So the retired firefighter in me requires that I warn you to be careful with the grill under the porch awning. It looks pretty low and can ignite rather quickly if the grill gets away from you. Saw a lot of homes destroyed that way. Please be careful! I don’t want to have to watch you do a KZfaq series on rebuilding your home!

I have pecan trees on every side of my house. They block almost all direct sunlight in summer and I get loads of sunlight in winter while they're dormant. Its a wonderful set up to naturally regulate the house.

I grew up in Australia where it gets very hot. A lot of houses didn’t have air conditioning 30 years ago, not sure why. But as a kid I would only sleep under a sheet. I would wet it then spin it in the washing machine and sleep under that on crazy hot nights when I couldn’t get to sleep. It’s so dry there, that the sheet would be bone dry by the morning. In the day I’d do the same with a T-shirt. I’d wear a wet (not dripping) T-shirt and be comfortable.

A couple tips you might consider - For the first maybe hour or so when you want to open the doors and windows in the evening is to only open one door and then point the fan in front of it to the OUTSIDE. It sounds counterintuitive, but you're pulling the hot air out of the house. It creates a vacuum. Keep all the other fans on to move the air through the house towards the open door. After an hour or so you can open ALL the windows and doors and point the fans inwards in front of the windows like you mentioned to pull the cooler air in. This way it's not fighting against hot air. We also live in the PNW and prior to living in this house, we had no ac and this was our method. It really does work. Also, black out curtains like others mentioned really are your friends here. Think cave-like!! Also soak your feet in cool water. And if you're washing your hands to cool off, wet yourself up to the inner elbow - it's amazingly refreshing. Hope this helps someone.

We have black out curtains on all of our windows and it makes a huge difference

I haven't used my AC unit in three years, and even when it's 35C+ outside, my house is cool, even chilly! Once the sun goes down I open two windows, and place a fan in front of one of them, pointing the fan OUTSIDE! This sends the warm air out, creating a lower pressure inside the house. The cooler air from outside is drawn inside through the other open window to equalise the pressure, creating a continuous cycle of cooling through the night. You just need to be strategic about which windows you open so that the air flow is not impeded and allows for cooling throughout the house/apartment. I live in a two story house, so I have the fan at an upstairs window and the other window open downstairs (since warm air rises!). Hope someone finds this useful.

This is why there were summer kitchens in the south. It was a separate building which would keep the main house from heating up. Same as someone else mentioned having trees around to shade in summer but allow sun through in winter is key.

Moisture doesn't evaporate when it's 98 degrees with 90% humidity here in the south. :(

The summer of 2020, I stumbled over your video about surviving during the Depression. I was fascinated, and it sparked a deep desire to start homesteading. You were instrumental in us taking the leap by getting out of the city, and moving north onto an 80 acre (former) farm. That was a year ago next month. Since then we have raised our first batch of 60 broiler chickens that we will be butchering in 2 days, and a second batch of 50 chicks are in the brooder, along with 10 egg layers. We built a big 50x50 garden, a 20x50 potato garden, and a 10x50 melon patch. I have been addicted to homesteading videos since that very first day. Not all channels are the same. Many are becoming nothing more than click bait, where they ramble on about nothing really, to stretch the length of their videos. It is actually becoming annoying. But when your videos come up, you actually TEACH something beneficial every time. It is not wasted time to watch your channel. Thank you for that. And thank you for helping me realize a lifelong dream!

Can also hang a wet sheet in the door way place a fan on opposite side so it’s blowing the sheet towards the room your in. It helps till the sheet dries

I've never had AC in my life. I've lived in Arkansas, South Florida, South Georgia, and now SE Texas. Most times I haven't had a fan either, as I live off grid. People have survived the heat since the dawn of time. You adjust and find ways to beat the heat. My house is completely shaded, my roof is painted with the ceramic white paint. I open windows at night, close in the morning. Jump in the creek from time to time....lol

Those chill bandanas, wrap on each wrist, this area is closest to your blood system thinking like your body is a air conditioner, circulating the cool fresh blood. These wraps can be found for about a dollar each.

