lordy, I think my heat tolerance is a bit lower now!
Still, I find air conditioning too cold for me most of the time. I generally don’t turn it on until the afternoon, and even then it has to be super hot outside. We have a pool and that keeps us cool. We also have ceiling fans in almost every room, they really do make a difference. I also find drinking lots of ice water keeps us cool and hydrated. I have a spray mist bottled and find that by using that to cool off now and then, I don’t even miss the AC. On breezy days, I just open the windows and let the cross breeze cool off the house. I love spending the day with the windows open!
So tell me…tell us…what are your favorite ways to keep cool in the summer?
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POSTED IN: Eco Simplicity, General, Simple Pleasures, Simpler Thinking
14 opinions for Thursday’s Thrifty Tips: Keeping cool when it’s hot outside.
Heather
Aug 23, 2007 at 12:55 pm
We’ve got the windows closed and AC on from May until October, unfortunately, and don’t get any cool cross breezes during that time. It sucks. We cracked down last summer, though, because the electric bill gets ridiculous. We cranked the thermostat up two degrees warmer and invested in a couple “Wind Machine” floor fans and just aim those at us from room to room. We also have ceiling fans in the bedrooms and dining room. The kids go through popsicles and I’m an ice chomper so that helps a bit too :D
Melinda
Aug 23, 2007 at 1:08 pm
We’re sweltering here in Georgia and neither the central air nor the supplemental window air conditioner can cool the house lower than 85 degrees. So, I and my two teenage boys wear clean wet cotton socks to bed and set up fans to blow on our feet. Cools very quickly and long enough to fall asleep.
Jennifer
Aug 23, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Slurpees! Coke ones! It’s the worst thing I love.
You can get spoiled with AC. In Humboldt we didn’t have heat, air, I’m surprised we had electric lights. Then we moved to New Mexico and almost no where is without AC. So I got used to it. But you need it there. Now in the NW you don’t need AC and I’m glad because the fake air makes me feel icky. I’m hoping to build passive / natural cooling into my next home. I do not want ac. Then again, I’m also hoping to move back to Humboldt. I won’t need air. It’s never above 70 or so. Cedar makes paper fans; but all they do is give your arm a workout.
Heather
Aug 23, 2007 at 2:43 pm
>”It’s never above 70 or so.”
That is my dream destination right there.
marye
Aug 23, 2007 at 4:39 pm
our house is 100 years old, 4300 sq ft with 10 ft ceilings..we cant afford to use the ac! But these old houses were made to stay cool with good cross venelation and the way they are set up..Even when it is over 100 like today it is not unbearable..
Some of it is your boddy getting used to seasons rather than a constant 75 degrees…
We drink alot of ice water and use ceiling fans ..and when it is really hot the kids sleep in the sunroom (screens on 3 sides)
Catherine
Aug 23, 2007 at 8:12 pm
cool cloth on the back of your neck. Doesn’t last long, but brings instant relief from the heat.
Jenna
Aug 23, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Oddly enough…. well not really, it IS the hottest time of the year, I just ended up writing about my husband and I’s heat buster in my own blog. A $25 indoor-outdoor room built with nerdly ingenuity. Beyond hanging out in it? Frozen grapes rock my world… icy snacks, pet coolers (first the fuzzbutts chase them, then attack and suck them down), and even lap coolers as I sit them in the bowl in my lap. Icy baths with a book in hand and a tall -plastic- glass of cold lemonade by the side (I made the mistake of dropping a glass glass in a tub full of me. Badness incarnate.). Anything else? Ummmm… emails to my hubby with ads for land in Alaska.
By the by, been reading your site for a while and I wanted to say thanks for all the great ideas. Keep up the great work!
Thrifty Karen
Aug 24, 2007 at 11:14 am
Hi Deborah. I did a post about this a few weeks ago.
http://www.thriftymommy.com/frugal-friday-18-15-thrifty-tips-for-staying-cool/
Rebekah Montague
Aug 24, 2007 at 2:46 pm
We try to keep the house as cool as possible by keeping blinds and curtains closed during the day to keep the sunlight out then opening at night to cool down the house .. this works so much better that we have new insulation! We’re gone so much during the days that not having natural light isn’t a big deal plus its nice to walk into a nice cool house! On really hot days we escape to the basement and watch movies on Netflix!
lee
Aug 24, 2007 at 6:45 pm
a cool washcloth on the back of your neck is great, but try a frozen one instead! it’s been over 100 degrees for the last 2 weeks here in mississippi. i also wear a loose cool seersucker housedress most of the time when i am just hanging out at home and it keeps me a lot cooler. also, don’t forget to keep your legs and underarms shaved- it’s kind of like a dogs coat and will hold in the heat! my hubby understands why i don’t shave my legs in the winter as often, because it keeps me warmer.
Matt Wolfe
Aug 27, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Great Tips. I love leaving my windows open, wearing shorts, a tank top and sandals, and relaxing with a cool towel. I take semi-cold showers too so that when I get out, I’m not already sweating…
kristin
Sep 10, 2007 at 2:51 am
If you live in a dry climate invest in an evaporative cooler. Those use much less power than AC and the humidity is good for your skin and plants. There are room sized ones that work very well. Another way to cool off that way is to open every window and take a wet sponge and wash all of the screens in the windows. The evaporation of the screens cools off the whole house and lets fresh air in.
Lesa
Sep 12, 2007 at 10:48 am
We live in Central TX… generally gets a teech warm in the summer… we use window a/c and generally only cool the bedrooms at night when needed and maybe one room in which to escape the heat… other than that.. I always keep a small plug in fan directed at general seating/work areas (computer desk, TV viewing, etc) and I keep a spray bottle of water handy to mist myself with (away from electronics), and/or wet and wring out my T-shirt and put it back on… generally works like a walking water cooler.. ’specially when you’re in front of a fan… I also don’t have a/c in either of our vehicles… I carry a spray bottle of water for misting when I go anywhere in this case as well…
Hope these low tech hints help …
Best to All…
;) Lesa
Lesa
Sep 12, 2007 at 10:49 am
forgot this one…
a freshly water misted top sheet helps at night …
;) Lesa
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