Tips for dealing with mad weather!
Jun. 30th, 2010 11:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blamebramptonMost of my flist seems to be very very cold, or very very hot at the moment. And dealing with crazy weather is one of my few areas of expertise, so here is the benefit of my experience. For which read, my many cock-ups. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pingrid had to wrap my head up in my scarf and double-up my gloves when my alpaca cap and silk-lined gloves were shown up as woefully inadequate in the face of a blizzard in Paris. Similarly, feralcheryl and friends spent an evening throwing ice down my cleavage in a bid to keep me from passing out when I wore a formal frock with far too much fabric in it to a 40+ degree evening do in Newcastle, NSW (it was light fabric, I thought I'd be fine!).
So if you are currently freezing or melting, go to the right list below and see if there are any tips you can use. And feel free to comment with your own -- together we can be clement!
For the really, really cold
* Layer! Most of the cold comes from wind rather than still air, so the more you can keep the wind out, the warmer you are. And layer in unexpected areas: two or three pairs of tights are toasty, and if you have a variety of colours and textures, you can create great effects! Black sheer over red opaque is gorgeous.
* Have a dense outer coat. It's not just for show dogs: having a coat, hat and gloves that stop the wind is the difference between shivering and being toasty. Knits and soft weaves are sadly not much chop, while waxed or oiled cotton or silk, dense wools and hiking jackets are bloody brilliant. Lined caps are terrific -- my Barbour hat is unbelievably good for keeping out the cold, shame it makes me look like the Duchess of Cornwall. But it's worth popping something a bit tragic on top of your flash fash outfit on the way to work or uni, as no one cares what you look like at the moment, they're too busy trying to keep the blood flowing to their noses.
* Two pairs of gloves. Seriously. Even a really thin set inside your normal woollies will make all the difference. And add a scarf and hat.
* Wool! Just a woolly vest, spencer or other undergarment will make a massive difference. Check out the nanna sections of department stores and camping shops for good size ranges at reasonable prices.
* If you're sitting at home freezing, the fastest and simplest ways to warm up are to either rug up and go for a brisk walk, or grab a novel and your jammies and go to bed. Either is an honourable choice!
* Hot drinks! If you've had it with tea, coffee, cocoa and hot chocolate, try mulled wine, or adding some glögg concentrate to your red wine (you can buy it in bottles from Nordic delis, or Ikea, or here's a recipe), or go completely wild with spiced cider, just check the alcohol rating on your cider, it can be much higher than you were expecting!
* To toasty up your home, which is probably as uninsulated as mine, all those old nanna tips regarding draught excluders (door snakes) are true! Most of the heat is lost through windows and gaps around your doors. If you can stop the draughts, you can both keep out the cold breezes and hold in the heat. So close up gaps around doors, pull all those curtains and blinds shut, and throw a towel across the top of the curtain rod if you don't have a pelmet (apparently that's a 30% difference in the warmth in a room right there!)
* Towels and masking tape are good sluggy versions of proper weather-proofing. Toss the towel across the base of a door to seal the gap, use it as a fake pelmet, or wedge a small one across any gaps at the halfway point in old sash windows. If you have windows you hardly ever open, run some of the blue painter's tape around all the joins and gaps. It will come away in spring without taking the paint with it. It's not cheap, about $10, but 1 roll goes a long way.
* If your house is like ours and has a long hall and very few doors, break up the spaces. We hung thick curtains across the open doorways in and out of the living room and across the arch halfway down the hall. If you have somewhere like Reverse Garbage locally, you can find cheap thick material, or re-used street flags from public festivals that make decorative curtains. Smaller spaces are easier to heat, and mean that you can create warm zones within the house.
* When choosing which zones to warm, take advantage of areas that are already toastier: studies with a big computer, the kitchen if you're cooking, a living room that has several people and a telly or laptops: all are going to start at a higher ambient temperature than the sitting room that has no electronics and is at the other end of the house from the oven. Get everyone together (and then resist the urge for a singsong).
ETA*penguin474 reminds me of the importance of lipbalm. It's true! Apply regularly to keep your lips from cracking, and on the inside of your nose if it is really cold. Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment is the greatest balm that I have ever used and costs $5 for a big tube.
* Also: THICK SHOES AND SOCKS! Keep the freezing ground from creeping in through your soles. If you only have thin-soled shoes, add some innersoles, especially the wool type, or any other strongly insulating ones.
