Everyone loves a long, lazy summer. Most of us are ready for summer from the beginning of January! There’s not much more enjoyable than sitting with the garden doors thrown open so you can tempt in that evening breeze. Air conditioning, iced drinks, barbecues and bikinis – summer is just around the corner and those warm days that feel endless are upon us.
Much as the sweltering sunshine is preferable to ice cold snowstorms, summer can be a little stifling! Summer is all about heat, damp and bugs and sometimes it’s a drag just trying to keep your cool. Sometimes with the summer, less is definitely more. Luckily for you, we have some excellent hacks to make your summer cooler and easier at home!
Less Heat: The sun is out, so it’s hot enough outside the house. Lessen the heat inside the house by avoiding anything that can generate more heat. Stop using the dryer and line-dry all your clothes. Take as much advantage as you can of natural light and keep the lights off in the house – slowing the heat generated from the bulbs. You can also make use of the barbecue you built last year, by doing all your cooking on your outdoor grill. Check your air conditioning system is working correctly, too, as the last thing you need is to be sweating it out while you’re relaxing!
Less Bugs: The only bugbear with all the heat is the, well, bugs! Flies, mosquitos and midges are all the rage in the summer – along with the spiders, bumblebees and dreaded wasps. Keep your home secure from extra bugs by installing fly screen doors on both the front and the back. There’s no need to swat the flies in the house with screen doors in front of them, saving you the messy clean-up of squashed bugs!
Less Darkness: Natural light in the summer is so much better than keeping the lights on all over the house. You can lessen your electricity bill by keeping the curtains and blinds thrown open and letting the fresh air in. The longer evenings also make for an excellent chance to use the garden. With more sunshine, you can use your solar lamps without spending money on your electric bill! Go one better with your garden lighting by implementing this genius candle idea – tealights in jars for a fairy-like effect.
Less Winter: You may be one of those people that decorates their home by season. Tartan cushions for Christmas, like these ones, wooden reindeer gracing the fireplace and a fleecy red throw on the back of the sofa. With the summer coming in, swapping this décor out for something summery is the best thing to do. Embrace the sunshine with yellow, orange and pastel blue accents. Think beach! Get out that shell collection and display it proudly on the mantelpiece.
Summertime is all about bright colours and warm tones and prepping your house for those lazy, sunny days is an absolute must.
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