Many people are surprised to find out how hot and muggy it can get in Minnesota. With temperatures of 90+ degrees and humidity levels of “AreYouKiddingMe”, it can get quite uncomfortable here. I also spent some time in the south when I was in the Navy. I can’t imagine dealing with 110+degrees, day after day.

In case you haven’t guessed, I don’t like the heat. I don’t tolerate it well. A/C is an easy fix, but what if you have to be outdoors, or if for some reason A/C isn’t available? Here are some tips for staying cool in the heat.
 
 
Clothing

Wear loose fitting, light colored clothing.

It might sound counterintuitive, but wear long sleeve shirts and a hat. The sun directly on your skin will heat you even more.

Wear clothes made of cotton as it wicks heat away from your body. This is the reason the phrase “Cotton Kill” exists. When the phrase is used, it’s usually in cold climates.

If you wear a hat, get it wet and put it back on. A bandana can work for this as well.
 
 
Liquids

In hot weather, you need to increase your liquid intake. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty. When you’re active, you should be drinking 16-32 ounces of water an hour.

If your urine is anything but clear, you are dehydrated and need to rehydrate ASAP.
Avoid beverages containing caffeine as it promotes dehydration.

Water is a great source to stay hydrated, but many people don’t like water. There are additives such as powdered Gatorade that can flavor water and add electrolytes at the same time.

Put a water bottle in the freezer. When you go outside, take it with you. As the ice melts, you’ll have cold water to drink.
 
 
Food

Avoid using the stove, as it will just add more heat.

Eat cold foods; fruits and vegetables are a good idea.

Eat smaller meals but eat more often. The larger the meal the more metabolic heat your body produces to digest it. The same applies to drinking very cold water; it can actually heat you up because your body quickly reacts to warm the water to core temperature.

Eat copious amounts of ice cream. (Sorry about that, the little kid in me took over for a second.)
 
 
The Body

The body radiates heat from the head, hands and feet. Getting these areas wet will aid in cooling.

When I was in the Navy, on a cruise to the Gulf, they told us to eat more salt on our food, to help the body retain water. It’s true that we lose salt and minerals when we sweat. These salts and minerals need to be replaced. A sports drink will often work. Check with your doctor before going this route.

If outdoor work must be done, do it in the morning or evening. Avoid being out in the sun in the hottest part of the day.

Put a bottle of lotion in the fridge. Squirt some on and rub it into hands and feet. (I have never tried this, but it sounds like a decent idea.)

By placing a cool water bottle between your upper thighs or in your armpits, you will cool the blood. Don’t use ice cold as this could be a shock to your heart.

A similar principle is to get a bandana wet with cool water and wrap it around your neck, head or wrists.

Take frequent cool showers or baths.

Use a Chillow ® Pillow cooling device.
 
 
The Home
If you have a basement, the temperature there is often 10-15 degrees cooler. My home is a four level split. I would say each level is at least 5 degrees cooler than the one above it.

Keep your curtains or blinds drawn. If possible, have the outside of the blinds or curtains be light in color. This will reflect heat back outside. Dark colors will increase the temperature. This would be a good idea in the colder times of the year.

I have not done this but have heard that it works; hang a damp sheet in place of your drapes. To go with the drapes suggestion from above, use a light colored sheet.

Another thing that I have heard of but haven’t tried is spraying your roof with water. The heat evaporates the water, leaving the roof cooler. Here are several other passive cooling techniques.

Don’t Forget Your Pets
Keep plenty of cool water available.
Make sure they have shade available to lie in.
Some of our dogs love chewing on ice cubes.

 
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There are a few reasons that people could give for not being prepared that I could absolutely get behind (Not like you need my approval). If it is a stumbling block for your faith, by all means, do not prepare. If your finances are stretched so tight that you have no money to put up anything extra, while you can still make preparedness plans, I do not think you should try and stretch your finances any thinner.

However, for most people, those are not the reasons. Here are some reasons that I have heard people give for not being prepared, with names that I came up with, mostly because I think I am clever.
 
 
Birds and flowers Matthew 6:25-34

In these verses, Jesus is telling of how much the Father loves the birds, but that they don’t worry about food or clothing. The key here is the word “worry”. This verse isn’t against preparing but against worrying.
 
 
God Will Provide

There are some people who say that in an emergency, “God will provide”. I would like to ask them if they are trusting in the Lord to miraculously put food on their table today. If the answer is “yes” and He is, fine. If the answer is “no”, and He is not, I would ask what makes them think He will start in their emergency.

