Amazon Home Finds for Surviving the July Heat

Kansas City in July is its own kind of weather. It is not just hot, it is thick. You walk to the mailbox and come back looking like you ran a 5K. By the time the afternoon sun hits the west windows, our house turns into a slow cooker, and the AC just quietly cries in the corner.

So over the last couple of summers I have collected a little arsenal of home finds that actually make the heat bearable. None of it is fancy. All of it earns its spot. Here is what is keeping us sane, cool, and mostly out of each other’s hair until the humidity breaks.

Heads up, some of these are affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. I only link stuff I actually use and would text a friend about.

A tower fan that actually moves air

I resisted the tower fan trend for way too long because I thought they were all show and no airflow. I was wrong. A good oscillating one moves real air across a room without that clunky box fan rattle, and it tucks into a corner so nobody trips over it. We run one in the living room all evening and one in the kids’ room at night. The white noise is a bonus I did not know I needed.

Here is the kind of oscillating tower fan I mean. Get one with a remote. Trust me, you will not want to get up.

Blackout curtains for cooler rooms and better naps

This is the cheapest upgrade on the list and honestly the one that made the biggest difference. Thermal blackout curtains block the afternoon sun that was baking our west-facing rooms, and the temperature difference is real. Bonus, they make the nursery dark enough that naps actually happen when the sun is still blazing at 7pm.

I linked the thermal blackout panels we use. Grab them a little longer than you think you need so they puddle slightly. It looks more expensive than it is.

Cooling sheets I am weirdly passionate about

I did not believe cooling sheets were a real thing until I slept on a set during a heat wave and did not wake up flipping my pillow every twenty minutes. Bamboo or a good cooling weave sleeps so much cooler than regular cotton, and they get softer every wash. My husband, who runs hot and complains about everything, has said nothing negative, which is basically a standing ovation.

These are the cooling sheets I keep rebuying in different colors. Worth every penny in July.

A countertop ice maker, aka the summer MVP

This is the one that surprised me. Our freezer ice maker cannot keep up with three kids, a dog who eats ice like a snack, and my personal need for a giant iced drink at all times. A little countertop nugget ice maker spits out a fresh batch in minutes, and suddenly nobody is fighting over the tray. It sounds indulgent. It is. I do not care.

Here is the countertop ice maker lane to shop. If you have space, the nugget ice ones are the good chewable kind, like a certain drive-thru we all love.

The tumbler I refill approximately 400 times a day

Hydration is basically a personality trait in July. A big insulated tumbler that keeps ice frozen for hours means I actually drink water instead of finding a sad warm cup on the counter three hours later. Mine goes from the kitchen to the pool to the car and never sweats through my bag.

Any of these 40 oz insulated tumblers will do the trick. Pick a color that makes you happy, you will be holding it constantly.

A little dehumidifier for the basement funk

If your KC basement smells like a basement in July, it is the humidity, not you. A small dehumidifier down there pulls the swamp out of the air, keeps things from feeling clammy, and makes it the coolest hangout spot in the house on a triple-digit day. I empty ours every couple of days and I am always a little horrified by how much water it pulls.

This is the small dehumidifier style I use. Set it and mostly forget it.

The takeaway

None of this makes the KC heat go away, but it makes hiding from it a whole lot more pleasant. Start with the blackout curtains and the cooling sheets if you only grab two things. They are cheap and they punch way above their weight.

What is getting you through the heat this summer? Drop your best find in the comments, my cart always has room and I am nosy.

xo, Pam