Living in the Arizona desert and not having ac for 9 years (only evaporative coolers) I learned a lot of tricks to help keep cooler. We have temps over 110 regularly and the nights don’t get any cooler than the low to mid 80’s 🥵 our average inside temperatures were 85-90 and above sometimes(still cooler than outside). I bought the styrofoam boards at Dollar Tree in a combination of black and white ones to place in ALL my windows the bedrooms have blackout curtains also. Blinds/curtains stay closed when the sun is on that side of the house. Inside cooking is only done late at night so there is no heat added to the house during the day, I would boil eggs and pasta and sauté chicken for salads and other meals that are served cold. I would also cook a weeks worth of meat on the grill early in the morning as it is too hot to grill in the late afternoon. Lots of cold drinks, smoothies, popsicles, Italian ice, etc helps also. We bought the cooling rags to put on your neck too. All outside chores done very early in the morning and later in the evening. Our son had a double window fan that he put on top of his chest of drawers and he placed a towel in front and used frozen 2ltr bottles in front it helped a bit of course the closer he was to it the cooler the air but it helped keep his room a bit cooler. The frozen bottles in front of a fan work better in smaller rooms and stronger fans. Ceiling fans are essential also. When my family would complain about it being hot inside I sent them outside for 10-15 minutes and they would come back in and realize how much cooler it was inside after all 🤷🏻‍♀️ These are just a few of the things I have done and even though we got our ac replaced last year finally I still do some of them to help keep the house cooler and our electric bill down.

I know this is a bit of an older video, but I know people are trying to find ways to stay cool. So I got a lil tip for you. Dip your arms and feet into cool water!!! From what I've heard, cooling the parts of your body where veins are closer to the skin can really help. So head, forearms, feet, ect. Hope this helps.

Growing up, we didn't have AC and my mom used to do most of that (not the outside cooking except BBQ). Back then, we had 2 big metal fans ("whole house fans") that mounted on the window frame and you could reverse direction of the blades. They were on the second floor windows of two bedrooms on opposite sides of the house. During the day, she would close all the upstairs windows (except the ones with the fans) put them on exhaust to draw the air through the house from downstairs, pulling the heat up and out. At night, she would reverse them to blow cool air into the bedrooms to cool us while sleeping. You can't get those fans now so I found metal, large air volume fans that are on a frame shaped like a hassock so they can rotate 360°. I attached them to the upper frames of my windows by hanging them on large hooks screwed into the window frames & opened the windows by pulling the top windows down. Then, rotating the fan to exhaust or blow in, as necessary, I could cool the house pretty well. Opening the top of the window allowed me to pull the hottest air out quickly. Also, we live in a row home in the city. Having the open window at the top allowed for privacy in the bedroom because people on the other side of the street couldn't see in. And, I mounted the blinds on the window frame below the fan. Might have looked a little odd but it was well worth the atypical appearance. To turn the fan on and off, we left the fan set on high & set the plug in an outlet with a switch. I had a pole with a hook attached to grab the handle on the fan's cage, or the cage itself, to rotate it. It worked brilliantly.

My family and I can truly relate. We have no A/C this year, too. We are staying hydrated, keeping curtains closed during hottest time of day, all room fans circulating. We are making it work.

Something I discovered this year is Heat Cool window film. It’s advertised to reject 72% of suns heat and blocks 99% of UV rays. It reduces glare and heat. I installed on my doors. I found the storm doors act as a greenhouse and were warping my doors! I also installed the film on windows where the sun blares through. That combined with blinds and curtains keeps things cool. You can find the stuff at big box stores. The brand I have is Gila. I advise watching the how to video on KZfaq before installing the stuff. Anyway. My 2 cents. Well with the rise in costs 5 cents lol!

The United States is a huge place. Every climate is represented. Sometimes, you just need to look next door for a solution. That fan uses the same electricity as a 1000 watt HID light. If you are going to run that, it would be best used in a swamp cooler. Switch it to a squirrel cage fan and run the air through a water wick. Properly constructed, it will cool the ambient air by a large margin. Another thing: Humic soil is natural air conditioning for plants. On a homestead, think of your plants as well as yourself. Ground cover everywhere and fresh finished compost sprinkled liberally where the Earth is bare. You must culture Humic soil, it will spread once initiated, where organic material exists to provide the environment. Humic soil cools when it is hot and warms when it is cold, to keep the understory 'air conditioned'. Humic soil is an ionic bridge, trapping heavy metals in the soil in a form plants are unable to uptake. Humic soil holds it's weight in water, and releases the water to the plants in the soil at the appropriate rate. You cannot buy a supplement to culture Humic soil, only Mother Nature is presently up to the task, but you can invite her in with careful habits. Your property, carefully shaded, could stay at an ambient temperature a few degrees different from the surrounding property, if it is based in healthy, Humic soil. UV light kills the organisms in the soil, so fresh, finished compost replenishes them. The fungi must be protected in the sun by ground cover, and there must be organic material in the soil. A homestead without a large series of composting piles is going backwards, as far as the land is concerned. A good steward starts at the foundation and works upwards. Things tend to fall in line that way. Problems begin solving themselves. Keeping a keen eye on your neighbors helps to solve troublesome problems, as they are troubleshooting same as you. A large portion of America uses swamp coolers.

