Keeping Cool In Summer

    

Summer is about to hit Melbourne next week and temperatures will rise to above 40 degrees Celsius during the next three months. I've started thinking and planning a strategy for coping with this heat. I'll start a list of things I do. I'm hoping everyone can add their ideas to the list so we can help each other.

Here's what I plan to do -

* Open doors in the morning to cool the house and close as soon as the temperature rises 

*  Keep the curtains closed all day 

*  Turn potable electric fans on while the cooling is on a little lower. The cool breeze from the fans is great and helps to circulate the air 

*  Keeping jugs of water in the fridge 

*  Filling ice cube trays for the freezer.  Great for drinks and wiping over hot faces 

*  Making icy poles in the freezer.  Orange juice,  cordial and flavoured milk work well. 

*  Making jelly for desserts 

*  Using wet face washers to cool you down 

*  Making a couple of day's worth of salads at a time 

*  Vacuuming early in the morning 

*  Using a carpet sweeper if it's too hot to vacuum 

*  Finding the coolest room in the house and hiding there

For the chickens we -

*  Dunk them in cool water a couple of times a day 

*  Spray them with the garden hose 

*  Feed them frozen watermelon 

*  Freeze 2 litre milk containers and putting them in the coop at night ( air conditioning )

What do you do to keep cool in Summer ?