For the really, really hot
* This may sound crazy, but close up your house and pull all of your blinds and curtains closed during the hot part of the day. The trick is to stop the heat from coming in. Then, when the temperature dips outside as evening rolls in, fling everything open and let the cooler fresh air flood through. Having the windows open for a breeze in the middle of the day can raise the house temp by several degrees, and it's not really cold enough at night to drop it all the way back. Just remember to make sure you're secure before you go to sleep, or constantly if you're in an urban area.
* Again, possible crazy, but I cannot speak highly enough of the parasol. I was a hat wearer for many years, but on a stinking day they can be little more than sweat collectors and heat traps. The parasol keeps the sun off much of your body while leaving your head free, and you can use it to clear some personal space. Use a flouncy umbrella and it will stand up when the skies open, too! It takes a bit more bravado to carry off if you're a chap, but with attitude, anything is possible! Also, they furl up small and you can poke muggers with them if you need to.
* Clothes should be light, in weight at least. You're better off with two lightweight layers than one thick layer, and keep your neck, wrists and ankles as open as possible: wide cuffs at least. Raglan sleeves are fabbo for keeping a bit of room around your armpits. You want air to be able to move through your clothes. All of those swirly Arabic garments make sense! And if you're a lady of a certain age, look for twist-pleated fabrics that give a bit of shape to a garment without being clingy and too hot. If you're a chap in a suit, stick to the classic tailors as they will have natural fabrics all the way through the lining and interlinings, keeping you far cooler than the cheaper synthetic options. Buy vintage if you're on a tight budget (pre-1965 linings and interlinings are commonly natural fibres), and tell everyone your new partner is a fashion stylist.
* Have something around your waist. Granny knickers, cycle shorts, a twisted cloth belt -- the feeling of sweat running the length of your body is rarely appealing, and wandering around the city is not one of the times it's fun.
* Sunblock, everywhere that is exposed, including where the neckline of your clothes will move around. Reapply it EVERY TWO HOURS if you are going to be outside. Seriously, it sweats off just as easily walking around as it does when running or swimming. And you don't just need it for outdoor days: on a high UV day you can get a burn in 15 minutes, that's a walk to work. (High is UV 7-9, which is rare in England, but even there, at 6 of late in London, that's a burn in half an hour, which is sitting in the park for lunch.)
* Drink loads of water. Dehydration causes everything from headaches to heatstroke. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice if you want some more taste, or tear up some mint or borage leaves and add them to the jug. For that matter, keep a jug of water in your fridge so that you have something cold when you get in. And steer clear of most fizz and the sugary cordials, try the healthier lemon and lime cordials, or good barley water, or half and half pomegranate or orange juice with soda water, or pick up some rose or pomegranate cordial from a Persian or Arabic deli -- they usually have more taste for less sugar, so you save on calories and keep the water going into hydration, not digesting sugars. If you make up a jug of flavoured water and can't drink it all, freeze the rest into ice cubes and pop them out later as a treat to suck on.
* Create breezes. If you have draught excluders on the doors, hook them into the up position at night so air can move through the house. Leave windows open where it's safe to, and use fans. And you know that tray of ice and water in front of the fan thing that symbolises poor folk in American films? It completely works, and at a fraction of the electricity, space and cost of an airconditioner. Add some floating rose blooms or gardenias if you're worried it looks trashy, and call it a spa feature.
ETA *maevemist lives up to her name and suggests spritzers: you can buy the cosmetic variety, or a spray bottle of water with a spot of rosewater or similar added if you want. Give yourself a few squirts and catch any breeze if you can. As azurelunatic rightly points out, these tricks with water and fans work best in low humidity, but in sweltering Sydney, they're still better than nothing. In the actual tropics during the wet season, I would suggest hanging out in high-quality hotels or the freezer aisle of the local supermarket -- they're the only things that have ever worked for me!
pingrid had to wrap my head up in my scarf and double-up my gloves when my alpaca cap and silk-lined gloves were shown up as woefully inadequate in the face of a blizzard in Paris. Similarly, feralcheryl and friends spent an evening throwing ice down my cleavage in a bid to keep me from passing out when I wore a formal frock with far too much fabric in it to a 40+ degree evening do in Newcastle, NSW (it was light fabric, I thought I'd be fine!). So if you are currently freezing or melting, go to the right list below and see if there are any tips you can use. And feel free to comment with your own -- together we can be clement!
For the really, really cold
* Layer! Most of the cold comes from wind rather than still air, so the more you can keep the wind out, the warmer you are. And layer in unexpected areas: two or three pairs of tights are toasty, and if you have a variety of colours and textures, you can create great effects! Black sheer over red opaque is gorgeous.
