Impress Yourself (and Others) by Always Having This With You During a Heat Wave

I took a botany class once, which involved a literal field trip: walking around a wildflower meadow for hours in the summer heat. There was no shade, no breeze, just sweltering misery. But when my carpool partner and I got back to the car, I had a surprise: I had packed an insulated lunchbox with an ice pack, and a few bottles of water. Even after spending the afternoon in a hot car, the water was still ice cold. It was probably the most refreshing drink I’ve had in my life, and my partner was equally delighted. I felt very, very smart.

The recipe is simple: You put your water bottles (or the cold beverages of your choice) into a lunchbox, and surround them with ice packs. One small ice pack will do for a short outing, but don’t be afraid to double or triple up if you’ll be gone a long time.

I’ve found that this hack punches well above its weight when it comes to delighting and refreshing yourself and others. I’ve packed the cold drinks for myself on solo outings, totally forgotten about them as the heat fizzled my brain, and then rediscovered the chilled refreshments upon my return.

I earned a mum-of-the-year award, I’m sure, for introducing my sons to the idea this summer. They have been taking fencing classes, and as the weather has gotten warmer, they have emerged from class sweatier and thirstier every time. On the first hot day, they were grateful to share a few sips of lukewarm water from my own water bottle after they had finished off theirs. I knew what I had to do. On the second sweltering class day of the year, I secretly packed the ice water. And as they clambered into the car, I passed back the cold drinks, much to their delight.