The sun is already rearing its beautiful, warm, yellow head and the days are getting longer. A warm breeze is in the air and that means one thing: summer is coming! It means cocktails on the beach, pool parties and long summer evenings. Unfortunately, it also means hot, stuffy nights and the house turning into a sauna. It happens every year, yet still catches me off guard! This year I’m going to let you in on a few home secrets. We’ll keep the warmth out of your home and make it nice and cool. Let’s take a look.

Keep your blinds closed - The truth is that 30% of heat comes straight in through the windows. When that fantastic summer sun rises, it pours straight into your home and starts to heat things up. The rest of your house will trap that heat and keep it circulating. Stop it before it gets in with good blinds. Don’t worry, you can still go outside to enjoy the sun’s rays!

Close off unused rooms - The trick here is to keep the airflow inside the rooms you use regularly. If your doors are all wide open, any cool air will flow through them too. That’s useless! Keep the cool airflow only in the rooms you are using. Close off the others and stay out of them. You’re probably only going to use the kitchen and living room, so close everything else.

Ventilate at night - Even during the summer, the nights are quite cool. Keep your house closed up with the blinds down throughout the day. But, when the night rolls around, get those windows open! Let the cool air flow through your house and infiltrate all the corners again. The reason our homes get so stuffy overnight is because trapped heat collects during the day. Don’t let it, and ventilate the house through the night.

Cool yourself! - If you still find yourself getting hot and bothered, try to lower your body temperature. If you’re working from home, keep a cool, damp towel next to you and dab your forehead and neck. Make an ice-cold drink or place a fan near your desk. If you keep your body temperature down, the house will feel cooler.

Photo source: flickr

Plant trees and improve insulation - Okay, so these won’t do much good in the short term. But, eventually it will make a big difference. If you’re planning for the long run, these tricks are essential. Trees will help keep your home in the shade from the overwhelming sun. You might think insulation is just for keeping the house warm. But, it will actually keep the heat out in the summers too.

Air conditioning - Finally, you could install air conditioning. Quite frankly, this is the easiest way to stay cool all summer! Most modern companies now provide super efficient options too, so you don’t have to worry about the cost.

That brings us to the end of our list, folks! Make sure you stay cool this summer, and remember to have fun!