There’s a legit heat wave going on where I live. What organizing projects can you work on when it’s so stinking hot? These are three satisfying projects that can keep you safe AND organized during a heat wave.

Organizing Store Returns During a Heat Wave

What’s better during a heatwave than borrowing somebody else’s air conditioning? This is a great time to take care of returns that you’ve been putting off. Grab your bags and receipts, and head to the mall and stores where you need to make returns. Bag up the things you bought that you can’t use, are the wrong size, or you just didn’t like. Take them back to the store and get your refund or store credit. Treating yourself to a refreshing lemonade or ice cream while you are there is totally appropriate.

Pro tip: Not sure where your receipts went? Most stores keep track of your purchases electronically. Just show your credit card, and they’ll look up your purchase record. At worst you’ll receive a store credit without a receipt, which is better than a bag of clutter at home.

Organizing Papers During a Heat Wave

The second thing that you can easily do during heat wave is organize your papers. You can sort one stack or bag or box of papers at a time while comfortably sitting inside at a table. (Maybe you are clearing papers off your dining room table? That’s a two-for-one!) It doesn’t take a lot of energy and won’t make you sweat. A heat wave like we’re seeing is no joke, and if you don’t have air conditioning at home, please consider going to a cooling station near you or going to stay with a friend who has A/C. If you do, you can take a bag or box of papers with you to sort, shred and file. Not ready to go all in yet with organizing papers? You can use the downtime to camp out next to the A/C and watch my Organizing Your Papers course online.

Pro tip: You know all those newsletters and articles you kept to read someday that are creating paper clutter? Today is the perfect day!

Organizing the Basement During a Heat Wave

If you’re lucky enough to have a basement, that’s a third project that’s perfect for a heat wave. Because basements are below ground, they are naturally cooler than the upper floors of the house. Whether it’s a finished or an unfinished basement, you can easily spend a couple of hours down there avoiding the effects of a heat wave. Define a mini project, like going through one box of old toys or clearing out just one closet or one corner, and go through all the steps of SORT and Succeed in a couple of hours. Our heat wave is expected to last nearly a week. If you break down your large basement into four or five mini projects and accomplish just one each day, you can make a heck of a lot of progress while you are staying cool.

Pro tip: Take a bag of trash or donations up the steps every time you go. Never leave empty-handed.

See, you can get a LOT of organizing done during a heat wave, and keep cool while doing it. Think how good you’ll feel at the pool later, knowing you’ve gotten part of your organizing goals accomplished.