Summer is well and truly in full swing and that means that we have some great days ahead. Enjoying being outside, spending time with family and friends and taking advantage of the lighter evenings. But, summer also means that our homes can become incredibly hot. Heat isn’t always so comfortable, and if you don’t have the tie to just sit out and enjoy it, it can be quite unbearable to keep up with your normal routine. Even just walking around your home doing your normal jobs and chores can become a struggle and have you turning into a sweaty mess.
However, there are tried and tested methods to help keep you and your home cool, so I thought I would share with you some of the great things to consider. Whether it is small changes or big investments I hope that some of these options help you withstand the heat on those glorious summer days to come.
Open up the windows in the morning and at night
One of the first things to consider would be to make the most of the cooler morning and evening air before the temperatures rise during the day. First thing, open up the windows and allow the fresh cool air to circulate your home. Once the temperature has reduced shut them before the air gets too warm on the outside. Again, doing this in the evening can also help benefit your home. Once the sun sets or in the evening, the temperature can drop, leaving you with a cool breeze to enjoy in an evening. Leaving a window open while you sleep as well can aid you in having a better nights sleep.
Have good working air conditioning to keep certain rooms cool
The next thing to think about would be to perhaps invest in an air conditioning unit. This is one of the best ways to keep your home cool during the day and can work especially well in the rooms you will be using more frequently such as your kitchen, living room or bedroom. If you have an air conditioning unit already installed, then companies like Affordable Air Conditioning & Heating can ensure that it is in tip-top condition. The last thing you want is a hot day and no air con to relieve you of the heat. However, not everyone is able to have air conditioning, so investing in some good fans could provide you with a lower cost solution.
Keep curtains and blinds closed during the day
The next thing I would suggest would be to consider keeping blinds and curtains drawn during the day. This stops the sun shining through their wounds and effectively warming up the room like an oven. The curtain or blind can act as a block, and while you room may still get warm, it won’t be anywhere near as bad. It might also be worth considering a lighter material as a curtain during the summer months, as a heavy material may act as an insulator of heat rather than expelling it.
Close off unused rooms
There will be rooms in your home that you won’t be using on a day to day basis, especially in the heat as you are more likely to be outside enjoying the good weather. So why not close those rooms off? It helps to keep certain rooms cooler, and combining that with the curtains or blinds being shut can help you to reduce the temperature in certain rooms. This might be worth doing for bedrooms so that when you go up later in the vending, open the windows for some breeze, your bedrooms won’t be as hot as they could have been.
Switch the sheets
During the winter months we are probably all for their blankets and flannels sheets to keep us warm at night, but during the summer this just does n’t cut it. Make sure that you have sheets that you can use during different seasons that are of different extrudes and materials. Cotton is always going to be a safer bet during the summer months as it is a cooler material that will allow your skin to breath.
Change the duvet
Changing the sheets is one thing, but what about the rest of your bed? The duvet might be a little too thick for summer, and so it may be worth switching to a thinner duvet or even avoiding the duvet altogether and just using the bed sheet. The last thing you want is to feel too hot at night, especially as your body needs to reduce in temperature by a degree or so in order to aid you into a sleep. Your pillows may also be causing you issues and these days you can buy mattresses and pillows specific to body temperature, helping you to keep cooler when the temperature rises.
Focus on your body temperature rather than the house
It is easy to place all of your focus on your house when it comes to keeping things cools, but actually having some focus on your own body temperature can also make a big difference. Drinking ice cold drinks, a cold compress and dressing in breathable material to keep you cool could help to reduce your overall body temperature. At the beginning and end of your day, you could also have a cold shower to keep the temperature down and allow you to freshen up.
Cook outside
Finally, cooking is one thing we can’t avoid in this heat, and while you may be living on salads, you might need to cook something at some point. So instead choose to cook outside. Cooking meats on the BBQ is a great accompaniment to salads. You can even bake potatoes on there and grill vegetables helping you to avoid the oven entirely. There are also plenty of recipes online to help keep you inspired.
I hope that this has made you more aware of some of the ways you can keep yourself and your home cool this summer.
