I just finished up my first year of college, and I, like many college freshmen across the nation, had to survive without a basic necessity. That's right, I had to survive without air conditioning.
Step One: Cry
The tears may get lost in the sweat, but let it out.
Step Two: Buy a fan (or two, or three, or four)
You can never have too many fans. Let me repeat, you can never have too many fans. My roommate and I, between the two of us, had four fans in our room. We had two box fans in the windows, a stand up fan in the corner of the room, and finally, she had a clip on fan on her desk. Buy as many fans as you can physically fit into your room. Fans are a cheap way for you to (semi) maintain your sanity.
Step Three: Ditch the fleece and flannel blankets and sheets
I love big fluffy blankets as much as the next person, but these are just not a reality when you are living in a non-air conditioned room. Cotton sheets are the way to go. They're cool and comfy and won't make you feel like you're being weighed down.
Step Four: Buy a lightweight comforter
I bought a light weight comforter to put on my bed, which was nice because it was cute and still a blanket for me to sleep with, but it wasn't so heavy that it was making me feel any more over heated. My roommate actually ended up switching her comforter and flat sheet, so she slept on top of the comforter and then used the flat sheet as her blanket. Whatever floats your boat.
Step Five: Get a fridge with a freezer
My roommate and I had a mini-fridge in our room with a small freezer. We also had three ice trays. Ice is the best invention. I'm not kidding. It is great in drinks, and also really good if you are just too overheated to function. Put some ice in a bag and put the bag on your forehead (or your pulse points!) until you return to a comfortable temperature.
Step Six: Get naked
Not literally, but do be conscious of what you bring to wear. Living without air conditioning made for a room that was very hot and very humid, and for me, when I am too hot, I cannot sleep. I brought oversized t-shirts and shorts to sleep in. You do not want to bring fleece pajama pants and long sleeve t-shirts for bed, unless you constantly want to feel like you are in a sauna. The looser your clothing, the better because it allows your skin to breathe.
Step Seven: Rotate your fans
My roommate and I had two box fans in the windows, with one fan blowing air in and one fan blowing air out. This allowed the air to circulate into and out of the room instead of the fans just blowing the hot air around.
Step Seven: Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day. It doesn't always help cool you down immediately, but it definitely will help you out in the long run with cooling yourself down and keeping yourself healthy.
Step Eight: Take advantage of AC outside of your dorm
Study at the library instead of at your desk. Eat dinner at the dining halls instead of bringing it back to your dorm. Take advantage of your school's many resources that are already air conditioned; you don't need to suffer in your hot dorm room all the time.
While air conditioning is amazing and I definitely missed it while I was living in the dorm, it is important to remember that you can in fact survive without it. While it may seem unbearable at the moment, remember that the heat and humidity is only there for a few weeks before the cold takes over. Therefore, the heat was really only bad the first and last few weeks of the school year, and the rest of the school year was much more what I was accustomed to.
