Too darn hot? Well, we are in the dog days of summer after all and as much as we love summer, some days are blistering hot. Don’t get beat by the heat! Here are some ideas for keeping your cool this season.

You don’t have to stay in front of the air conditioner all summer to avoid turning into a hot mess! For some ideas on “staying calm and cooling on” check out our “big chill” list of 20 ideas for staying cool in hot weather. We go beyond the icy cold drink for this one!

1. If the only breeze circulating in your house is from a fan then power up your breeze by adding a shallow pan full of ice cubes in front of it. Your fan generated breeze will drop a few degrees just by blowing over the ice.

2.  If your breeze is coming in from the great outdoors, a damp sheet hanging in front of your window will cool down the air coming in.

3. A sock filled with rice or flax seed can easily be frozen for an hour and used as an ice pack around your neck or as a compress, and will stay cold for about a half hour. Better still, fill two socks and keep one in the freezer while you are using the other! (And if someone asks why you have a sock around your neck, just tell them it’s the new rage in Paris!)

5. Snack on frozen fruit like grapes or bananas. Of course if your bananas happen to “fall” into some chocolate before freezing, that’s a bonus. Want to get more creative? Make some frozen fruit kabobs!

6. Try a Peppermint Cooling Spray. All natural and with only 2 ingredients this spray is delightfully easy to make. Chill in the fridge for added relief. No time to make your own?  Caudalie Grape Water is a cooling mist which can even be sprayed on over your makeup!

7. Try some iced chrysanthemum tea. Chrysanthemum is a natural coolant for the body as well as great for stress relief, making this drink a great alternative to iced coffee.

8. Before leaving for work take some clean folded bed sheets and place them into a plastic zip lock bag. Toss the bag into the freezer and just before bedtime, make your bed up with the chilled sheets.

9. If your freezer is big enough, chill your pillow the same way!

11. Cooling your pulse points (like your wrists, temples, elbows and joint creases) will bring down your body temp. Run some cold tap water over your wrists or do it with ice (cube) and say “ahhhhhhh”.

12. Stay hydrated. Everyone knows this one but we needed an excuse for tossing in this awesome Coconut Lavender Lemonade recipe. You can’t ever have too much lemonade in the summer and this one is really so pretty and sounds so delicious! If you’re done with the day, try it with a splash of gin (sounds delicious-er! Come on – that’s worthy of making up a new word!).

14. While your socks are off, try a foot bath. You don’t have to have sore tired feet to get benefits out of a foot bath as there are lots of pulse points around your feet and ankles. Dunking your bare feet into some cool water will also help cool your body temperature.  There are so many luxurious foot bath recipes to try but here are some ideas to get you started. We especially love the idea of using wintergreen oil!

15. In our flavored water blog we mentioned using your ice cube tray to make some interesting flavored cubes. Who knew you could also freeze aloe vera gel for a natural (and cold) skin remedy? Cool!

16. Slow down and find some shade. Simple, we know, but sometimes we just need to be reminded. Looking for some shade in your own backyard? Make some! These are just begging for a cold glass of iced tea and a good book!

17. House too hot? Go high and get away from it all! Check out the top 20 treehouses for rent at Airbnb– we want to visit them all!

18. Go out to the porch. They really know how to handle hot weather down south and an essential part of a southern home is the porch swing. These swings highlighted by Southern Living are so beautiful! This is our favorite.

19. Speaking of swinging, while you are spending your day on the porch you may as well enjoy the cool evening breezes outside on this DIY Pallet SWING Bed – yeah, baby!

20. If water is your thing then why not make it an adventure… Check out North America’s Best (and Secret) Swimming Holes compiled by Roadtripper.com.

So, that’s our big chill list, we hope you are cooler after reading it!  How do plan on staying cool this summer?  Share your hot weather ideas with us!