* Have a dense outer coat. It's not just for show dogs: having a coat, hat and gloves that stop the wind is the difference between shivering and being toasty. Knits and soft weaves are sadly not much chop, while waxed or oiled cotton or silk, dense wools and hiking jackets are bloody brilliant. Lined caps are terrific -- my Barbour hat is unbelievably good for keeping out the cold, shame it makes me look like the Duchess of Cornwall. But it's worth popping something a bit tragic on top of your flash fash outfit on the way to work or uni, as no one cares what you look like at the moment, they're too busy trying to keep the blood flowing to their noses.
* Two pairs of gloves. Seriously. Even a really thin set inside your normal woollies will make all the difference. And add a scarf and hat.
* Wool! Just a woolly vest, spencer or other undergarment will make a massive difference. Check out the nanna sections of department stores and camping shops for good size ranges at reasonable prices.
* If you're sitting at home freezing, the fastest and simplest ways to warm up are to either rug up and go for a brisk walk, or grab a novel and your jammies and go to bed. Either is an honourable choice!
* Hot drinks! If you've had it with tea, coffee, cocoa and hot chocolate, try mulled wine, or adding some glögg concentrate to your red wine (you can buy it in bottles from Nordic delis, or Ikea, or here's a recipe), or go completely wild with spiced cider, just check the alcohol rating on your cider, it can be much higher than you were expecting!
* To toasty up your home, which is probably as uninsulated as mine, all those old nanna tips regarding draught excluders (door snakes) are true! Most of the heat is lost through windows and gaps around your doors. If you can stop the draughts, you can both keep out the cold breezes and hold in the heat. So close up gaps around doors, pull all those curtains and blinds shut, and throw a towel across the top of the curtain rod if you don't have a pelmet (apparently that's a 30% difference in the warmth in a room right there!)
* Towels and masking tape are good sluggy versions of proper weather-proofing. Toss the towel across the base of a door to seal the gap, use it as a fake pelmet, or wedge a small one across any gaps at the halfway point in old sash windows. If you have windows you hardly ever open, run some of the blue painter's tape around all the joins and gaps. It will come away in spring without taking the paint with it. It's not cheap, about $10, but 1 roll goes a long way.
* If your house is like ours and has a long hall and very few doors, break up the spaces. We hung thick curtains across the open doorways in and out of the living room and across the arch halfway down the hall. If you have somewhere like Reverse Garbage locally, you can find cheap thick material, or re-used street flags from public festivals that make decorative curtains. Smaller spaces are easier to heat, and mean that you can create warm zones within the house.
* When choosing which zones to warm, take advantage of areas that are already toastier: studies with a big computer, the kitchen if you're cooking, a living room that has several people and a telly or laptops: all are going to start at a higher ambient temperature than the sitting room that has no electronics and is at the other end of the house from the oven. Get everyone together (and then resist the urge for a singsong).
ETA*
penguin474 reminds me of the importance of lipbalm. It's true! Apply regularly to keep your lips from cracking, and on the inside of your nose if it is really cold. Lucas' Pawpaw Ointment is the greatest balm that I have ever used and costs $5 for a big tube.* Also: THICK SHOES AND SOCKS! Keep the freezing ground from creeping in through your soles. If you only have thin-soled shoes, add some innersoles, especially the wool type, or any other strongly insulating ones.
For the really, really hot
* This may sound crazy, but close up your house and pull all of your blinds and curtains closed during the hot part of the day. The trick is to stop the heat from coming in. Then, when the temperature dips outside as evening rolls in, fling everything open and let the cooler fresh air flood through. Having the windows open for a breeze in the middle of the day can raise the house temp by several degrees, and it's not really cold enough at night to drop it all the way back. Just remember to make sure you're secure before you go to sleep, or constantly if you're in an urban area.
* Again, possible crazy, but I cannot speak highly enough of the parasol. I was a hat wearer for many years, but on a stinking day they can be little more than sweat collectors and heat traps. The parasol keeps the sun off much of your body while leaving your head free, and you can use it to clear some personal space. Use a flouncy umbrella and it will stand up when the skies open, too! It takes a bit more bravado to carry off if you're a chap, but with attitude, anything is possible! Also, they furl up small and you can poke muggers with them if you need to.
* Clothes should be light, in weight at least. You're better off with two lightweight layers than one thick layer, and keep your neck, wrists and ankles as open as possible: wide cuffs at least. Raglan sleeves are fabbo for keeping a bit of room around your armpits. You want air to be able to move through your clothes. All of those swirly Arabic garments make sense! And if you're a lady of a certain age, look for twist-pleated fabrics that give a bit of shape to a garment without being clingy and too hot. If you're a chap in a suit, stick to the classic tailors as they will have natural fabrics all the way through the lining and interlinings, keeping you far cooler than the cheaper synthetic options. Buy vintage if you're on a tight budget (pre-1965 linings and interlinings are commonly natural fibres), and tell everyone your new partner is a fashion stylist.
