Cool off with these 30 Fun and Easy Tips:
By Diana from Prospect, KY
This page contains the following solutions.
It is a balmy 111 degrees in Los Angeles today and I've found my best ally is my hot water bottle. Before popping it in the freezer, I fill it up with water only halfway, because water expands as it freezes.
I live near Portland, Oregon and we are in the midst of a heat wave. We usually have temperatures in the 80s at this time of year, but today it is forecasted to be 105! Many people, including myself, don't have built in air conditioning. Here is what my family is doing to keep cool.
The dog days of summer are soon upon us and that air conditioner looks mighty tempting, but keep these ideas in mind.
The heat in Europe is fierce these days, and I had been suffering until I remembered a trick I learned in Africa, but is surely well known in the southern USA.
This is a health tip for dangerous hot weather.
I am really enjoying my parasol this summer! Even with a hat and sunglasses, it's much nicer to have one's own shade at an outdoor party or event. And there are a lot of inexpensive options out there.
I keep a sopping-wet micro fiber towel in a sealed Ziploc baggie in my refrigerator. I use the towel to wet myself down when heat gets to be too much.
Looking for a way for keeping cool without an air conditioner? Put a large bowl of ice cubes in front of a fan. Turn on the fan. The ice will cool the air from the fan and quickly cool you off. Replace ice cubes as needed.
If you have to go out in this heat and you wear a cloth ball cap. Take some cold water and put it in the hat; wring the hat out so you don't drip on anything and put it on your head.
One of the best ways of dealing with summer heat as you work outside your home is to wear a clean wet towel around your neck.
Since I don't have air conditioning in either my home or car, I keep spray bottles of water around for a quick cool off. When it starts getting hot, I just give myself a quick fine spray. It isn't enough to get really wet.
Are your kids looking for an activity to keep them cool on a hot summer day, but you don't want to take them to the busy pool? Simply, reuse a couple of bottles with a small hole in the lid. Ketchup bottles and some salad dressing bottles work great!
Years ago when I worked in a nursing home, the halls were air conditioned, but not the individual rooms. We would take a hand towel, soak it in cold water, ring it out and wrap around our necks, repeating as necessary.
To keep cool on a very hot day, turn on your fan and arrange a bowl of ice-cubes in front of it. Just like having an air-conditioner without the cost. Enjoy!
Keep a few cans of tuna or chicken in the fridge, for in those times when you need a quick meal. They'll be great to either drain and toss on top of a green salad or a quickie dish of tuna or chicken salad.
I keep a large shoe-box-sized plastic container in the freezer filled with feed corn. It's actually wide enough for both of my bare feet to fit side-by-side. On hot days, or if my feet hurt, I pull it out, stick my feet into plastic bags, then dig my toes deep into the feed corn!
For a nice pick-me-up for upcoming summer weather, put your spray on body mists or sprays in the refrigerator to keep them cold! When you spritz yourself, it's a nice treat to have tingling cold and pretty smelling mist rather then room temperature!
Water is an ideal drink to cool your body. If choosing other drinks, when perspiring, consider the caffeine and sugar content. The sugar draws fluids away from the muscles where it's needed, plus adds calories.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to turn my fan into an air cooler? Inexpensively, obviously. I need them to do more than just blow the hot air around, I need them to blow cool air around. I've tried hanging Blue Ice in front of them but it didn't work.
By Cricket from Parkton, NC
In the old days they used to put bowls of ice water in front of them to make a swampcooler-sort of thing. I have had success with that & just cold water. (The water evaporates, using heat, thereby cooling some of air) - It does help a BIT - but not in a big way - Also make sure your windows are shaded to keep hot sun out.
You could use dry ice, but it puts carbon dioxide in the air so you'd need ventilation! I would stick with regular ice or about 10 (or more) of the blue ice. Put it on a table right in front of the fan. You can also spray water in front of the fan while you stand there. The mist feels good when it lands on you & is refreshing!
Another idea: You may be able to soak a furnace filter in water & wire lean this against the front (& maybe also the back) of the fan.
The oldest way is to hang a wet bathtowel in front of it and re-wet it as needed.
We've never tried any of these techniques. What we do is always have at least one or two fans facing out, rather than in. The resulting breeze usually keeps our home comfortable, except in the hottest weather. I'm going to suggest a couple of these ideas to hubby, though, thanks! JustPlainJo, Ohio
I found a site that has instructions on turning your fan into a swamp cooler using a large container with a tight fitting lid, and some hand towels.
www.associatedcontent.com/
A neck cooler is a very easy sewing project that anyone can do. Make some homemade neck coolers so your family and friends, as well as yourself, can say cool on those hot summer days.
Cooking inside during the heat of the summer not only heats up the kitchen but the entire house. This is a page about keep cool by cooking outside.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
This tip is about keeping cool while being outside in triple digit temps. I wet my cotton sleeveless shirt in refrigerator cooled water and do the same with a kingsize cotton pillow case.
I would like to read about other peoples ideas for getting cool during hot weather.
