Tag: summer

Keeping cool in a heatwave from morning to night

Keeping cool in a heatwave from morning to night

As soon as spring rolls around in the Northern Hemisphere, you’re never far – these days – from a potential heatwave. People’s reactions to a rise in the mercury vary wildly from person to person, but with each hot day, more and more people will agree that the novelty eventually wears off. There’s certainly such a thing as being too hot, and while we don’t all reach that point at the same time, we all get there eventually. So it’s a good idea to have a plan for keeping cool in a heatwave, and all the better if it’s one that keeps you cool from sundown to sun-up.

Chase the sun (but not like that)

Direct sunlight pouring into your home causes the space to get warmer, quicker. If you have a cat, you’ll notice that they enjoy lying on the window sill when it’s particularly sunny – because a cat will always seek out the warm spots. But this greenhouse effect warms your whole home, and even one degree more can quickly become intolerable. So when you can see the sun soaking in through your windows, lower the blind and/or close the curtains; it’s best if you have blackout blinds and curtains for this specific purpose. During the day, the sun will cross over to the other side, so make sure to follow it and draw the blinds there, too.

Use fans in a smart way

Running a fan in your home or workspace can be reassuring in the hotter weather, but for many people it soon becomes clear that you’re basically moving hot air around and getting little relief from the heat. The smart move here is to place a bowl of ice or a frozen water bottle in front of the fan, and as the ice melts the fan will blow cooled water particles in your direction. This is the same principle by which air conditioning works, and it’s highly effective.

Speaking of air conditioning…

Running the air conditioning in your home cools the air, but when should you run it? Leaving it on all day is surely going to be too expensive, so should you ration it to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck? Well, no, not really. In fact, leaving the air con running may work out cheaper – it’s all about the temperature at which you set it. Find a temperature where you feel comfortable: let’s say between 20ºC and 24ºC. Set your evaporative cooling service to keep things at that level, and it will only run when it needs to, before returning to idling the rest of the time. This will use less energy than letting the temperature climb into the 30s or above and then running the air con, so it makes financial sense.

Windows: open at night, closed during the day

There’ll be a temptation to open your windows when your home is warm and it’s sunny outside, but this isn’t an efficient thing to do. If it’s hotter outside than it is in your home (and it invariably is in the morning), then you’re just letting in cool air, so keep them closed. Overnight, the temperature drops by several degrees, so keep the windows open a crack when you go to bed; you’ll sleep more soundly and wake up to a fresher, cooler house.

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Get their look: Mid-summer garden

 

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Sarah (@the_brewhouse_home)

This Insta-square just sums up lazy, mid-summer garden vibes! How? The tropical-feel raffia tiki parasol. The festoon of al fresco lights draped above head height. The soft, fluffy floor cushions & rugs. The glowing and flickering tea lights, lanterns and hurricane lamps. They all come together to create quite a magical and cosy atmosphere. And not forgetting the beautiful, blue sky lingering until late in the evening. It looks like the perfect place to relax with family and friends.

Get their look

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Cordo bamboo lantern
Cordo bamboo lantern
Clarice faux fur cushion
Clarice faux fur cushion
Arizona 3-piece garden bistro set
Arizona 3-piece garden bistro set
Tiki beach parasol
Tiki beach parasol
3 vintage lanterns
3 vintage lanterns
10-light festoon lights
10-light festoon lights
Cordo bamboo lantern
Cordo bamboo lantern
Clarice faux fur cushion
Clarice faux fur cushion
Arizona 3-piece garden bistro set
Arizona 3-piece garden bistro set
Tiki beach parasol
Tiki beach parasol
3 vintage lanterns
3 vintage lanterns
10-light festoon lights
10-light festoon lights
Cordo bamboo lantern
Cordo bamboo lantern
Clarice faux fur cushion
Clarice faux fur cushion
Arizona 3-piece garden bistro set
Arizona 3-piece garden bistro set
Tiki beach parasol
Tiki beach parasol
3 vintage lanterns
3 vintage lanterns
10-light festoon lights
10-light festoon lights

Summer holiday carry-on essentials

Summer holiday carry-on essentials | H is for Home

We all love foreign holidays – long weekend city breaks, festive trips to visit the Christmas markets, skiing & snow-boarding, culinary or cultural experiences. My all time favourite holidays, though, will always be ones that consist of hot sun, clear blue sea and white sandy beaches. To (almost) guarantee I get all three of these pre-requisites, I need to travel somewhere pretty far away… via an aeroplane.

I don’t like spending ages at airports – queuing to check in… waiting for bags to appear on the carousel. Travelling light, i.e. hand luggage only, cuts out lots of the stress and waiting around.  These are my summer holiday carry-on essentials that ensure I get to my destination in a good mood, with minimum of fuss, looking forward to some R&R.

GB passport

Documents

Everyone knows the age old situation of getting to the airport and realising you’ve forgotten your passport. As well as your passport (and those of the rest of your family) don’t forget all the other important paperwork you’re going to need. Before you set off, make sure you’ve scanned your important documents and put e-copies into a Dropbox folder. – just in case they get lost, stolen or destroyed while you’re abroad. Include your passport, driver’s license, travel insurance certificate, flight tickets and car and hotel booking confirmations.