If you want to cool yourself, get a shower and do not dry your body or just wipe your torso, legs and arms with a wet towel. As the water evaporates, it lowers the surface temperature. You can do the same trick by taking off your t-shirt and spraying it with some water, then putting it back on. That's the same way your body regulates temperature by sweating. ;) It works well to cool your beer outside in the Sun too, wrap it in paper towel and pour water on it. :P

When using fans I find oscillating fans help more because they move the air around the rooms and it stays much cooler than when I used box fans.

I sew several cups of white rice into canvas bags to heat in the winter in the microwave, lovely to sleep with. In the summer I keep them in the freezer, a couple of those will keep me cool for hours. 😊

I live in a 30's farmhouse surrounded by giant oak trees here in NE PA. We lost one of those trees in a tornado about ten years ago, and it's loss is felt from lack of shade. I did expand the garden, though! Window mounted AC is a no in this house as the thin walls shake like heck, the noise is ... not good. The basement on the other hand is an excellent source of cool air for the first floor. using a fan. There is a much older home not far from me where there was an outdoor summer kitchen, basically a semi attached large shed where all the cooking was done when it was hot, as well as a smokehouse. The old timers knew how to get things done.

Some of your tips didn't apply to me due to my living circumstances, but I tried your idea of soaking a towel/dishcloth in water, freezing it, and using it as a neck cradle. I've been doing this for all day today in hot Washington, DC, and it works quite well! Thank you for that tip. I'll chime in with one of my own: making a concoction of homemade peppermint spray. I fill a spray bottle with peppermint essential oil and water, shake it really well, and spritz on the back of my neck, arms, along my legs, between my boobs, and backs of my thighs. I gotta do it eyes closed (peppermint burns!) and holding the breath for a few seconds. It's best to do this outside in the open air. That helps a bit, too. Bonus: it's a good bug repellant. The downside is that it lasts for only half an hour or so. Cheers, and thank you for making this video.

When I was a kid (1953 -1969) , we had no air conditioner. In the evening just after dark , my dad and mom put a window fan (on exhaust) in one end of the house and we opened 2 windows about 2 inches in the other end of the house . This drew in cool air in our bedrooms and exhausted the warm air out . In the morning it was time to close everything up for the day .

The best way to cool your house without A/C is a whole house fan. Your attic can easily reach temperatures of up to 150F degrees during a heatwave. All that trapped heat radiates through the ceiling even with insulation, into the living space. Using a whole house fan, it sucks the warm air out of the living space and blows it into the attic pushing out the 150F degree heat through the attic vents already installed and replacing it with the cooler air in the house. This works beautifully, by opening a few windows no more than 5 inches around the house, you acheive a cool breeze in the entire house. The best places to open the windows are the furthest away from the fan like kitchen or living room whichever is the furthest from the fan, and the bedroom windows. Let it run overnight, then first thing in the morning before the sun rises, close up the house, which traps in the cool air. Now you just cooled the thermal mass of the house which means it takes longer for the house to heat up over the course of the day. And in the evening, just repeat the process. Now In my situation, I have A/C but it doesn't kick on until maybe 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

If you ever loose a long term tree, insurance will pay good on it's loss. A tree can make a good reduction in heat to your home. I love watching the birds & their singing.

One trick I’ve begun to utilize is screening off my porch. I bought a screen tarp from Harbor Freight and hung it from the eaves of our porch. I used carabiners because it’s easy to remove in the fall. Make sure it’s long and wide enough to fit your porch. That extra bit of screen fabric makes a huge difference. Is it fancy? No, but it cools our porch which cools the house in turn.

You nailed it pretty good! I haven't had AC for 15 years in Central Kansas. The windows open at night is key and shutting them in the morning before it gets warm. Fans. Lots of fans are wonderful!

As your 9b 110+ expert, I would encourage you to not cook at all when it gets that hot. Use the microwave, eat salads or brave the heat and just BBQ in the mornings. You’d be surprised just how much even your clothes dryer adds to the temps in your house, let alone using a stove/oven!

What we do is open up windows when temp outside starts to go below indoor temp. We put a very strong fan in one window FACING OUT, and open 1 window in each room. That fan will suck out the hot air while pulling cool in. It's awesome. I find it much more effective than blowing the fan in from the window. Just thought I'd share that. Hope you are blessed with cooler temps. Thanks for your videos!

