Feelin’ hot, hot, hot! The song makes it sound like one big party, but your sweaty T-shirt, shiny face, frizzy hair, and heat-induced stupor don’t exactly make you feel like celebrating. When temperatures soar, Real Simple readers come to the rescue with cool tricks to help you chill out, like popping sheets in the freezer for a few minutes, taking refuge at the penguin house, drinking cold margaritas (olé, olé!), and conjuring the memory of icy winters. Feelin’ better yet?

Cool for School

I was a teacher in the 1960s, without air-conditioning, and many of my students would arrive saying they were “too hot to learn.” Silently we’d read icy-cold adventures stories, such as Sir Edmund Hillary’s memoirs about his climb of Mount Everest. As the students became engrossed in the stories, they slowly stopped fanning.
Susan Owens
Hammond, Louisiana

Water Works

I took up surfing. What better way to stay in shape, stay cool, get a tan, and be surrounded by half-naked men?
Malia Ginoza
Honolulu, Hawaii

My husband, our six-year-old son, and I head to my sister’s house. The whole family meets there, and we hang out in the pool, attacking Grandma and Grandpa with pumped-up water guns and making whirlpools. We laugh; we scream; we fight. We pass the onion-and-garlic chips, eat great barbecue, make everlasting memories for the kids, and forget about the heat and the bees.
Angela Egan
Middle Village, New York

I sit in the backyard with my two-year-old. I have to wait only a few minutes before my daughter cools me off by dumping a bucket of water over my back, turning the sprinklers on my legs, or “cleaning” me with a (dirty) damp sponge. Kids instinctively know how to keep cool — and won’t let you stay out of the fun.
Elizabeth Potts Weinstein
San Jose, California

Even though some might say 28 is too old to be running around with my mouth open and my eyes closed, waiting for the cool drops to hit my face, I still think there’s no better way to beat the summer heat than a good dash through the sprinklers.
Sarah Reichenbecher
Point Pleasant, New Jersey

The Great Indoors

Isn’t it convenient that all the places that are good for you — art museums, libraries, the gym — are air-conditioned? I take it as a very strong hint and spend the sunburn hours in those places.
Kara Fern
Denver, Colorado

Clean and organize the basement. Assuming your subterranean space is dark and cool (and cluttered), this despised chore becomes a welcome respite from summer’s oppressive heat and humidity.
Hannah Barrett
Sandisfield, Massachusetts

During the hot summer months, I take my son to the zoo to visit the penguin house. As soon as the doors open, a blast of cold air hits us. And once we enter the exhibit, we get to enjoy the chilled space and an entertaining close-up view of the penguins diving and swimming.
Stephanie Thompson
St. Louis, Missouri

I quickly go from the air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car, and then into the air-conditioned department store in the air-conditioned mall.
Linda McAteer
Boise, Idaho