While we’re all watching American Christmas movies filled with snow and beanies, here in Australia it’s hot enough to cook eggs and bacon on the pavement. With the middle of Summer upon us, the need to avoid the scorching temperatures is at an all-time high. For some, the air con would be the most obvious refuge, but not every home comes with air con, and not all can afford the luxury of leaving the air con on for hours on end (made that mistake myself, wasn’t pretty). Alas, there are sneaky ways we can stop ourselves from melting this season.
#1 Blow Up Wade Pool
Remember the little pools we used to float around in as kids? Well, these make nice heat relievers. You can either put it in your courtyard or on your balcony. If you don’t have either of these, you could try putting it in your living room, I just can’t confirm water wouldn’t go everywhere, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Ice can also be added to the pool if plain old water isn’t doing the trick. You could even double the pool as an esky for your drinks so you don’t have to get up. Some call it laziness, I call it innovation.
#2 Wet Sheet In Front Of A Window
Have you ever opened a window, in the hopes that it’ll make the room bearable enough to exist in? This method can often be a hit or miss. Sometimes you’ll get the advantage of a cooler breeze, but most of the time we get roasted from hot air flying through the window. It’s been said that if you hang a wet sheet in front of an open window, it can help with this very problem and bring down the room’s overall temperature (worth a try).
#3 Frozen Hot Water Bottle
You can, in fact, put hot water bottles in the freezer (this hadn’t even occurred to me until recently). This is great to cool you down at any time of the day, especially when you’re lounging on the couch or trying to get to sleep. If you want something smaller, freezer packs are only a couple dollars and are best for placing around your pulse points. When those points are cold, by extension, it helps cool down the rest of you – biology is nifty that way.
#4 Put Ice In Front Of Your Fan
A bowl of ice can be placed in front of a desk fan (or a standing one, if that’s what you own) to cool down the air being blown towards you. It’s been said that this can create an ‘air con’ like effect, which in this weather, is needed. If you don’t own a fan, Kmart (bless it’s soul) has a tonne of them on offer at a range of prices.
#5 Cold Drinks
To stop yourself from turning into a shrivelled prune, hydration is key. It can be anything from iced tea, Kombucha, iced coffee, a smoothie, and of course water – you can go wild with the options. Not only can you be cooled down from the outside, but the inside as well. Anything to beat this heat, right? God speed, friends.
Image source: Inverse, The Times UK and Pintrest