I live in the south with the heat and high humidity. I didn’t realize until about a week ago that y’all in the north don’t have AC. That just blows my mind. Great video.

The one thing that I would add is to place your fans to take advantage of the prevailing direction of the wind: blowing in for west and north facing windows and blowing out for east and south facing windows. This is a generalization, but the air moves through the house much better if you do not fight the current direction of the wind. Another thing is to cover the windows with 2-3 layers of newspaper to block the sun which works in conjunction with curtains and shades. This, too, is very effective. You do not have to leave this on your windows all summer, just when you know scorching weather is predicted.

Melissa, these tips are great. Thanks. I encourage you to look into solar box cooking, which requires no fuel to operate, since it uses the sun's rays. Since it is used outside, your indoors will keep cooler. Also, I encourage to look into placing outdoor window blinds on the outside of your windows, or hanging some kind of flexible roll down blinds, to prevent most glaring light from entering your home. Blocking the sun, when it is outside, heats up the blinds outside, as opposed to heating your curtains up inside.

Also in Washington: To keep the heat out was to put mylar survival blankets over all of our windows.

We didn’t use our AC last year to save $. Hottest indoors reached 85 during triple digit days. Ceiling fans kept us comfy. We opened our windows in the morning using metal fans to force cool air in. It really saved us a bundle’.

The easiest tip is take off your shoes and socks when inside the house. It'll drop your body temperature a few degrees. Most people don't realize this.

Ty for the ideas. We do not have AC. Im in Virginia. My house is at about 84-88 daily. No curtains either on any window. We do have a whole house fan but isn't always a solution. It ends up just moving the hot air. We bought a john deer tractor instead of central air!

This was on Pinterest & I became curious. Living in the Valley of the Sun my entire life, my grandma didn't get A/C until the '90s! Menopause sent her over the edge. The thing is, if you don't have raw "dirt" around you - it won't cool off at night. We keep our A/C at 82 because it is 110 at night due to all the asphalt/pavement retaining heat ...plus, we're in a valley. My grandpa's mother - who lived in Parker Dam in the 30's/40's used to put a wet sheet on a box fan for "air conditioning" for the kids. I grew up with swamp cooler until the monsoons hit - and then we just say around eating popcicles with a wet washcloth on our head! 🤣 There were a LOT OF SALADS.

In the UK it only sometimes gets too hot. On my south facing, large window I line the curtains with an insulated lining called 3 pass. It blocks light and heat. It makes a huge difference. If I overheat I run both wrists under cold water for at least two minutes - which is how long it takes to cool all of your body. It works a treat.

We managed to survive years ago without air conditioning my poor father worked in a machine shop we were poor we did with less than people have today. I went to school with no air condition we were by no means spoiled. Times are better today than back then.

Depending on location leaving the windows opened during a high humidity day is a mistake. Blackout insulated curtains work great. All windows closed. Fans. On days like this a portable ac helps when possible in a closed room. I’d say a midday cold bath is a nice fun thing (especially in a claw tub). An attic fan in a vintage house designed to function without an ac and ceiling or any type of fans is a really helpful thing. Make sure to leave the basement door opened especially if it’s underground. The air circulates up through the house out the attic. This works for houses built before the age of air conditioning. Any time it’s 90 or above outside the basement is in the 60’s. The first floor 70’s. The second floor high 70’s. The attic isn’t insulated yet on the roof. Just the floor. When humidity is above 90 close the attic. Under 90 open the door. All doors opened. Windows closed. As mentioned, the air flows through the house out the attic and the rooms all help circulate air with ceiling fans. There’s all type of attic fans. I use two way fans with three settings. Total price from Aldi $70. These required zero modifications to the windows. Install the fans. The settings are flow in, exhaust, or circulate which is one blows in and the other out. I usually have them on exhaust. This helps with house air circulation explained to me by the power company. So far it’s worked great. In the basement I renovated with glass block x5 for insulation and one window for airflow. Since older houses don’t do well with central air due to design. Many complaints second floors are still hot. Decided to get portable a/c’s and the two way fans. A large humidifier in the basement that barely runs now that I’ve renovated the windows and fixed the stone with spray foam called Pond and Stone to insulate in the cracks. In small bedrooms can use the portable ac which is also a fan and dehumidifier or a small humidifier. This helps keep the room less moist and cooler. It’s a trial and error thing. Figure out the style of home and design heat and cool management based on this. Like, I’m winter, the house is designed for heating each room. Everything was built with a door. Not open concept. Leave the primary furnace at the recommended level. 50-55. Heat each room being used at night to the ideal sleep temp about 68 degrees. During the day heat the rooms as needed. We enjoy going outdoors in the winter with the dog so keeping the house cool helps when the temp drops to below zero for stretches. Having a small heating fireplace for the living room adds ambience. But when everyone is asleep just heat that room with an infrared or tiny thermostat heater. This works for us, but might not be for everyone. We adjust to the outdoor temp because we enjoy outdoors all year having a German Shepherd. To afford items we bought the house then a few items each year from Aldi like the two way fans and portable ac’s. The various tiny heaters or vintage looking heater fireplaces by on sale each year one or two. Same with insulated curtains. Buy on sale a few at a time as able to afford them. Hope this helps someone with their home

