[CanadianCutie]

It's quite warm, the central air conditioning is broken and it will be a few weeks before we can get it fixed. We have fans, and windows opened, but with the heat (it's 85 degrees in here) I don't feel like eating much. I'm forcing myself to eat breakfast and lunch, but some nights I just don't feel like dinner. I have apples for snacks but just the thought of eating is bleh. I'm making sure I'm drinking a lot of water, and I haven't even felt like my usual addiction, coffee. Any tips on how to stay cool until we can get this fixed?

[RobinD]

I put large bowls of cold water or ice water in front of the fans to make swamp coolers. I also have been known to spray myself constantly with a spray bottle when it gets too hot for me to handle. Last resort is to hop in a cool shower with light cotton clothes on.

Lightly misting your sheets helps at night (100% cotton sheets, and as smooth and crisp as you can get!)

Last summer we broke 100 for a while, which is nearly unheard of in the Seattle area. My granite countertops (usually so wonderfully cool feeling) were warm!

Watch for electrolyte imbalance, too.

Good luck!

Robin

[TJFitnessDiva]

I find myself snacking on stuff like homemade frozen smoothie pops, frozen fruit....eating salads with cold chicken, etc. Anything that is cold! Lately I've been outside a lot since my DH is on a business trip (someone has to take care of yard work, minor repairs, blah)

I like taking cool showers too

[Lyn2007]

Yeah, smoothies, yum! Mangos, yogurt, spinach, ice. Excellent.

[CanadianCutie]

Thanks for the tips ladies. Making some ice right now, then gonna hop in the shower.

[Latchkey Princess]

Keep it as dark as possible in the house. If you have blinds keep them lowered as much as you can. Put a fan in one window blowing in and another window blowing out in the same room to get a bit of a cross wind type breeze. Wet a washcloth or dish towel, freeze it, and then wear it on the back of you neck. Put ice packs under your arms for a few minutes. Eat things like melon (you can freeze it and it's sooo yummy!) and gazpacho and frozen grapes and berries. Keep as many lights and appliances off in your house as you can (every appliance like your tv and computer heat up and makes the room a little hotter). Wear as little clothing as possible. Jump in the shower wearing a t-shirt and then go stand in front of a fan with the wet t-shirt on. And something I was told (but have never tried) is to eat spicy food, it's supposed to cool you off because it makes you sweat.

I grew up without central a/c in Illinois (we get some hot summers here, right now it's over 90). So keeping cool was an art form I learned early in life.

[cfmama]

cold smoothies. Cold sandwiches. Salads. Veggies with dip. Hard boiled eggs. That sort of thing seems to appeal to me when it's uber uber hot outside!