“If God gives you a watch, are you honoring Him more by asking Him what time it is or by simply consulting the watch?” A.W. Tozer
 
 
Not me and Not Here

People might not actually say this, but I know some believe it. Bad things only happen to other people, or in other places, not to them or in America. I think this type of thinking comes in large part from how blessed we have been as a nation. Aside from 9-11 and Katrina, most of us haven’t experienced a wide scale traumatic event and as horrible as those two were, not many of us were directly affected.
 
 
Ostrich

Another reason people don’t think they need to prepare is that they don’t want to think about the fallen-ness of this world. Seeing the evil we do to one another, day after day, in city after city and country after country can, for some people, be too much. It’s much more comfortable to keep the rose colored glasses on. But remember Proverbs 27:12:

“A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”

By not being aware, Solomon calls them simpletons. There are days when the evil of this world has me homesick. At those times, I pray for those afflicted by the evil and ask God for strength and wisdom, but I still move forward, and stay vigilant.

Fear of Being The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There are some who do not want to seem like alarmists. They differ from the ostrich in that they might see a possible danger, but won’t sound the alarm in case they’re wrong. The catch is that the boy who cried wolf eventually met a real wolf.
 
 
Anti-Doomer

The Anti-Doomer is afraid people might think they actually want the stuff to hit the fan. I have actually heard of a few people who think this of preppers, so I know it exists. I would ask them if they have car insurance. When they say “yes”, I would ask them if they want to get into an accident. No one wants the pain we think is on its way, we just want to minimize how much it hurts us.

I can’t afford it (but check out my new laptop)

If you truly can’t afford prepping, that’s one thing If you can’t afford it because you want “toys”, well that’s a completely different thing. It does take a financial commitment but that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank. I could build a decent kit for $20 at the dollar store. Would it be a great kit? No, but it would be a start.
 
 
I’m Not a Hoarder

Prepping is not hoarding. Prepping is what is done when there is plenty to be had, before an event. Hoarding is going to the store right before or during an event and buying more then you need. Prepping is actually a benefit to the system, because the people who are prepared are not a drain on the system.
 
 
Good Old Uncle Sam

Another argument is that the government will help take care of people in an emergency. The Government didn’t do so well right after hurricane Katrina. They didn’t do well at all. People went hungry and thirsty; many were taken to the Superdome. The conditions there quickly melted down; overburdened from too many people and not enough resources. Violence and rape broke out. There were days of lawlessness both in the Superdome and in the affected area.

 
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Here is an idea that my wife came up with. We haven’t actually done it yet, but we might. For all of the people in our lives who are ill-prepared, we would make a 3-day-kit. It doesn’t have to be expensive, just the essentials to get by. For food, a 50-lb bag of white rice can be purchased for less than $20 and a bag of pinto beans for about the same. Divide this up into Mylar bags, add a couple cans of Spam and put it in a food grade bucket with a lid.  Depending on your finances you could add a weather radio, a wind up flashlight and any other gear that might come in handy.

This could then either be given as a gift or given when someone shows up after it hits the fan.

 
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Flashlights come in handy for many reasons, aside from the obvious. Here are some other uses for flashlights you may not have thought of.

•  If batteries are kept in them, they may begin to corrode. One option for keeping batteries near the flashlight is to place them in a Ziploc bag and keep it attached with a rubber band to the flashlight.
• You can use the aluminum reflector and dry tinder to start a fire by putting a small piece of tinder in the aluminum reflector and aiming it at direct bright sunlight.
• According to the TSA prohibited items list a flashlight can be carried on a plane, there is a general tool stipulation that says tools must be shorter than 7 inches.
• A flashlight can be used as a Kubotan, which is a self-defense implement that can be used to make a fist more solid and as a striking implement. There are “tactical” flashlights that have a beveled edge. This may or may not cause problems with the TSA. I will bring my flashlight on a plane the next time I fly. If they ask me why I am bringing it on-board, I will tell them the truth; If the plane loses power or has any other issue, I want to make sure I can see.
• A flashlight with a high lumen count (the higher the lumen count, the brighter the light) of 90+ can temporarily blind or distract someone.
• If you put a red lens in your flashlight and use it at night, you will not lose your night vision when you turn it off. When I was in the Navy, if we ran out of red lenses, we would take a red marker and color the clear one. That isn’t nearly as effective but it was better than nothing.

 
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