I am 27 miles Southeast of Seattle. We only got to 109, so I consider us lucky from what you experienced. I lived in Vegas for 10 years and it never got above 105 during the hottest days. Now 115 is the norm. This climate change is crazy. We have to find a way to keep our plants alive in this weather to they clean the air.

I used reflective foil sided board insulation in my windows. My house stayed at 78° during 116°outside. I also put up shade cloth around the areas with intense sun.

Another effective way to cut the heat is to have rollup, white plastic, shades hung from the eves of the outside walls of your home with the most solar exposure on the south and west sides. the inside window blinds are OK, but outside is much better. And in the evening when things are cooling down I spray down the blinds and window screens with water, just before you open all the widows up for the night, the water evaporation helps a lot.

We have used damp towels laid on us with a fan blowing on us when we sleep with a spray bottle near by and this next tip will sound crazy but sleeping on top of a sleeping bag that has that I think it's polyethylene covering it breathes and do the towel trick . Sounds crazy but worked for us for a lot of years . Awesome ideas so thankful for your videos!

If at all possible block the light from outside the house. On the outside of the house put up those bamboo roller shades or even cardboard to block the light before it hits the windows. Especially for West and South facing windows. Also, a radiant barrier in the attic would be a huge help.

Heat rises, too. My grandmothers home had transom panels on every door, and a skylight that opened and closed. She'd open her double-hung windows a few inches from the top, with shades drawn, and had only one fan she'd move from room to room, and one box fan in a back upstairs window that faced north. It was hot and humid in Baltimore City, with her flat tar roof, but she kept cool by being still during heat of day, catching up on her newspaper, hand sewing, and napping, keeping her t.v. and radio off because they created heat. Oh, she opened up the cellar door inside because the cooler air would be drawn up by the fans and roof skylight

I recently moved backed to south Texas where the temps are in 3 digits every summer I've spent here. I actually used to dampen tank tops & partially freeze them before wearing when it was unbearably hot. It definitely helped!

My grandparents... And many grandparents.. Earlier generations... Had "outside kitchens"... It is a COVERED... usually SCREENED in patio, right off the house... An actual kitchen set up.. Camp sink or Gardenning sink for year round... Permanent electrical outlets for hot plates.. A counter surface or folding tables.. And outdoor fridge (secure all foodsources against bears/wildlife if you live in such areas

This channel gives out some of the best information, families like this are a real treasure to this nation.

Cool showers and water misting bottle, keep your wrist and feet damp will help. We live in Texas heat along with humidity can be brutal.. everyone stay cool this summer!

Also, try freezing a few water bottles, and put it into a sock. You can put it against yourself and it isn't freezing cold, just cool. Plus the sock insulates it so it doesn't melt super fast. In the summer I always sleep with one.

Great tips! We use every one of them for years in Texas, especially if an a/c goes out. Glad you guys survived August in Texas. One tip: Keep a mister bottle handy or even a water hose for spray downs. Evaporative cooling is the best!

Melissa, I love your practical advice! I too live ina mobile home with no basement and no garage or root seller. Thank you for all of your tips and tricks for gardening, preserving and otherwise!

Thank you Melissa! Just wanted to add a solar cooking method to the best way to cook w/o heating up your house (or standing too long in the sun, tending to it!). People can look it up to be prepared in advance as there are a number of different methods & DIY setups. Most involve a dark tightly covered pot (slow cooker insert could work), cardboard covered in foil/thermal car sunshade, &/or padding (layers of quilt/blankets or a pad made of beanbag chair filling). This is also great as it can be used when rolling blackouts “come to a neighborhood near you!”.

This is how we existed in the 80's when we had no air conditioning.

Try that with 75-85% humidity tho! Lol stay cool you are hotter than we are on the gulf coast now.

