June 8th, 2013 
Jessica 
Our house doesn’t have central air conditioning, so when its 110 degrees Fahrenheit outside, we get creative!
- We open the windows during the cool part of the day, and close them when it gets hot.
- We turn on our air conditioning window unit and our three ceiling fans.
- We turn on our two box fans.
- We go outside (for a run or a walk) early or late in the day to avoid peak temperatures.
- We drink lots of water (with frozen lemons) and other fluids.
- We wear light clothing.
- We give the kids freeze-pops (or “otter-pops” as the Californians refer to them) when they come in from outside.
- We play in water, like our free water table and turtle pool, or our sprinklers.
- We make homemade smoothies or frappes.
- We go on a field trip to a place that has air conditioning!
What inexpensive ways have you found to stay cool when its hot outside?
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At bedtime I will wet a washcloth or two with ice cold water, wipe down my arms & legs with it then fold it up and lay one on my forehead and maybe the other on my belly and fall asleep under the ceiling fan.
Find friends with air conditioning or a pool!
The hot weather in the summer is a challenge for me. I can’t stand feeling hot and sticky. It makes me very irritable. My eyes widened when I read 110 F degrees! My ac unit is over 25 years old and so I’m trying not to overwork the thing. I’ve tried to keep the thermostat at 77 degrees. That didn’t work. Right now, I have it at 76 degrees and use ceiling fans. In addition, I keep the curtains closed depending on what area in the house the sun is hitting. I also avoid the use of the oven (only quick stovetop or slow cooker meals on hot days)to help keep the temperature down a bit. Lastly, I budget for an increase in electrical costs in the summer. For my sanity and the love of my family (happy momma–happy family), this is an area where I’m willing to compromise frugality for comfort.
Those are good additions! I forgot to mention the curtains and the oven! Good suggestions! 🙂
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