* Have something around your waist. Granny knickers, cycle shorts, a twisted cloth belt -- the feeling of sweat running the length of your body is rarely appealing, and wandering around the city is not one of the times it's fun.
* Sunblock, everywhere that is exposed, including where the neckline of your clothes will move around. Reapply it EVERY TWO HOURS if you are going to be outside. Seriously, it sweats off just as easily walking around as it does when running or swimming. And you don't just need it for outdoor days: on a high UV day you can get a burn in 15 minutes, that's a walk to work. (High is UV 7-9, which is rare in England, but even there, at 6 of late in London, that's a burn in half an hour, which is sitting in the park for lunch.)
* Drink loads of water. Dehydration causes everything from headaches to heatstroke. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice if you want some more taste, or tear up some mint or borage leaves and add them to the jug. For that matter, keep a jug of water in your fridge so that you have something cold when you get in. And steer clear of most fizz and the sugary cordials, try the healthier lemon and lime cordials, or good barley water, or half and half pomegranate or orange juice with soda water, or pick up some rose or pomegranate cordial from a Persian or Arabic deli -- they usually have more taste for less sugar, so you save on calories and keep the water going into hydration, not digesting sugars. If you make up a jug of flavoured water and can't drink it all, freeze the rest into ice cubes and pop them out later as a treat to suck on.
* Create breezes. If you have draught excluders on the doors, hook them into the up position at night so air can move through the house. Leave windows open where it's safe to, and use fans. And you know that tray of ice and water in front of the fan thing that symbolises poor folk in American films? It completely works, and at a fraction of the electricity, space and cost of an airconditioner. Add some floating rose blooms or gardenias if you're worried it looks trashy, and call it a spa feature.
ETA *
maevemist lives up to her name and suggests spritzers: you can buy the cosmetic variety, or a spray bottle of water with a spot of rosewater or similar added if you want. Give yourself a few squirts and catch any breeze if you can. As azurelunatic rightly points out, these tricks with water and fans work best in low humidity, but in sweltering Sydney, they're still better than nothing. In the actual tropics during the wet season, I would suggest hanging out in high-quality hotels or the freezer aisle of the local supermarket -- they're the only things that have ever worked for me! 
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 01:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 01:58 pm (UTC)I left out my three biggest tips, as they seemed over specialised -- if you find yourself travelling in the desert, take lots of muslin wraps, because they are great for everything from keeping the dust out of your eyes and mouth to throwing a few on when you need to look modest quickly, and they pack up small.
If my Uncle Alec takes you on a boat trip on the North Sea in the middle of winter, do not trust him to hold onto you as you look over the edge.
And if you go camping on the Freycinet Peninsula in Tasmania, and find yourself in a tent with no landmass between you and Antarctica, build a little windbreak in your tent and you will go from near hypothermia to snug as a bug in an instant!
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 01:58 pm (UTC)Mmm, glögg. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:02 pm (UTC)It lasts longer than the otherwise equally good Malin + Goetz lip moisturiser, and costs about a tenth as much.
I drank the last of our glögg mix last week, and am regretting that now. Visit to the spice shop, I think!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:15 pm (UTC)Other tips for the very hot weather : use a survival blanket on you doors and windows. The trick is to use it to reflect the heat, not keep it inside!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:35 pm (UTC)Parasols! They make life better! I started with one about 10 years ago, and now I have a collection. People stop me in the street to chat about them and little girls grin as they realise they can get away with far wackier behaviour as adults than they were expecting. Around here, they're quite commonplace now. I like to think that I was a part of setting the trend, along with all the Chinese grandmothers ;-)
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:31 pm (UTC)Now I need to find out if my employer sells them.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:39 pm (UTC)I'm very very very hot
Date: 2010-06-30 02:41 pm (UTC)I can deal much better with the bitter colds: my heating system is great!, and I've tons of warm clothes.
This heat, however....ughhh.
