This is my Dad as a young man, with my grandfather, in the summer.
We are on our second day of July, AC free. We may not make it through this one, with a forecast high of 94, but we're almost through the hottest part successfully. How do we stay cool?
1. Minimize heat generation. Minimal cooking, no baking or roasting at all, no long-cooking soups unless in a crock pot.
2. Minimal lights on, even at night, especially track lights- you can feel the heat if you stand under them.
3. Turn on a fan. It is too humid here in Memphis for "swamp coolers", involving a fan blowing across a body of water, but the fan itself still does wonders for your perception of temperature. After all, the difference between "warm" and "way too hot" is mostly a matter of perception most days in temperate climates. Don't think so? Place a thermostat in a room full of middle-aged women and walk away.
4. Dress lightly, but do cover up to go outside. The sunshine is not necessarily your friend this time of year, and Grandpa wore long khaki pants, hats, and white shirts for a reason. Natural cotton or linen will wick away the sweat (and cloth like seersucker or Madras cotton does not stick to the skin readily, because of the variations in the weave).
5. Don't get a house with wall-to-wall carpet. Hard-surface flooring is cooler to the touch, and easier to keep genuinely clean. You'd be astonished how many dust bunnies accumulate under the bed that you simply do not SEE on carpet. Nasty. Plus when your feet feel cooler, the rest of your body does, too.
6. Drink a lot of water and tea and lemonade, and accept sweat as a fact of life. Your pores will thank you for giving them something to do.
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