As I start writing this post, it's 5 pm in Los Angeles -- and 91 degrees! The sudden heat wave's got people freaking out -- especially those of us who either don't have air conditioners, or don't want to use one for environmental reasons.

Thus, some suggestions for keeping cool, sans AC. The big, overall tip is this: The easiest way to keep your house cool eco-style is to not get it hot to begin with. The idea behind this tip's a useful one for troubleshooting around the house in general -- It's a lot easier to prevent ants or other bugs from coming into the kitchen than it is to get rid of them after they arrive, for example. In any case, I'll focus on preventing heat first then go on to the cooling tips:

1. Change your lightbulbs. Still don't have CFL bulbs? Then no wonder you're burning up. CFL bulbs use a lot less energy than conventional bulbs -- because conventional bulbs use a bulk of the energy it sucks up to create heat.

That's why, for example, small scale chicken farmers will use conventional bulbs to keep young chicks warm. If you're not raising chickens indoors but still use conventional bulbs, you're basically paying good money to your utility company to fire up a whole bunch of mini heaters in your already-hot house -- then paying the utility a second time to cool the heat (if you turn on the AC) that you paid to create.

So switch the bulbs and while you're at it, turn off everything you're not using. Pull out the slightly warmed cell phone charger, snuff out your heater's pilot light, and shut down your computer after you read this post. They're small but they add up -- My hands are hotter than my feet, for ex, because they're hovering over a hot-ish laptop while typing this post --

2. Draw the curtains when the sun's directly shining through your windows. You'll be surprised at how much less hot your place will get just due to this simple move alone. I like to still keep the windows open when my curtains are closed to keep the breeze going, but if your area's got no breeze -- or only an extremely hot breeze, you may want to close the windows during these hot hours too. The rest of the time --

3. Work the windows. Popular Science gives some ideas as to how you can strategically open and close windows in your home for maximum breeziness. Spend a few minutes figuring it out and you'll be cooler the whole season. The PopSci article also has some ideas for how to --

4. Use the fan. From what I've gathered from research and anecdotal evidence, ceiling fans provide the most coolth. However, I just make do with a vertical fan, mainly because the heat in my place is not hot enough to spur me to go through the work of getting permission to install, then actually installing, a ceiling fan. However, if I really was too hot and was considering going through the work of getting and paying for and installing an AC, I'd definitely look into the ceiling fan option first.

5. Dress for success. If you're female and work in an office, you probably have no idea how hot it is because the AC's turned up so high you're still wearing all black plus a coat inside anyway. Well when you get home, change -- immediately. I say this because when I worked in an office, for some reason, I used to have a habit of getting home then putting off changing while doing other stuff around the house -- going through the mail, eating things -- and letting my physical discomfort climb until I got cranky and started fuming about how I really need an AC. Once I learned to change first, pour myself some ice water, then drink it while doing this stuff, I became a happier person. So don't be like the old me. Even changing from a black T-shirt to a white tank will make a pretty significant difference in your physical comfort.

6. Time your showers. I don't mean keep them short to save water -- though that's a good idea too. These days, I shower around 4 pm -- because I work at home and that's when it's hottest in my apartment. If you work in an office and keep your empty home locked up during the day, then the hottest time's probably gonna be right when you just get home, aka overheated greenhouse. If so, ditch the a.m. shower and catch an extra few minutes of nice sleep every morning, then jump in the shower as soon as you get home from work. A nice cool shower will keep you cool for an hour, by which time your house should be at least a tad cooler. Oh -- and wet hair'll help keep you cool, so nix the blow dry.

7. Drink cold water -- filtered tap water, that is. And keep your ice cube trays replenished while you're at it.

8. Get out of the house. The reason AC in the home seems overindulgent to many environmentalists is because that AC's using up a whole lot of energy and resources just to cool one or several people. However, AC seems much less problematic when they're used for the good of many -- to cool a classroom or office, for example, since many people are sharing that space and getting the benefit of one machine.

I feel about AC the way I feel about lawns -- I'm peeved by grassy lawns for private homes because they're an unnatural and a gross waste of water that only benefits a few people -- and California's in a drought! But I'm less bothered by, say, grassy areas in parks or soccer fields, since the resources that go into it can benefit everyone who picnics there, plays games there, etc.

So if the above cooling measures keep your home livable but for just a few days out of the year, well then use those few days of excess heat as an excuse to treat yourself to a movie or a great latte at your favorite air conditioned cafe or happy hour at an air conditioned bar with friends or lounge at the beach. The money you've saved on not buying / running an AC will pay for this occasional treat --

For more keep cool tips, check out wikiHow's ideas, which include wearing a wet T-shirt or putting ice cubes on your pulse points.

Last but not least: If, despite trying all of the above, your home really is unbearably hot many days of the year, don't die of of heat stroke. Use the AC judiciously. Hopefully, by implementing the keep cool tips, you'll at least dramatically cut down your use of the AC -- and the corresponding power bill.

Photo by Sidereal

BlogHer Contributing Editor Siel also blogs at greenLAgirl.com.