I would love to see some videos on cooking and/or baking in your dutch oven in your firepit!

I'm in northeast Texas and it gets very hot here and freezes in the winter. After I retired I decided to practice being very frugal with my electricity...and to make preparations just incase. (It also allowed me extra money to buy some tools & other self sufficient supplies). Now, I have gone without using my central heat & air for almost 5 years. I've found many hacks and your video was a good reminder of using my blackout curtains on the sunny side of my house. Now, I'm going to double up by putting up sets of 2 layer curtains that I'd forgot that I had. I do use a small window air conditioner in my bedroom to help me sleep otherwise insomnia rears it's head. Also, I have been so busy out in the veggie garden that I completely forgot about the frozen towel hack! 😯 I got my wet towel in the freezer just after watching your video!! My other hack is because I grow banana trees & large elephant ears for fun. But they need regular water during in hottest part of our summer. So, when I water them...I hold the water hose over myself...head & all...and take a cold shower outside beside my plants. I keep my closes on and they help me stay cool by being wet while I'm using the water for my plants! 👍🏼

I’m in Australia, where we have long hot summers. In the old days before we all had aircon, our way of using nature as a cooler is to hang hessian fabric from your roof in front of your windows, then at night wet the hessian, open your windows & the night air will get cooled by the water. The hessian in front of your windows during the day keeps the sun off them & the room inside will be cooler because it’s shaded.

enjoyed your tips I lived with min electric and no fridge AC for many years, the refrigerator trick was nice except that we did not have a refrigerator. Here are some tips I learned with my little ones, never go to bed without rinsing off the salt oil's and dirt from your skin also make your home as dark as possible. I don't even allow a lightbulb on because it creates heat. Absolutely running nothing that would cause heat. All sheets need to be cotton with no nylon or rayon or any other blend of fabric. Fans of course, we also were not on a water system, so all dishwater was used to flush toilets or to put on plants. Having plants around your home does help.

stayed Years ago, we stayed at an old farm house on the Steinhatchee River, in Florida in July, which had no AC. The ceilings were exceprionally high. We covered ourselves with wet towels at night. Fans during the day. Kwpt our hair and clothing wet at all times and drank a lot of water. Happy memories.

I just had a carport and patio covered installed which is where the sun hits. This is awesome information. Thank you sharing.

A wet bath towel lain across your torso with a fan on works wonders, at least in dryer climates. The key is the air moving, it sucks the heat and you will actually get cold. I did this for a few summers in Utah when all I had was a cheap swamp cooler, the towel made all the difference.

Black out curtains with rods that wrap around the side of the windows is a must!!! Plus black out roller shades behind the curtains. Living in an area with high temps and a west facing picture window....you find ways to keep the sun out in the summer. Added a reflective insulator (like what you put against your car windshield or used in RVs) dropped the temp on the west side of the house 10 degrees. You do what you have to do.

If you can afford it, buy a portable air conditioner ahead of time. Even with a small one, you can cool one room and the family can all sleep in that cooled room. Small ones are not expensive. From living in South Florida and experiencing hurricanes where your electricity gets knocked out for weeks at a time in the hottest part of the year, I found that those cheap battery operated personal fans with a mister really can help cool you. When the power is not out, just mist yourself with a spray bottle of water and use lots of fans. Yes to the pool idea, or just frequent brief cool showers. Don't completely dry off, let the water evaporate and cool you. Drink lots of fluids and don't do any physical work you don't absolutely have to. Have fans on hand for every room of the house. Instead of cooking, eat salads and get protein from canned beans, lunch meat, canned tuna, etc. During the heat wave in the PNW, we were on vacation on Orcas Island and went to a state park that had deep shade near a lake. That was so helpful. It was actually quite nice in the shade, still hot but not bad at all.

I use the blackout curtain & fold them to double & hang BUT in the bigger windows under the blackout curtains I use a car window shield that reflects out. It is really a great help on heat blocking!

Hello from Manila, Philippines - a hot, humid, tropical climate. These are ways I keep our home cool in high heat: Buy a small aquarium submersible pump + straw + high pail + filtered water...connect and the small DIY fountain will keep your home cooler. I also buy Silver Thermal Sheets - Fold and tape together + use a wire or hook as hanger...hang them along the windows to deflect sunlight heat. Works inside and out along the porch and terrace.

Steel roof and siding with reflective coating, double/triple pane windows with good glass and shutters/blinds, well insulated roof and walls (not with polystyrene or fiberglass).

Rice pack in long sock....from freezer.

