How To Beat the Heat

It's a bit toasty here today which made me reminisce about how homes were kept cool in the "olden" days.

New-fashioned way to keep your home cool:

• close all of the windows and doors
• turn on the central air
• stay home all day and you won't even know it is hot outside

Old-fashioned way to keep your home cool:

• site your home to take advantage of natural cooling and heating (a nice southern exposure is good here in the US)
• insulate your home to keep the home at a more steady temperature (thus the use of adobe in the southwest)
• plant deciduous trees to shade your home in the summer
• open windows and doors when it is cool to allow the cooler air to come into your home
• close the windows and drapes on the "hot" side of the house during the heat of the day
• cook in the morning when it is cool then eat salads and cold sandwiches during the hottest part of the day
• put a blanket down under the shade tree and relax outside
• set up a portable fan
• turn off lights and heat-generating appliances
• hang out in the cooler part of the house (possibly the basement or the shadier side of the house) during the heat of the day