Dropbox folders

If you have a smart phone you can also save copies of certain booking confirmations to your Apple Wallet or Wallet Passes (Android). Companies that are already signed up to these services include Booking.com, British Airways, Easy Jet and Airbnb.

Halifax Clarity Mastercard

Having some local currency prior to your arrival at a destination is always a necessity; you’ll always need cash for things like paying for a taxi or tipping a porter. It’s advisable, however, to not have all your spending money in bank notes. Taking plastic is a safe and convenient way of paying for things in hotels, shops and restaurants. The Halifax Clarity credit card is the most recommended card for using abroad. Unlike debit cards and most other credit cards, you don’t get charged fees for cash withdrawals or for using it to pay bills in a foreign currency. Just make sure you pay the balance in full when you return home or you’ll begin to accrue interest on the balance.

Airplane wing at sunset

For the journey

We’ve spoken about carry-on cabin bags and their weight & dimension restrictions in a previous post. In addition to this hand luggage ‘case’ that goes in the overhead locker, you’re also allowed one other small carry-on bag that can fit under the aircraft seat.

Pacsafe Venturesafe X Sling Pack

We recommend the Pacsafe Venturesafe X Sling Pack. It’s the perfect bag for when you’re going out & about exploring or hitting the beach. It’s compact but roomy with lots of different compartments; it can hold a 10-inch tablet, phone, compact camera, passports, money, credit cards, keys etc. Most important of all is that it keeps all these items safe & secure. It has an anti-slash strap and extra secure PopNLock fasteners to prevent pick-pocketers and bag snatchers. It also has a locking system that allows you to tether it to an immovable object and it’s made of RFID blocking material which stops your credit/debit cards from being ‘skimmed‘ (although the jury’s out on the prevalence of this type of theft).

Cabeau Evolution memory foam travel pillow

I find any flight over about an hour’s duration really uncomfortable. After a while, the seat seems to shrink and my legs grow! As for thinking I’m going to get any kip on a trans-Atlantic trip – forget it!  That is, unless I’ve brought some support like this Cabeau Evolution memory foam travel pillow.  It has a little pocket for slipping your smart phone into (helpful if you’re listening to soothing music or an audio book to pass the time in-flight), it can be used if you like lying face down on your sun lounger and it come in kids’ size too! It rolls up into a little pouch so doesn’t take up too much room. Combine this with one of the sleep masks that we featured last week – and I’m in dreamland!

Go Travel flight socks

If you’re travelling long-haul – 4 hours or longer – compression socks are recommended to avoid swelling in the feet, ankles and lower legs (oedema) as well as deep vein thrombosis (DVT).

Open suitcase on the floor

Clothes

I won’t go into detail about the need to pack hot weather clothes such as swimming cossies, shorts, t-shirts etc. But what I will say is, as space in your hand luggage is tight, pick out what you’re taking carefully; then edit it down, and then edit it some more. Choose tops & bottoms that can mix & match with several other pieces of clothing; ditto any footwear and accessories that you pack.

Fit-Flip microfibre towels

The thing that will take up the most space in your carry-on luggage will be towels. Check prior to flying if they’re provided by your hotel, cottage or villa accommodation; if they are – bonus – more space for clothes! If they’re not, microfibre towel Microfibre towels take up a lot less space and are a lot lighter in weight than traditional cotton terry towels. They’re also anti-bacterial, dirt repellent and amazingly absorbent. The Fit-Flip microfibre towel comes in its own bag, is available in 12 colours and a variety of sizes from 50x30cm to 200x100cm.

Collection of cosmetics

Toiletries & cosmetics

With the strict hand luggage liquid restrictions, try to take as many of your toiletries & cosmetics as possible in solid form. It gives you more flexibility when you have vital items such as contact lens solution or medicines (or that bottle of HP sauce!) that cannot be substituted.

L'Occitane citrus verbena deodorant stick

This citrus verbena deodorant stick contains no alcohol, parabens or aluminium salts. With its fresh lemony scent, it may even help repel the mozzies!

Mini perfume atomisers

In addition to deodorant, I’ve invested in a few mini perfume atomisers into which I’ve decanted some of my favourite eaux-de-cologne.

Sun tan products

If you’re going somewhere hot & sunny your going to need sun protection products. Depending on your skin tone and how well or badly you tan, you’re going to need sun tan oil/lotion, sun block, after-sun. Justin and I need completely different products as he burns much more easily than me. I love the Hawaiian Tropic range as it smells so… tropical! Justin is less fussy than me so this Malibu 3-in-one set is perfect for him.

Bottles of Lush Toothy tabs

Toothpaste and mouthwash will eat into your liquid allowance; take a bottle of Toothy Tabs instead, they’re available in various flavours and contain 100% vegetarian ingredients such as essential oils, baking soda, green tea powder, charcoal and menthol crystals.

