Keep cool
Isn't it hot?
We have central air in this house, so we are able to escape the heat if we need to, but I remember the days when we didn't have air conditioning. If we had a heat wave it could get unbearable. We had to come up with some novel ways to keep cool...
Like most people, we kept the curtains drawn and the lights off as much as possible. We kept the windows closed during the heat of the day and only opened them when it was cooler outside than inside. I'd usually open up the front and back doors in the early morning hours and get a nice cross breeze going. If you could get the house a few degrees cooler in the morning then it would stay bearable until about dinner time.
I tried to prepare meals that didn't require using the stove, and never the oven! I had a little hotplate that I used outside to cook whatever couldn't be done on the barbeque. Actually, I still use that hotplate and cook outside when it's hot as well as a little toaster oven. The back porch is right off the kitchen so it's handy.
After dinner we'd head down to the basement where it was coolest, but even down there it would get uncomfortable after a few hours. We had a couple of standing fans that we moved from room to room with us and we'd put them on oscillate so we'd have a breeze. If it got really bad, we kept little spray bottles of ice water handy and misted ourselves down. I can remember lying on the couch with a fan in front, trying not to move too much and misting myself nearly constantly!
Our ace-in-the-hole was our kiddy pool. We had a little one in the back yard that you could get about 8 inches of water in and after it got dark (so nobody could see us!) we'd go out and get in. We'd lie there in the water for half an hour or so until we were almost chilly and then head off to bed. Being in the pool seemed to bring our skin temperature down quite a bit and it made it easier to get to sleep.
Even though we have a/c now, we still do a lot of those things we used to do in order to keep the hydro bill down. We use one of those timer thingies to turn the thermostat up at night and when we're out of the house and down again when we are home. This summer has been a bit cooler than usual so we haven't had to run it too much of the time anyways. I'm thankful for that because our hydro went up in March to almost double what we were paying before. And I somehow doubt that the price is ever going to come back down, *grin*.
7 comments:
It gets hot in Canada?? Yes, it is hot here too in FL. But thankfully, we have had rain the last few days, so we are cooler than last week. The humidity is the worst!
I remember the days without a/c as well, and the nights were the worst, trying to sleep with an oscillating fan and still being hot! We have only had central a/c for 5 years now, so I remember well the misery of the heat and I am so blessed to have air conditioning.
We don't have A/C here in Lebanon either. Don't need it where we are. Besides if you're on generator you can't runit anyway. It's really hot at my FIL's or Aunt's house. They're down on the coast and it's so humid. But up here on the mountain it gets a bit warm in the afteroon but the standing fan we have keeps us cooled off. (And it doesn't kick off the generator.)
I grew-up without a/c. Sometimes I miss those days. We did our chores in the early morning, drank sun tea, ate popsicles, and went swimming alot. And listened to the frogs, crickets and cicadas every night because all the windows were open. :-)
Sue Bee, that sounds like heaven! Wait, it sounds like Lebanon, only along with the insects we listen to neighbors talking on their balconies. LOL
We didn't have a/c in Hawaii but we always had a nice breeze and whenever it was in the 60's we had on long pants and sweaters. No A/C in Washington either and would run around in shorts in the 60's. It's funny how we adjust to living in slightly different climates.
Here on the east coast, it's really hot and humid, so can't imagine being without a/c.
That's me, as Denise on the earlier comment. My google/gmail is acting funny :)
It is very hot here in Tennessee.
Post a Comment