summer is hot enough when you have an air-conditioned home to keep you cool from the blistering heat that awaits outside, but living in a small apartment with no a.c. has at times, for us at least, seemed unbearable. i, for one, can stand the cold mostly because there are always so many things you can easily do to get warm … for example: layering on more clothing, putting a heavier blanket on the bed, drinking a cup of hot cocoa … but when it comes to cooling down, it seems the options are far more limited especially when turning down the thermostat isn’t exactly an option. living through our first hot season with no more than a dinky removable air-conditioning unit to keep cool has been interesting to say the least, but as the heat of the summer has ruthlessly progressed, i’ve picked up tidbits of cooling tricks/ideas along the way that have really worked for us thus far.
– keep a glass of ice cold water or a bowl of ice chips by the bed at night. it’s a great trick when we need something quick to cool down.
– invest in thick curtains or double-up your current ones in rooms that have windows getting direct sunlight during the day. this has helped keep our home (on average) four degrees cooler during the day. it doesn’t sound like much but sometimes four degrees can feel like ten.
– find a decent/quiet fan that can blow air throughout the bedroom during the night. for us (me especially) sleeping has been the hardest part of this hot summer so having a fan that can constantly blow air on us/within our bedroom has made the biggest difference i can’t even tell you. i found this one at target. i really like it because it looks nice, works really well, and as far as fans go is decently quiet.
– stock up on popsicles and watermelon because nothing sounds better during the hottest part of the day than some cold, freshly sliced watermelon or a frozen popsicle.
– request your window unit be placed in the room that will be used most even if your landlord wants to put it elsewhere. our landlord previously had our window unit in our dinning room which is not used nearly as much as our family room. having it moved there helps keep the rooms we do use most (the family room, kitchen, and bedroom) cooler than the ones that don’t get used as often (the dining room and office).
– take a cold shower before bed. camden especially likes to do this. it’s brutal for a few minutes while you cool down but if you can handle it, it helps a ton while trying to go to sleep.
– freeze grapes for snacking … mostly because frozen grapes are delicious!
– keep lights/television off as much as possible during the day to help keep things cooler. for us, doing this during the bulk of the day has helped keep our place a few degrees cooler and hey … every degree counts!
– make your favorite drink into ice cubes. i have done this with chai tea a few times this summer and i absolutely love it.
– when all else fails grab an ice pack from the freezer and lay on it. works every time …
i would love to hear your tips for keeping cool if you have any good ones!
Great post! Definitely pinning this. I am blessed with some good airflow in my home, but I still could use a cool down once in a while.
Oh my goodness these tips are PERFECT. I have no AC, and it is no fun, but I am definitely going to use these tips! Thanks for sharing!
xo, Juliette Laura
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Love this post!! Perfect pictures and perfect tips. No AC sucks man… Good thing summers almost over 🙂
Great tips!!
Valentina
Valentina Duracinsky Blog
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I'm lucky it's still Winter here in Australia, and I'm actually looking forward to some warmth! Summers here are scorching though, so I'm loving your tips and especially the frozen grapes – that sounds delicious!!
This is great, I especially love the last tip of freezing ice cubes from fave drinks…genius!
mmm frozen grapes are so good. I'm dreading heading back to new york in two weeks- summers there are HELL and I feel super lucky to have skipped out on it so far…heh.
I can't imagine being without A/C, but I live in the deep South, so unairconditioned houses are almost unheard of here. Still, I live in an older home that's poorly insulated, and our windows magnify the heat. Sometimes our unit can't keep up with the 100 degree temps. I'm sad to cover up the natural light from our windows, but that helps a lot. We also have ceiling fans in every room and they stay on all the time!
Live the ice idea. Hope it cools off soon for you. It's 110 here but god bless central air in every room
Hope your having a great summer!
oh man, lady. i think we would go insaaaane without our beloved AC in this apartment. so i give you kudos for surviving this hot, hot summer. also, freezing coffee ice cubes is one of our favorite things to do — but we haven't tried chai. i think we must!
My second summer during college I lived in a fabulous apartment that sadly lacked air conditioning. Every night I jumped into an ice cold shower for as long as I could stand it before running in to my bedroom to sleep. Sleeping in a hot room is the worst. My roommates and I also discovered frozen grapes that summer. I still love that treat!
Em
Tightrope to the Sun
Great tips, I love frozen grapes! 🙂 I also find that wetting a small towel with cold water and laying it across my legs in bed helps cool me a lot 🙂
Rosie x | Every Word Handwritten
We don't have Central AC just a window unit in our living room and one in our bedroom. One thing that helps us is that when we have the ac unit in the living room on we close the bedroom doors and bathroom doors all doors where we won't be hanging out in so that the air is isolated in the areas we are at. I cook a lot but hardly ever turn on the oven in the summer because it will heat our whole apartment up in a minute! Hope that it cools down soon!
this is such a great idea. wonderful!
-Jianine
I love this serious. It's fabulous.
Ooh the cold shower before bed idea sounds like a marvellous idea! I'm so glad the weather in England's started to cool. It was unbearable for a while!
http://www.ciderwithrosie.com
Before she had central air, my sister-in-law used to put her sheets in the freezer before bedtime.
Totally slept with a wet facecloth and an ice pack for a few days this summer!! And a fan.
Beautiful blog you have here! I discovered it via Hannah's Places. 🙂
Great post here too! I love that you mentioned frozen grapes as my grandmother (who lives in the South where it's hot and humid!) as been eating those all summer.
Such great tips!