Friendly Soap natural shampoo bar - lavender & tea tree

Shampoo is another product that can come in solid form.  Friendly Soap natural shampoo bar – lavender & tea tree is hand-made, cruelty-free and contains no parabens, SLS or palm oil.

Leakproof silicone travel containers TSA approved, 4 pack

For things you just need to take in liquid, gel or lotion form. So many sun tan oils and lotions (I’m looking at you Hawaiian Tropic!) come in bottles larger than the 100ml limit. Decant them into these containers, safe in the knowledge that your expensive moisturisers and other precious unguents won’t be confiscated at the gate.

Snopake flight air bag zip pull, 200x200mm - pack of 5

Not only do your liquids need to be in 100ml containers, the containers need to be stored in a transparent, resealable bag no larger than 20cm x 20cm nor hold no more than 1 litre. To be on the safe side, I’ve bought a pack of these special flight bags.

Various bits of computere and other tech hardware

Tech

Tropical holidays are a time for reading the latest bestseller on a sun lounger on the beach or beside the pool. Swap your heavy, bulky paperbacks for a tablet. With the Amazon Fire you can read books, listen to music, watch TV & films take photos and give orders to Alexa.

Amazon Fire 7 tablet

When you’re self-employed like us, you still have to check in from time to time and do a few hours work. That means that the ‘office’ needs to fit in our carry-on bags. Thankfully that simply entails packing our trusty old MacBook Pro. Have a look at some of our other tech travel essentials.

What are some of the summer holiday essentials that you just need to carry with you?

7 tips on staying cool this summer

7 tips on staying cool this summer

This summer is one of the hottest summers on record, and whilst just a few months back, we were all looking at how to keep your home warm through one of the coldest winters we’ve had for some time… the seasons seem to be getting more and more pronounced, which means the need to stay warm and cool, are becoming more pertinent to our daily lives.

Countries such as the UK aren’t very well equipped for the extreme heat we’ve been experiencing this summer, as unlike places such as Spain and the South of France where intense hot weather is predictable, and therefore, measures are in place to counteract the intensity of the sizzling sun – such as shutters on the windows and air conditioning units installed in most homes, in the UK, we simply aren’t prepared.

Here, the focus is much more on central heating as opposed to air conditioning and when the weather is as hot as it has been, and still is, we simply struggle to cope. Often, we’ll rush out to the supermarket in order to pick up a few fans before they run out, but that’s pretty much the limit, and using fans in this way can be an expensive way to stay cool.

This article therefore offers a number of suggestions to help you stay cool this summer, in a way that won’t break the bank.

Adjusting wall thermostatcredit

  1. Turn up the thermostat

If you have air conditioning as part of your heating system, then you might want to consider turning up the thermostat a few notches, as most people set their air conditioning system to blast out such cold air that it can feel like they’re walking into a fridge! Not only is this an expensive way to keep cool in terms of summer energy use it’s also not very good for your health.

Hourglass with green sand

  1. Make use of a timer

The majority of modern thermostats come with a timer, which means you can set it to come on just before you get home. This way you’re not wasting electricity on keeping the house cool all day, when you’re not even there to reap the benefit – and it usually only takes about 15 minutes to cool a house, so make use of your timer and save energy.

White desk fan on wooden counter top

  1. Limit the number of rooms you cool

If you’re like most people then there’s a strong possibility you only live in a few rooms within your house, or at least, spend 80% of your time in these select few rooms. It’s therefore frugal to only cool the rooms you’ll actually be in; and keep the doors closed to other rooms in order to see a huge saving in energy costs.

Yellow facade insulation

  1. Insulate

Typically, insulation is known for keeping the heat in rather than the cool in, but if you’re using air conditioning then good insulation will trap the cool air within your property.

Plantation shutters in a white bathroom

  1. Adapt

Countries like Spain have adapted to deal with the intense heat, for instance, they’ll have a siesta in the middle of the afternoon when the sun is at its hottest. They also have shutters on their windows in order to keep the intensity of the sun’s heat deflected away from their property. You can do something similar with stylish made to measure plantation shutters, or simply keep the curtains closed – though if you keep the curtains closed, unlike with blinds, you’ll restrict the fresh air getting into your home which can make things feel quite stuffy.

White cotton bedding

  1. Change your bedding

The majority of us tend to get most hot at night, so you’ll want to adapt your bedding to summer sheets rather than a thick winter duvet and consider turning your mattress over as many modern mattresses have a summer side and a winter side.

Roof window

  1. Ventilate

A much healthier and cheaper way to stay cool during the night, when sleeping, is to ensure a decent supply of fresh air comes into the bedroom rather than using air conditioning… as getting fresh air will be much better for your body, in particular your respiratory system in addition to joints, than having air conditioning blasting cold air into the bedroom.

The main problem with air conditioning is that it can really dry you out, in the sense that it can cause issues such as dry eyes, dry sore throats, and skin dehydration that results in dry skin conditions, or the exacerbation of existing conditions such as eczema.

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