120 blows my mind I'm in East Texas and thankfully it hasn't even hit 99 for my location this summer but we have like 90% humidity constantly so it always is way hotter than it says it is. Be careful and stay cool!

It's the humidity that's the problem for us. Using wet towels only makes you feel hotter. I've been sleeping with those frozen gel ice packs that you put into coolers. Wrap it in a towel to keep the outside dry and to avoid freezer burn on your skin.

Wear cotton, stay hydrated with water, get wet go sit or lay in the shade and be still. The heat can kill you quicker than you think. It happened to my cousin

My mom grew up in Tucson AZ without ac. She used to tell us about the whole family sleeping on the roof (flat and painted white) of their house at night and sleeping with damp bedsheets covering them.

I live in California and thought I had all the cool tricks. I love the washcloth idea. I'm suddenly feeling like I should have known this already. 🤣

45C without AC is tough! Kudos from us in Australia. Stay safe!

Great tips. Have used quilt batting, natural fibers, to laundry clothes clip to the blinds in extreme hot and cold weather. Purchased low expensive, from walmart. Not a fashion statement, live in an apartment so curtian rods are non existent and buying rods helps in certain situations. Another aide in keeping cool. Am thinking of going ahead and purchasing a double rod curtain and installing.

Thoughtful tips! Before A/C we used to hang damp sheets in the windows and blow a box fan through them. It gave temporary relief until the sheets dried out.

Aussie here. I have aircon now, but lived in many rentals without it over the years. Yes, covering windows is number 1. The thicker the covering the better. Blankets if you can. You would knock it down into the 70’s if you put blankets over those blinds. Also, if you have blinds that are inset in the window frame, fabric covering the little gaps at the sides actually makes an enormous difference. A damp cloth draped over the fan helps too, but of course be careful. You can also make a diy aircon with a fan and a tote and ice blocks. There are how to videos here on KZfaq. Also mist cold water on your face/skin - good during the day and also as you get into bed. I had a fancy aerosol water mist and would keep that beside the bed for if I woke up. Of course a spray bottle works too, but they tend to drip so put a placemat or something on the bedside to protect the surface. Yes to keeping the doors closed as much as possible during the day then opening everything up at night. Get a cross breeze if you can. Fun fact, in Australia it’s a door on the south side that’s coolest 😉 Yes to cooking outside or in the instant pot or slow cooker if it’s too hot to cook outside. You can apparently also bake in the instant pot. You get a round loaf of bread and have to flip it over to brown the top but it’s bread that doesn’t heat the house. Trees are definitely a plus if you can. There are trees that are fire resistant so those are safer closer to the house. Grape vines around the porch/pergola help too, and you get bonus grapes. If you are lucky enough to have aircon, if you still do all these little things it will keep your energy bills down. Also, if you have a split system, choose the dehumidify/dry setting. It recools the already cooled air from inside rather than pulling new hot air from outside and cooling that from hot, so it takes much less energy to run and gets it cooler than the cool setting can. You also don’t need the fan of it up as high on the dry setting so it’s much quieter.

When hurricanes knock out elec. for extended periods in high heat & high humidity Louisiana we utilize ALL your tips! Thank you!

Awnings outside and heavier curtains inside that you pull across before the sun hits the windows can really help.

the outdoor kitchen is a great idea ... also: maybe they're not as common in the NW, but basements are always many, many degrees cooler than the first floor on sizzling hot days. Attic fans: you're using the same concept with your oscillating fan by the door pulling in the cooler night air, but an old fashioned attic fan can bring a house full of cool air inside in about 10 mins. and keep it cool all night (just remember to turn it off before sunrise when it starts pulling in warmer air!) Great post, MKN!

Great video. I love the frozen towel idea. Another tip for fan use is to strategically place one or more fan blowing in from the cooler shaded side of your house while you have one or more fans blowing out from the hotter side of your home. It cools your home off so much faster.

You forgot to mention wearing 100% cotton/linen.

The frozen washcloth brought back memories for me, I used those for my son when he was a baby cutting his teeth. Of course, now that son is almost 30, but the same thing still works.

We have frequently been 108*F heat index since May here in Central West Florida. Crazy! Don't take the temperature from a thermometer in the sun, but rather the shade. Getting in the pool before bed works to cool down also. Box fans mounted in the window to bring in cool evening air. Ceiling fans. BBQ outside. Grills should NEVER be kept or used up against a home.. I have a small convection oven on a table on the veranda.as well. Prepare cold drinks in advance and hydrate often. Dress with light colored loose clothing. Heavy curtains and energy efficient windows also help.

