Do you want to hear something crazy?
Well, hear this:
We have been living an air conditioned-free lifestyle this summer.
Did ya hear that right?
There is no AC up in here.
Crazy, I told you.
With today’s temperature rising to the high 90’s (which has been quite typical this whole summer) I sometimes wonder to myself if we’ve made some kind of mistake. But you know what? The more I think about it, the more I realize it’s been just fine.
YES there are times I’m so hot I want to cry (today might be one of them), but honestly for the most part, survival is easy.
This is how I do it:
1. Sit as still as possible when you are home. Moving around just makes you sweat and sweating is no fun.
2. Sit in front of a fan at all times. I am sitting in front of a fan right now as I type this and I am cool as a cucumber. Well, maybe not that cool, but I’m comfortable.
3. Keep a lot of goodies in the fridge and freezer. You know, cold drinks, delicious fruit, ice pops, and my personal favorite: cold York Peppermint Patties. OH, yum. Minty and refreshing. Those’ll cool ya down in a jiffy.
4. The occasional cold shower is good for the soul. And your rising body temperature.
5. A cool washcloth can help if things get really sticky.
6. No shoes, no shirt, no problems. Really, though, it works. And it feels darn good, too.
I’d been living with an air conditioner for the past 6 years, and I have to say it’s a luxury, and a dreamy one at that, but definitely something I can live without. I never had it as a kid, and Zan didn’t have AC growing up either, so I guess we’ve been trained to withstand the heat. Plus, we wanted to save on some electricity bills. We’ve got a really good fan, and will-power, too. And you all know how I feel about summer. I almost want to go as far as to say I rejoice in the heat. Give me hot temperatures over bitter cold New England winters any day and I will do a happy dance.
Do you have AC? Do you think you could live without it?
And if you don’t, got any more tips for us for keeping cool?
I didn’t have ac in my last apartment in Philly and Brian doesn’t have any either (but he did get a window unit). I think it’s more common in the northeast to not have AC and I can mostly do it (I am a promoter of a window unit in a strategic location), but anywhere south of Philly it doesn’t make sense. While it gets hot in the northeast it’s nowhere near as hot as when I lived in Nashville, nor does it stay as hot for as long. I think I can do it in NYC but I have a built in unit that I’m grateful for. But fans and cold showers are definitely the friend of those without AC. Stay strong!
I stood in front of the freezer a lot when I lived in Boston.
Bless you. I do not miss that either! (rats being the other thing I do not miss)
I really am not a fan of ACs. I would rather just have mild temps. I live in Worcester in a townhouse and my roommate and I just have ACs in our bedrooms. We really only turn them on in the evening and use them to sleep. I keep a glass filled to the brim with ice cubes and water always within arms reach!
I don’t know how you do it!! While I’m not a fan of the recylced air or the loud humming of the AC, I could not go without! Cheers to you and Zan!
What the… no AC? We would DIE here. I actually don’t know a life without AC. Even one summer when we went to Asia, there was an AC unit and we just sat in front of it the entire day, dripping sweat. Kudos to you!!
We’ve been visiting my parents and even though they have AC, my pretty much refuses to use it. There have been times when I sit just sweating, but mostly I prefer no AC to blasting it so cold it doesn’t even feel like summer (which is what my in-laws do and we live with them). One thing my parents do is open all the windows at night when its cool and turn on fans and then close all the windows in the morning to keep some of the cool air in and it does help a lot.
I have to say, there’s something kind of nice about not having air conditioning. Like you said, it really feels like SUMMER when you are able to get hot and sticky in your house. A lack of air conditioning also serves as further reason to eat plenty of ice cream. I can get behind that!
Great tips, we are AC-free as well back in Seattle, thought we probably don’t actually require the AC as often as most. I’m a big fan of frozen fruit smoothies to cool down.
We could never do it! We always tried to make it as long as possible but never attempted the whole summer. We dont have a/c here so we’ve bad some rough afternoons but mostly it’s fine. The best thing we do is keep the whole really dark. No opening of curtains and blinds, which is gloomy but really makes a difference! Good for you guys!
Those are some great tips! York peppermint patties were my thang growing up! I might have to bring them back into my life, frozen of course. Yeah, we have AC and use it too much probably. We found a new place in Portland and it has AC but a lot of places we were looking at had no AC and no dishwasher. We ruled those out after a few conversations. Keep it up girl! The color palette on this is so perfectly summer!
That is some crazy will power, my friend. Down in NC there is NO WAY we could survive without AC. It would just be miserable! It sounds like Boston has gotten pretty hot though too. Kudos to you guys for sticking it out! And yes, fans and ice cream are wonderful, wonderful things.
Love these tips! We are AC-free too. I just feel like there is such a short amount of time for windows and fresh air in the northeast, I don’t waste a second of it! Bring on the ice water, no-cook meals, ice cream and whirling fans :)
I could do w/o the AC for sure..especially in work environments when it’s blasting behind my neck and on half my right arm making it impossible to work ’cause it fuh-reezes.
I like a fan, and I there’s something about that summer balminess that I love.
We only got an AC unit because we had a baby this year. It was free and we really only use it at night. Last night when I was cooking dinner in our a million degree kitchen I got so hot I had to take a break. We didn’t eat until 9:30 or something. Stay cool!
I don’t have AC either, but I’m still alive :) One of my favorite things to do on a hot day is go to the library, browse books and enjoy their AC. I also enjoy frozen grapes and ice cream to help keep me cool.
You know, I grew up without air conditioning too. I always did fine without it. But last summer I finally broke down around mid-July, and we bought one and occasionally used it. Now we live on the top floor of our building, and our apartment has no cross-breeze, so I’m cranking the A/C a lot more. But I’d like to go back to living without it. I mean, my electricity bill would like me to go back to that ;)
i’m a super huge fan of the sports bra around the house style. it’s the rage, ya know. that, and popsicles :) peach ones and i have been BFFs lately.
Good tips friend!! I remember in Topsfield growing up the ONLY Air Conditioner we had was in Pam and Katie’s room so all FOUR of us kids would pile in there to sleep at night! Tell me though….HOW DOES MEG SURVIVE in that room on the 3rd floor!? It must be a sauna!?
We are definitely doing a lot of the same things!!
I also find that it helps to keep the lights off…I think this is more mental, but it makes me feel cooler.
And I always let my hair air dry…saves the heat of the dryer and the moisture keeps my head cool for awhile.
If it gets really bad, J will wet an entire t-shirt, stick it in the freezer, then wear it in front of a fan. :D
The AC vs No AC debacle gets me every day. I’ve spent this summer dressing as warm as possible to head into my freeeeezing cold office and then I go home and take off all my clothes and try not to pout in the heat of my house. It’s a never ending battle. Thankfully, the cool freezer treats help – and the occasional escape to some water. At least it’s sunny, right? And it’s summer…. we can’t complain about summer! Stay cool Miss Anna!
The AC in my car broke yesterday! I’m praying I can get through the rest of the summer as its usually sweltering in Texas when August rolls into town! We have no AC where I go to school though, more moderate climate = why not save on the energy bill in my opinion.
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