How are you preparing for the hot weather this weekend?

[BlackeyedSusan]

So how are you preparing for the hot weather at the weekend?

So far:
Bought dog cooling mat (for me!)
Bought ice lollies for kids' dad's house.
Bought me some ice-cream.
Had the windows open to cool the flat as much as possible after the boy heated it up in the last heatwave. (Got it down to 21 which is not that great)

Need to:
Rehang curtain in bathroom.
Hang extra sheet layer behind living room curtains. (Found the sheet)
Move plants off the window sill.
Pack away medication in the cool box.
Freeze cool packs.
Buy ice lollies for here and ice-cream for ex's.
Recharge power banks.
Wash up before it gets hot. (Potentially 30degrees in a top floor flat so much to got to wash up then.)
Water my plants in ex's garden and move to shade.
Close the box of rainwater collected for blueberries.
Buy hot weather no cook food.

We aren't getting any heatwave in the NE where I live. Love it here (moved from London) but it's by far the worst thing about up here. The weather is crap.

Dog cooling Matt for you 😂 love it.
mum dreading it with a toddler that will be unsettled. Got paddling pool. Will get lots cold drinks in fridge and buy some more fans to blow hot air around 😂

I looked at the he mats last year and regretted not getting it. Hoping it might help sleep/ survival.

I’m happy for my southern mumsnetters, but somewhat jealous. Enjoy ladies!

(Our forecast has gone from 25 degrees and sunny on Saturday, to 17 degrees and drizzle ☔️).

bought this!

Icepops - B&M have Bluey low sugar ones!
Have put foil on windows which get the morning sun.

Air conditioner.
Fans - and some small USB fans.
Bottled water in fridge, plus a bottle of cola and some larger. Stocked up on milk.
Have some fruit and veg.
Have cut up some Kiwi and put in freezer.

Ice lollies worked well. Already restocked.
Dog cooling mat ok. Helped a bit. A bit cumbersome. Needs putting in a cool room after use, which is not really available.
Damp flannel also worked well.

Food: no cooking
Ate a lot of cereal and dried fruit.
Dried dates.
Crackers and cheese.
Sandwiches
Struggled with drinking enough. Need more milk and fruit juices and keeping drinks in the fridge.

Next time I will stock up on lots of milk, salad, tomatoes, cucumber, dried fruit as after a while it was difficult to get balanced diet.

Going to try and shop in the evening to cool off and leave the flat earlier in the day before it gets too hot to get ready. Too many supermarkets with burning hot carparks and no shade. No shade to walk to local shops either.

While there is a coolish week this week, I am expecting temps to rise to late twenties again next week. So I am in the process of getting all my light work clothes clean again - I tend to wear dresses pre in hot weather, and linen/cotton tops under either a linen jacket (I have a blazer from M&S and 1 from H&M that get rotated in the heat).

I need to remember to keep curtains closed in daytimes and let cooler air in through damp cloth at nights. (Wet tea towel pegged up in front of the open window).

And I found that keeping my normal sparkling water in the fridge rather than on the counter really helped (I don’t have freezer space for ice cubes).

Looks like the lovely weather might not happen, our forecast has gone from 26 degrees to 21 for the weekend 😢

I am travelling (to colder and wet Ireland) for the weekend but it’s to be 30+ here. So I will be closing all my curtain before I go. I’ll also water my plants very well - and bring my tomato plants indoors so they have a chance of survival (kitchen has no curtains but will be a LOT cooler than the balcony).

i have put drinks in the fridge to take up space (so it doesn’t work as hard to stay cool - and to have them already cold!), including the sparkling water I usually keep on the counter for adding to squash.

And I have my looser summer dresses out to wear on rotation, including one packed for Monday morning (as I go straight to work - I go from 14 degrees on departure to 31 on landing…in the space of a 1hr 15 mins flight!)

Well, here we go again. Worse this time. We are forecast temps up to 37 degrees.

Last minute preps:
Restocking water jam jars. (Using old to water the plants. Washing them out in hot water.)
Stocked up ex's freezer with ice lollies for the kids.
Stocked up on:
salad items as no prep no cook food. (Tomatoes, cucumber, beetroot, olives,)
cheese and crackers
Milk (need more, but am out and about this week more)
Pop. Could get more.
Squash.
We all struggle to drink enough so need incentives.

Going to sew tapes on a wool blanket to line the living room curtains.

Need to water plants at ex's. They are already in the shade.

Meds are already in the cool box. Rotating ice blocks.

Recharging power banks.

Tomorrow I will do washing as it is the coolest day until Friday. Teen will be wanting lots of clothes though.

I’m in Perth so we get a lot of hot weather. I just thought I’d throw my ideas into the mix.

We have a reverse cycle air conditioner. On a hot day, I only run it in Cool mode in the worst of the day. Normally, I run it in Dry mode which dehumidifies the air and has a draught. So, my tip here is to pull out your dehumidifiers and fire them up in a closed up house.

I find a larger space easier to sleep in than a smaller room. So, a couch or camp bed in the living room near the doorway where there might be a draught. Or sleep in a corridor where the draught might be.

Corrugated cardboard taped to a window is brilliant for keeping heat out. Even better if it’s on the outside of the window. Finally, a use for old wine boxes.

Turn your fridges up - as in to a cooler setting - and move anything you can into main fridge and out of the door. One of my fridges was clearly struggling as found in date Greek yoghurt gone mouldy as stored in door of fridge.

@TheSandgroperMy dehumidifier puts out warm air… so if less humid then higher temperature feels more comfortable?
Currently my flat is at 66% humidity 23c.

Is that the lower the humidity, the less moisture is in the air, so higher temperature more bearable?

Yes. You cool yourself by your sweat being able to evaporate. But there needs to be lower humidity to allow that to happen. Higher humidity means your sweat just sits on your skin and you continue to heat up.

I read that the forecast is for high humidity as well as high temperatures so keeping the humidity down inside your house will make it more bearable.

I have an Ocado shop arriving soon. I ordered many cold things, but sadly they didn't have any of the ice lollies I ordered, perhaps unsurprisingly. They only substituted one pack and the other two aren't arriving at all which is annoying.

Anyway, I also have ice cream and gazpacho. We bought two massive fans at the weekend to replace our old ones. I need to get a new base for my parasol too

After hearing about people being stuck on the M25 for eight hours at 37 degrees, make sure you have water in your cars, a water spray bottle and never less than half a tank of petrol. Maybe a brolly to sit in the shade. I always have water in my boot but I'm going to get a 2l bottle fresh enough to drink ( mine is minging as its not fresh) plus add a small multi pack from Lidl. I think I need more than I'd use to offer around if I was on the M25 today. Foil blankets for the windscreen