How to keep cool in the summer heat without cranking up the AC

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Many, when the temperatures soar in countries in the “West”, with the USA in the lead, rather crank up the air conditioning which is no good for them, their wallet, nor the Planet. The simple act of opening a couple of windows in the house to create a draft, the way our ancestors cooled the house, does not even occur to them. So up goes the air conditioning but the clothes remain, often, all firmly in place and even the windows firmly closed.

In many countries of the world they have a different attitude to that and that is, aside from using window shutters and awnings to reduce the sun reaching the interior of the house they rather strip off and in many cases, during the warm season, their children go bare all the time, as do some of the adults, the latter at least indoors.

Tip #1 in my department, therefore, is when the temperatures sore and it gets uncomfortably (humid) shed your clothes, all of them, and all of you. It is good for all of us but especially the children as their bodies, apparently, do not control the temperatures too well. That is why we so often see red-faced kids during hot weather and them being cranky. When unclothed their bodies, and adult bodies actually too, can perform better as to temperature control. I grew up that way and can vouch for it. The standard attire for Gypsy boys in days of old was, and not only in the heat of summer, nothing, and that was not even that long ago (and in some places it still is).

Adding family nudism to the inventory, so to speak, to beat the summer heat might be a good idea on more than one level. You may even find that neither the kids, nor you, really want to be be going back to wearing clothes again for much of the time.

Tip #2 Open windows to create a through draft. Don't, however, create an invitation for burglars by keeping windows, especially on the ground floor, open during the night or when you are out.

If you want to avoid bugs and other flying critters entering through an open window or door think fly-screen. Screen doors and window screens used to be very common not so long ago and, in fact, they are still in use in many homes.

Tip #3 If possible install shutters or other blinds and use them to keep the sun at bay indoors thereby keeping the temperatures lower. Even heavy drapes will keep some of the heat of the sun at bay. Also, awnings are very useful over the windows, as was common once.

We seem to, strangely enough, have forgotten all those old ways simply because of the advent of the air-conditioning and rather run that expensive thing which costs us dearly in many ways, by way of money and also the destruction of the Planet.

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