I live, write, and garden in the PNW with my husband of 28 years, disabled daughter, adult son, and my 84-year-old mother. We have paid off $250,000.00 worth of debt (if you include the interest) in the last fifteen years and as of 6/12/2020 are 100% DEBT FREE!!!!I received a $5 gift card from Swagbucks for Amazon yesterday and will have enough points by the end of the day to send for another one. I have a book on hold at the library so we will be going downtown today. I want to get a few toys to put in the rabbit tractors and look for some more glass water bottles. They really prefer them to the plastic ones.
It's been blazing hot the last few days and most of my attention has gone to making sure that the animals, particularly the rabbits, stayed cool enough. I am happy to report that all nine of the newborn kits have survived the heat wave and it's starting to cool down.
We've been eating a lot of cold meats and vegetables and fruits here lately. Cooking isn't something anyone wants to do because it heats the house up. I've been soaking my head with cool water and that helps quite a bit since I have so much hair. We don't have air-conditioning in this house. I've been using fans and icepacks and one day I even grabbed a bra straight from the washing machine (I wash on cold) and that kept me cool for a couple hours until it dried. That was on the day it was 90.
I'll be using the crockpot a lot this week to help keep the house cool. I'm keeping the blinds and curtains shut during the day, and having them wide open in the evening with fans in them, to cool off the house. Fans go all night and I wake up with a cool house that stays that way for a while. I'm putting ice in all of my drinks (which is usually just water), and making cold meat salads for lunches.
What do you all do to beat the heat? Especially if you don't have air conditioning.
Trying to Beat the Heat
July 3rd, 2013 at 05:37 pm
July 3rd, 2013 at 08:06 pm 1372878360
But during the past week of 105+ temps my apartment was about 82 when I walked in after work. Turning on the ceiling fans helped if I was sitting directly under them. I was trying to not turn the AC on until the flex alerts passed, so we wouldn't experience any problems. Around 8 each night I turned it on to cool things off before I went to bed. I hate sleeping in warm rooms and I sleep with the bedroom fan on all night.
Great idea about the wet laundry!
July 3rd, 2013 at 08:32 pm 1372879968
July 3rd, 2013 at 08:50 pm 1372881036
I have an a/c and that day I turned it on. I have invested in insulation on the house over the past few years, and this is a great help. But the real savior is the evaporative cooler, or Swamp Cooler. If the air is not humid in your area, the swamp will cool your home in up to 110 degree weather. It costs 8 cents per air conditioning dollar to run and I adore it because it makes the air feel fresh as opposed to an air conditioner, (as well as saving moola).
Right now the a/c is on and I'm going to try to teach my nephew how to use the swamp so he knows when to turn it off and turn the a/c on. In the desert, the best time to turn the swamp off on really hot days is at 2:00 p.m. and then back on in the evening. Of course, you turn on the A/C at 2:00 and then off when the swamp goes back on.
In august, the humidity is horrible, so that's the month of all a/c cooling.
Other thoughts:
I take an evening shower for extra cooling, iced drinks, lots of fans (but keep them on only when you are in the room), and frozen grapes as light snacks.
I bake things in a toaster oven in the garage or use a crockpot or cook in the morning before its hot.
I walk the dogs as late as I can (it was 100 degrees last night) and good exercise for all of us without being hard on doggie paws.
If it is hot when i get home, I change into shorts and work out on my bike for a bit while the a/c starts in (and again costs less because the house rarely goes over 95 with the swamp cooler).
I think I'll spend more on a/c this year because the nephew is home but hopefully he will get part time work and that will mean less a/c when he is gone.
July 3rd, 2013 at 10:10 pm 1372885800
We keep blinds/curtains closed during the day, windows are generally open to catch breezes (make use of cross-ventilation too.) We can often go until about 4 in the afternoon before really needing a fan on, and then only in the rooms we're in.
We eat lots of cold meals, but if we need to, I try to think ahead and cook earlier in the morning before it gets too hot, and reheat in the microwave. Even the crockpot warms the kitchen too much (though thinking on it, I should explore cooking through the night and then heating it up in the micro.) Though cold meals just sound better in the heat!
We also have a/c in the van, so we'll consolidate errands for the hottest day of the week, if possible, to make use of that pure luxury! We'll also go to the a/c'ed library or go to the beach at the hottest parts of the day - the beach is a daily activity here. Floating around on a tube or paddling on our kayaks out on one of our many lakes helps to make one forget those humid 90s and 100s (and goes long way in helping us through those below zero temps, with even further below zero windchills, in the winter
Disclosure - I work for the local school district, so I do have the summers off and have the opportunity to do what we do here.
July 3rd, 2013 at 10:39 pm 1372887568
Waiting impatiently for my sun room bamboo blinds. I think that will help a bit.
July 3rd, 2013 at 11:32 pm 1372890754
July 3rd, 2013 at 11:41 pm 1372891309
July 4th, 2013 at 03:37 am 1372905425
I tried putting a lightweight blanket in the freezer - it felt great for about 5 minutes. What really worked was double ziploc bagging 8 ice cubes then pressing them against my neck, forehead, wrists while I was getting to sleep.
Oh yes, and a big batch of homemade gazpacho with a couple of ice cubes in it to thin it and keep it extra cold.
July 4th, 2013 at 06:15 am 1372914905
July 4th, 2013 at 11:18 am 1372933115
the only bad thing about doing this in summer is that i do get those little sugar ants and while sprinkling borax outside seems to help, i haven't been able to do it lately becus it's been raining every day here like a tropical jungle and the rain washes it away.
July 4th, 2013 at 08:52 pm 1372967529
July 7th, 2013 at 01:40 am 1373157640