Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Summertime Life Hacks



I love summer!! But it IS hot! What do we do when it is hot? I remember when I was young my mom used to hang up wet sheets and blow the fan through them. That was 'supposed' to cool us off! Maybe it worked? I can't remember feeling "all that hot" when I was younger. Maybe kids don't feel it the same as older people. Maybe it was because we didn't have A/C everywhere, so we didn't know what we were missing. 

 How about some summertime hacks today. Things we can do in the summer to make life just a bit easier. And these are the BEST.
One Good Thing
My favorite is to protect the cell phones! Those darn gadgets are expensive. If we are going to be around water we stick ours in a zip-lock bag. We can still use the phone but no water will get to it!!

 I haven't tried this hack yet but I think it is the smartest!! Cut the top off a sunscreen bottle, wash it out, use it to store your valuables when you are at the pool/beach. Everyone will think it's your sunscreen. Maybe they won't steal it! 





 Who doesn't like 'Smores? Don't have a fire-pit to roast those marshmallows. No problem! Line a terracotta flower pot with aluminum foil, insert charcoal briquettes, light the fire and roast away.

 Another of my favorites is to keep the bugs out of my drink when I am sipping outside. Just plop a cupcake wrapper on top and stick your straw through it. Brilliant!! That mom over at mom4real.com is on to something. 




Do you have any 'summertime' hacks to share with us today?




Posted by at
Labels:

34 comments:

  1. Hi Paula - clever tips .. especially the drink one ... cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete

  2. Love the one with the sunscreen bottle for essentials and the one for the drinks. I too wonder how we survived the heat without air conditioning. I do remember lots of water and running through hoses and getting treats from the ice cream truck :)

    betty

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Ah yes the ice cream truck!! 5 cent Popsicles!! The best!

      Delete

  3. I hard someone said to wrap your keys and wallet in a diaper and wrap it up like a used diaper and no one would touch it...well it seems to me you are just telling theives to take all your stuff even your garbage:(
    I have a neck wrap filled with absorbent beads that I soak in water and then put in the fridge..it is great on a warm day!
    I am not certain how we survived without AC but we did, lots of playing with the hose on hot days and running through the sprinkler and maybe even sleeping in the basement:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Oh I love that diaper hack!!!! I had one of those neck wraps too. I wore it when I walked outside. It was fantastic!!We played a lot in the garden hose too. And even drank from it. Which they now warn you not to do!!

      Delete

  4. I remember setting a bowl of ice cubes in front of the fan to help cool us. I agree with you tho - because we didn't have all that a/c back then - we didn't know how hot we really were - LOL!

    Linda in VA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Exactly what I was thinking Linda! Stay cool!

      Delete

  5. No tips from me, although getting up early and taking a siesta in the heat of the day, if at all possible, really works well for me. The tip using the sun tan lotion was great but sad too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. It is sad to think people will steal from you. But they do!!

      Delete

  6. Only last night I was thinking "how weird" that I didn't pay much attention to the HOT summers when I was young(er). That's pretty cool about the cell phones-in-zip-lock. But would't the humidity begin to collect and drip like a terrarium?

    Dang sure could've used that cupcake liner the other night when a fly decided to commit suicide in my wine! :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Nope we haven't had any humidity in the bag yet, Myra! Haha! I'm not sure about sipping wine with a straw though!!

      Delete

  7. Some good ideas but I would worry that once everyone gets to know about the sunscreen one that thieves would start to pick up the bottles and shake them. If they rattle it would be a bit of a give away. I like the cupcake drink protector though. Very simple but very effective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. That's what my grandson said too Wendy!

      Delete

  8. Thanks for the s'mores hack. Very clever idea. I do not remember being bothered by the heat when I was a kid, but as an adult I hate it. Especially the havoc it creates in the gardens. Now they are predicting bad storms. We'll see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Let me know if you try the terracotta pot idea!!

      Delete

  9. Last summer my SIL jumped into a pool with his phone in his pocket this year they got those plastic containers to keep their phones in. I have used the cupcake liner idea to keep bugs out of my iced tea outside. It works !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. OMG jumping in the pool with your cell phone would be disastrous.

      Delete

  10. The tip I'm finding that sems to work for me, is get outside and set in the rocker a couple different times during the day. let the body warm, then when you go inside you want to turn the AC up.Running mine around 78* down south and feeling the chill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I find that just staying in the house with the A/C set at 71* works good for me!!

      Delete

  11. My mom used to put the fan's in the window backwards to blow the hot air out of the house.

    ReplyDelete

  12. I'll tell you I could not do without air-conditioning. Ours is on the way out. I want to replace it before it completely dies. Ross wants to take the chance.
    I love all of the tips. I hadn't heard of any of them. I like the ziplock for the phone. I will for sure use that one.
    Hey, don't forget Big Brother starts tonight!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I'm going to miss your You Tube videos. They were the highlight of my week. I wish I knew how you could expand your audience because I think you would be well received. You two are so cute and charming!! I hope your A/C doesn't conk out. Just watched Big Brother. Should be an interesting season!!

      Delete

    2. Well, Lynda and Ross are not forever gone, just for a short break :) Too funny, my neighbor saw me out walking the dog and she came over to me and said, “I’m mad at you!” She said she was going to miss our videos too. We’ll be back! hehe

      Delete

    3. I'm happy to hear that! Maybe an update about your vacation trip!!

      Delete

  13. I'm going to have to try the s'mores thing. I love s'mores, but I don't camp anymore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Oh I can't wait to hear how it works for you!! Be sure to let me know!

      Delete

  14. My best hack used to be: Sit in the hammock with a cold beer and a book.

    I no longer have a hammock.

    Keeping the house cool - this isn't so much a hack, as common sense:
    Angle your blinds so that the sun doesn't even come in a crack to the floor (i.e. you can see the ground when you look through the closed blinds). Also, during the heat of the day at least, keep drapes closed. Our room with the darkest drapes stays the coolest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I used to lay in the hammock and drink beer and read too. Then it got to where getting in and out of the hammock became a struggle. So we sold the hammock. Now I just like to stay in the house and drink ice tea as I read.

      Delete

    2. I got rid of the hammock in a move. Good thing because since then I've never had the space for it, but yes, as I get older, it's probably just as well!

      Delete

    3. We got rid of ours too! I really loved to lay in the hammock and read back in the day!! But now I like to read in my recliner!!

      Delete

  15. I'm one of those weird ones that doesn't like s'mores! :) LOL I double bag my phone and stick it -- IN THE COOLER! Texas is HOT HOT HOT... phones overheat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I'm not that crazy about smores either! The graham cracker and the chocolate are okay. But the marshmallow...eh!! Our phones get hot here in Kansas too!

      Delete

I love to hear what you might think. Leave me a comment. I guarantee though that I will delete your comment if you are just here to cause trouble. So tread lightly!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)