Keep Your House Cool Without Air Conditioning
1. Delay dishwashing and laundry until evening on hot days.
2. Keep the house closed tight during the day. Ventilate at night either naturally or with fans.
3. Ventilate with fans in windows located on the downwind side of the house facing out. A window should be open in each room. Keep interior doors open.
4. Use ceiling fans to increase comfort levels. The standard comfort range for light clothing in the summer is between 72 F and 78 F. You can extend the comfort range to 82 F if you instill a breeze of about 1.7 mph.
5. Plant shade trees around the house.
6. Keep the thermostat set at 78 degrees F or higher if using ceiling fans.
7. Install white window shades. Mini-blinds can reduce solar heat by 40-50 percent.
8. Close south and west-facing windows and curtains during the day.
9. Install awnings on south-facing windows.
10. Keep unnecessary lights off.
I thought some readers might be interested in just how pregnant I am looking these days. This picture was taken on Memorial Day a few weeks ago. I had no idea hubby snapped it…usually I’m ready but he snuck this one in on me. Yep…that is all baby there…no need for 
The kids and I just got back from strawberry picking at the organic farm on the edge of town. Nevermind that it’s almost 90 degrees with similar humidity level and I’m 8 months pregnant…those berries were beautiful! While the kids hopped around from row to row, stuffing their faces (we have permission to nibble while we pick…), I was busily filling our buckets to get the task done with. 