I don’t know about you, but I used to LOVE summer: I couldn’t wait for the heat of summer to switch to shorts and swimsuits! These days, however, I tend to avoid summer and its heat as much as possible.
Here in the Coastal Bend, summer days are long and HOT!
I’m currently looking at the calendar and realizing that cooler months are over half a year away, so I wanted to share a few of the things our family does to BEAT THE HEAT!
Related Reading: Corpus Christi Summer: Retreat From This Summer Helliday
Tip # 1 Keeping Your Popsicles Frozen!
A few weeks ago, writer Coco posted a reel on FB/Insta about how she keeps her popsicles from melting while out and about. It’s a great tip/trick that I have been doing for a few years. (You can watch her reel here.)
First, you need to get the long thin, individually wrapped Freeze Pops; when you are ready to head out the door, stick them in one of the many insulated water bottles floating around your cabinets. Screw the top on tightly and be amazed at how long your popsicles stay frozen!!
Tip #2 Water Balloons Instead of Ice
Have you ever planned a trip to the beach, filled the coolers with ice, and then by the time you got to lunch, everything was soggy because of the melted ice? There are tips to keep everything dry, but what I have found to be a better solution is to use water balloons instead of ice! The night before your planned trip, grab a few bags of water balloons, fill them;(these are the best cause you can fill them in seconds), then freeze them.
The next day use your frozen water balloons in lieu of ice. The best part once they have all melted completely, you can have a (very cold) water balloon fight!
Tip #3 Cold Rice Packs
For most of my life, I have had really bad migraines, so I always try to have a heating pad on deck to lay on my forehead. But I have found that in addition to heat, cold rice packs under my head help too; so I have taken to always having at least one in the freezer at all times.
When the summers get REALLY hot and I can’t seem to cool off at the end of the day, I will get a rice pack out of the freezer, and place it under my back or pillow to cool the bed and me off. I have also heard that if you put your pillowcase in a plastic bag, you can put it in the freezer for the same cooling effect; I can’t say I’ve tried that one. If you try it, let me know how it works for you!
This same trick can work when you need to load your babies into hot car seats. You can place a cold pack under the car seat cover to help keep them cool. I didn’t have rice packs when my kids were in car seats, but I used to wrap ice packs in towels and use that to cool off their seats.
Tip #4 Cooling Towels and Big Hats
If you are spending a lot of time outdoors for sports or work around the house make sure to grab cooling towels and a big hat to keep yourself cool and shaded from the sun!
There are a lot of different brands to choose from on Amazon, here!
Tip #5 Avoid Using the Oven
One thing that can heat up my house quickly is when I fire up my oven. This is why I tend to favor my air fryer and Crockpot for cooking. I also try to find as many no-heat recipes as I can so that I don’t have to use any heat in the kitchen, like this Zesty Italian Pasta Salad! 
Tip #6 Keep your Blinds/Curtains Closed
This is my last, and honestly saddest tip. I LIVE for natural light in our house. I HATE using the lights. But I know that once I pull that cord, my house is going to heat up way faster than if I just leave it all closed. With the added use of fans, my house can stay cooler much longer and avoid my A/C constantly running all summer.
