My air conditioner was broken for a few days this summer and it was pretty miserable around our house. It got me thinking about what I would do in a long term powerless situation to keep our family cool. We posed the question on our Facebook page and got tons of great ideas from our readers. Here is a summary of the best ones!

1. Wear light-colored clothing, dark clothes absorb heat
2. Use a damp cloth to wet face, arms and legs
3. Find a cool breeze to sit in (especially after getting wet)
4. Make a paper fan and fan yourself
5. Hang out in the basement of your home
6. Install attic vents to release the hot air that rises
7. Sleep on the porch between wet sheets
8. Relax during the hottest hours, do heavy chores/cooking in the morning and evening
9. Do your canning and cooking outdoors
10. Take an afternoon nap
11. Use a buckwheat pillow, it won’t hold on to your body heat
12. Close all blinds and window coverings (don’t let the sun in)
13. Open all the windows at night to let cool air in
14. Lie down on the floor in the lowest level of your house
15. Keep a window open upstairs to pull hot air up and out
16. Wet your hair
17. Put white sheets over furniture, it will reflect heat instead of absorb it
18. Wrap a wet towel around your neck
19. Plant or find shade trees
20. Take cool baths
21. Make sure your home is well insulated, it will keep the heat out
22. Drink lots of fluids
23. Use a spray bottle and spray yourself down
24. Hang wet sheets in open windows that have a cross breeze
25. Keep babies in a light onesie (not naked) for when you hold them
26. Dip feet in cool water
27. Keep your body covered (in cool clothes) to shade it from the sun
28. Don’t wear polyester, it makes you sweat
29. Sit still, moving around makes you hotter
30. Make recipes using mint/peppermint to cool the body
31. Brush mint against the skin to cool you down
32. Wear loose-fitting skirts
33. Use battery-powered fans (like these ones)
34. Put wet rags over a batter powered fan to make a “swamp cooler”
35. Give the kids squirt guns and have a water fight
36. Buy some evaporative cooling bandanas. These look so neat!
37. Eat cold meals
38. Eat spicy foods, they increase perspiration which cools down the body
39. Buy some cooling towels/cloths
40. Wear a large-brimmed hat to shade your face
41. Spray your house down with a water hose for a temporary cool down
42. Keep ice packs in your freezer and then use them for relief
43. Go around naked (if appropriate)
44. Use silk or satin sheets and pillowcases, they feel cooler
45. Hang up bedding in cool areas of the house or shade during the day
46. Get a waterbed, it will absorb heat and feel cool on hot nights
47. Build porch awnings to provide shade
48. Have a generator to plug in electric fans
49. Make a homemade air conditioner or swamp cooler if you have a generator
50. GO SWIMMING!

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-Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net