Thanks anyway for your post, all your advices are true :-)
Re: I'm very very very hot
Date: 2010-06-30 02:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:04 pm (UTC)Also, this is tommybarbarella. I changed my name. LOVE ME ANYWAY. xoxo
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:13 pm (UTC)And yes! fan! Sandalwood fans smell great and make a terrific snap when you open them, or a feather fan looks fab (though you can moult with those buggers, still, the effect is great!), but for sheer convenience, those old paper fans that fold out into a circle from their handles and sometimes have tragic Great Travel Scenes of the Seventies on them can't be beaten ;-)
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:05 pm (UTC)It creates the necessary flow of air to cool off the house. We just wait until the outside is cooler than the inside, then we open a couple of window and turn the whole house fan on. We usually let it run for the night and turn it off early in the morning. It works on the basis of pulling cool air in and letting the hot air in the house and attic go out from a thingy on the roof. It is important to remember to open the windows before the fan turns on because it will try to bring cool air from whenever is possible and what happen to me was that it tried pulling the air from the chimeney, needless to say the chimeney was full of ashes and I spent a good couple of hours cleaning the ashes from pretty much every where in my house. It isn't too expensive to buy and install.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:12 pm (UTC)I am loving your red tights with sheer back ones over the top idea. I am so very disappointed that the fabulous opaque patterned ones from my youth have not made a come back.
I have another one to add to your summer tips for those who have only a fan to cool them off. Buy yourself a water spray bottle like the ones your hairdressers uses. Sit in front of your fan and spray your face and neck with it. The cool breeze it produces is divine and helps to rehydrate your skin. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:14 pm (UTC)And don't mention the house thing, I was such a slug today after being so good yesterday. Tomorrow I must take at least an hour to walk about, in case my legs fall off (it would not surprise me, given their history of Extreme Evil).
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-06-30 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-06-30 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-06-30 03:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 03:46 pm (UTC)You made me smile, because you sound like my old tutor from Mauritius. She would insist I should eat curry and drink hot tea to cool down in Tanzania, and she would offer to share her (delicious) curries with me. I could do exactly one mouthful before I hit my hot food limit for the day: anything over 30 degrees and it's cold water, fruit and salad for me!
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
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Date: 2010-06-30 04:24 pm (UTC)My summer shower trick for as long as I've had long hair is cold water only, and to run it straight onto my head, stripping the water out with my hands. When the water that runs out of my hair stops feeling warm on my back, I've cooled off enough to get out, and not before.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 05:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 05:10 pm (UTC)... why is it crazy to not let in the heat? Oh, sarcasm? Me, I keep being confused about the rehydrating now that I know the dryer the climate the better ... ;P
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 05:24 pm (UTC)When I was growing up in England we were always taught to open everything up on a hot day to let the breeze through, so it's against what seems to be sensible to us. Since moving to Australia, I have learned that this is only any use if there actually IS a cold breeze, not if you're just hoping for one ;-) (And also that 30 isn't that hot. But that's another story.)
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 06:47 pm (UTC)I survived living in an unheated house on the side of the mountain in Tassie by rugging up, sitting on an electric blanket (turned on), and keeping a wool blanket on my lap to hold the heat in. Then, every so often, I'd go wash my hands in hot water to get blood down to the ends of my cold fingers again.
Strange as it may sound, I miss being cold!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 09:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-01 06:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 09:50 pm (UTC)What does one do if the weather switches from 15C to 35C in two days?
no subject
Date: 2010-06-30 11:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-01 06:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-01 01:38 am (UTC)mugglesmuggers with!"Stand back, you malefactor! I have a parasol, and I'm not afraid to use it!"
I should also like to point out that in the heat, if you can get away with not wearing a bra...ah, sweet relief! Sometimes, it's a blessing to have tiny titties.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-01 06:48 am (UTC)I am filled with jealousy. All the weight I gained went straight to my breasts, which are now ridiculous and I would like to send them back. Losing weight comes off everywhere else readily, but the norks are still several cup sizes over my preferred B. :-(
no subject
Date: 2010-07-01 07:27 pm (UTC)I'm fine in cold weather, but anything above about 25 degrees C and it's just horrible to me. 30 degrees and I melt. My weak scottish genes cannae take it! :-P
no subject
Date: 2010-07-02 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-01 10:46 pm (UTC)...which is to say, I use one anyway ^^; It doubles as an umbrella! In case of rain! Clearly it is practical.
If you're not worried about acting like a little kid, there are those hand held fans with spritzers attached!
no subject
Date: 2010-07-02 12:24 am (UTC)I have never seen a fan/spritzer combination -- I am clearly shopping in the wrong places and will start looking the next time the weather warms up!
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-07-03 10:51 am (UTC)One of my coping mechanisms for heat: Fill a small basin with cold water and plunge your feet in at times during the day. Cools you down wonderfully without having to go and shower five times a day.
Also: Let your hair dry naturally. And for people with curls: straighten or otherwise minimise the bulk of hair (braid it and/or pin it up) - it makes a surprising amount of difference if air can get to the scalp.