Sensible ways to survive the silly season

December 10th, 2014

Appliance Talk Humour

There are a few possible explanations for why the Christmas/New Year period is known as the silly season.

Maybe it’s people getting into Holiday Mode and loosening up their once tightly-wound inhibitions. Maybe it’s the Aussie summer heat melting away our sanity and driving everyone a little bit nuts. Or maybe maintaining the season’s mandatory jollity does a number on our collective stress levels.

No… more… good cheer…

Here are a few ways you can create an oasis of stability in a sea of silliness, keeping things under control when it seems like everyone is losing their minds:

Avoid stress by choosing a fridge that can stand the heat

When the summer mercury starts rising out of control, it’s possible that the clunky old fridge you have kicking around may finally give up the ghost and rattle out its last gasp. After all, the hotter the weather gets, the harder your fridge’s compressor will have to work to keep your food fresh and your drinks cool.

Maybe you could turn your old fridge into a work of art…

An old fridge that struggles to keep its cool at the best of times will never make it through the furnace-like conditions around the holidays. And having to quickly replace a dead fridge can be a real pain.

Save yourself from the mental breakdown that could easily follow a fridge breakdown by ordering a more reliable replacement from Appliances Online. Your best bet may even be to replace the old clunker pre-emptively, sidestepping the issue altogether.

Make sure you don’t stink

Being the hottest time of the year, summer is the season when human beings are at their sweatiest, and therefore their smelliest.

Don’t believe me? Try packing into an un-air-conditioned train carriage at peak hour without wishing that you could magically turn off your sense of smell.

Make sure that your washing machine is ready for a workout this summer, as it’ll take a bit of effort to keep everyone’s clothes stink-free.

And while you should be able to power through the washing pretty quickly simply by line-drying your clothes in the oppressive heat, it may be worth keeping your dryer handy, just in case those summer rainstorms decide to drop in for a surprise appearance…

Cook without heat (for real!)

Once, I hosted a Christmas/housewarming party in the middle of summer. Grilling with the oven door open on one of the hottest nights of the year was NOT appreciated by the guests.

Though this guest never appreciates anything…

Choose cooking appliances that keep residual heat under control, whether by making sure it stays locked inside the appliance, or by not generating it at all.

Ovens with double, triple or quadruple glazing on their doors not only help lock the heat inside their cavity, but cook more efficiently, using less energy to maintain their temperature.

Another great option is the induction cooktop, which can cook your food without actually heating itself up!  Instead, it runs an electromagnetic current through your cookware, causing the metal itself to heat up directly, which means less residual heat filling your kitchen atmosphere. Super effective!

Slack off with a dishwasher

I don’t know about you, but when I get home from work on a hot day, all I really want to do is collapse and not move very much until the sun starts going down.

Looking for the coolest place in the house? Follow the cat. Seriously, it works.

On afternoons like this, cooking food becomes a barely tolerable chore, and doing the dishes afterwards?  Fuhgeddaboudit.

Armed with a dishwasher, you can let a machine handle the washing up, and you can spend more time crouching in the coolest part of the house, hoping for sweet release…

Relax with a TV that actually shows good stuff

So you know how Australian TV gets kind of super-boring during the summer non-ratings period? But it’s also too damn hot to get up off the couch to grab a DVD, or go watch cat videos on YouTube?

More Sea Change repeats. Just wonderful.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could watch whatever shows or movies you liked, at a time of your choosing, without having to move from your nice comfortable spot?

Samsung UA40H6400 40″ 102cm Full HD Smart 3D LED LCD TV

This is when a Smart TV starts showing off its true value – by connecting to the internet and your home’s wireless network, you can access more entertainment via your TV than ever before, including catch-up TV, video on demand services, as well as your saved digital media.

You won’t need to stand up from the couch again until autumn… though we recommend that you still do, for the exercise, not to mention the personal hygiene…

Relax with climate control on the cheap

While the most obvious solution for dealing with a stinking hot summer is to invest in an air conditioner, sometimes this just isn’t a financially viable option.

There are cheap alternatives, but they’re not ideal…

Here are a few other ways you can beat the heat:

Dyson Hot + Cool Air Multiplier 300110-01

Fans may sometimes be dismissed for merely blowing hot air around the house without cooling anything, but that’s only the case when they’re not being used properly. Keep a couple of windows open and run your fan at night, and you’ll notice the difference when the hot air starts flowing out and the cool air starts flowing in.

If you’re living in the tropics, or if the hot weather has started forming storm clouds that are taking their sweet time to burst, then the humidity in your home may actually be more uncomfortable than the heat. In these circumstances, a dehumidifier may be able to take the edge off, keeping the place nice and dry, while preventing the spread of allergy-causing mould and mildew. Remember though, a dehumidifier will NOT cool down you home – if anything, their drying process will likely make it hotter.

Kick back with tropical refreshments!

You know the ones I mean!

Like this model, only smaller

Those fruity drinks with crushed ice, a rainbow of different colours, and little umbrellas sticking out! Liquor is, of course, optional.

Breville Food Processor BFP800

A few small appliances can be handy for sorting out a trayful of these drinks. A juicer can prepare fruits and veggies for smooth consumption; a blender can crush ice, and a food processor can reduce fruit down to bite-size chunks, perfect for garnishes.

Oh, and if you are going for the “hard” style of drinks, might want to keep the following blog post handy: 5 Essential Appliances You Need To Cure A Hangover

BBQ like a boss

Ah, the great Aussie tradition of scorching meat to a cinder under the midday sun. Is there anything quite like it?

Bring it.

It’s a handy solution to the problem of cooking indoors on a hot day, heating up your home – cook outside on the barbeque, where you could probably fry an egg on the pavement anyway (don’t ever do this – super unsanitary), and your home’s internal temperature will remain relatively stable.

Beefeater BUGG BBQ with Trolley – Amber 49924

Of course, you can’t always barbeque all year round, and a barbeque that’s not being used is pretty much just filling space. That’s why it’s sometimes better to swallow your pride and NOT buy that gigantic multi-burner monstrosity, and instead opt for something smaller and more portable that can be easily packed away during the off-season.

Let someone else do the hard yards!

So let’s say you were going to buy a new appliance for the silly season. Of course, this means you’ll need to drive down to the shop or warehouse, pick it up, drive it back home, unpack it, install it, get rid of the packaging, AND get rid of your old appliance, all while sweating in the summer heat.

To borrow an election catchphrase from Homer Simpson – can’t someone else do it?

Order your new appliance with Appliances Online, and not only do you get the benefit of our great prices, but you can experience our Legendary Service:

Let our team of Legends deliver and install your appliance for you. And if you ever need to contact us, our team is available to help, 24/7, even on the public holidays.

Stay sensible this silly season!