The fan in the window just saved my life. It’s 3:am where I am and I’ve been sweating dying all day. Thanks for all the tips! Blessings🙌🏼

That was some crazy weather we had! I’m about an hour south of Seattle and wow! We made our dinners in the slow cooker and I actually plugged it in outside so it didn’t heat up the house at all

Great tips Melissa. Unfortunately our house faces East & West🥴. We have triple pane windows built for the dry heat of the desert yet when it’s a couple weeks of high temps… 109 to 117.. peaked once at 120 🔥🔥😵‍💫😵‍💫 it’s hard to keep cool 😩. I use the crockpot or just eat sandwiches & GET UP EARLY for outside chores. It just seems like the sun has turned up her thermostat ☀️☀️🔥🔥🔥. Have trees planted & planting more. Thanks for sharing for those who are just overwhelmed with this heat 👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

Amazon, Bed, Bath and Beyond and Harbor freight,has chill towels. Any temp water, squeeze the water out, swing it around a few times and voila' !!! It's cool! No freezing. When it dries out... just add more water and repeat. Also...I highly recommend if your power goes out to invest in battery operated fans. A chill towel and air blowing on you can help a lot.

It's been SO hot with not much relief! This is super helpful, thank you!

In the Arizona desert, it used to be common for people to have and "Arizona Room," which is basically a screened in porch. The AZ room creates a moderate zone between the house and full sun during the day. It was often cooler in the AZ room at night than in the house, so we slept there, sometimes with wet sheets hanging over the screens. We are spoiled today, with refrigeration. Also... Evaporative coolers are great under low humidity.

If there is any way to put a shade or tarp over the window on the outside, to prevent the sun from hitting the glass helps a lot. The sun coming through the glass and heats up the space between the glass and the curtain or shade. So any window on the south and west needs a covering on the outside. When I was younger my dad had the bamboo rollup shades on the outside of the windows. We have have rollup cloth shade on our patio door area .

I love your outdoor cooking options. I don't have an outdoor kitchen yet so on our 100+ degree days I like to bake in my solar oven. We also use a chiminea and a grill sometimes. It keeps the heat out of the house but we can still enjoy one-pot meals, pies, cakes, homemade bread, etc.

Great points! We found it was great to blow the warm inside air out. This would draw the cool air in & creates a breeze. It works good if there's not that many windows open

There are cool sport towels more like neck scarfs you wet and swing the movement makes them super cold and yo reactivate you swing again. We have them as we hit 42 plus in summer. One round the neck one under our hat around our forehead

Grew up in the south without a/c. Shades &blinds but left windows open to catch breeze. Fans. Took several baths, showers when got too hot. Played outside in the shade with garden hose.

Good tips. I’ll have to remember all of these next time my A/C goes out here in South Florida. It happened about a month ago for multiple, and it was brutal in the high heat and humidity.!

When we were in the triple digits, our long haired cat was absolutely miserable. We’re off grid with no air conditioners because they draw way to much power. When it’s that hot, I try to do as little as possible which helps. For the cat, we actually took a wash cloth/dish towel, got them really damp and put them in the bottom of our refrigerator for a few hours/over night. When we would take them out to cool the cat down, they were stiff like they were frozen, but felt almost dry. We would then take one to the sink and get it wet, and the cloth would instantly drop to near freezing. We would place the cloth over the cat and it would keep him cool for a couple hours easily.

My mom had 2 inches of water in the tub. We would wear swimsuit s or tee shirts with shorts and flip flops that were wet. Thick insulation that my mom had sewn thick upholstery cloth aground would be pressed into the inside of the closed windows. The doors and windows that can open were opened. Brother would hang up plastic tarps to shade the doors and windows in direct Sun as much as possible. The vents and windows in attic were opened to allow the heat to rise up and flee outward. Ate sandwiches fruit and cold salads. We put small containers of water on floor and the adults would rest there feet in the water. My grandpa even brought the kiddy pool inside and those that wanted could sit in it. I think there was 5 of us in the pool. A fan was placed in front of the door. A few feet in front of that was a table with plastic tablecloth with 2 gallons of iced sweet tea. Mom also strung a c Taunt clothes line at the outer edges of the tarps in front of the doors and hung sheets and blankets out so they almost reached the ground. This block ed a lot of the setting sun from reaching under the tarp thus cooling the shady area more while still allowing air flow. Brother also placed space blankets and light colored blankets on the roof with most direct sunlight. They were weighted down with rocks. That is what I remember from a deadly humid and burning hot episode. It was so hot forest fires were started just by the heat of the sun.