An Indoor Guide to Having the Best Summer Ever
Welcome to The Best Summer Ever , your guide to making the most of the sunny season. Whether your idea of the perfect summer is one of epic adventure or a blissful effort to do as little as possible, we’ve got you covered. Because the best summers don’t just happen—you have to make them.
There are two types of people: the outdoorsy type who sees summer as a time to hike, grill, sunbathe, and explore “the world,” and the indoor type who’d rather keep the air conditioner and TV on full blast until September. If you’re the type who thinks summer is best experienced through a window, you can still have a fantastic season. With a few home decor changes, some indoor-friendly activities, and a few comfort-boosting items, your summer can be blissful (or at least bearable).
Get your home ready for summer
If you’re going to spend the season indoors, make it as summery as possible: Start by cleaning and servicing your air conditioner. This summer is likely to be as hot as global warming, so keeping your air conditioner running at peak efficiency is vital to a comfortable home. That starts with cleaning. You should clean your air conditioner at least once a year; why not do it this weekend? Check your owner’s manual and get to work. If you have central air, call a professional.
If you don’t have an air conditioner, our sister site PC Mag recently published a guide to the best smart air conditioners of 2025 , so if you’re shopping, start there.
Create air flow: Air conditioning is king, but that doesn’t mean you should seal your home until September. Strategically open windows and curtains on cool summer mornings and evenings. Put a fan in an upper window to suck out hot air, and have another fan circulate the air inside. Nothing makes it feel like summer better than a warm breeze blowing through.
Declutter : The beginning of summer is the perfect time to get rid of things you no longer need. So toss, donate, and store your junk and give yourself a clean summer slate. If you’re having a hard time organizing and decluttering, Lifehacker decluttering expert Lindsay Ellefson has laid out a ton of strategies to make the process easier , so I won’t go into detail — but whether you’re using Marie Kondo’s famous KonMari method or the more indie-rock ski slope technique , it’s the perfect time to get rid of your Winter-You stuff so your Summer-You can shine.
Spring cleaning : Now that you have less stuff, it’s easier to just go in and give it all a deep clean. A clean home is a necessary foundation for enjoying the rest of your summer indoors, so don’t just tidy up — get in there and do it. Clean the baseboards. Clean the oven. Be civilized. A clean space is good for your mental health, and getting rid of dust, mold, and allergens is good for your physical health, too. Check out our comprehensive spring cleaning guide to learn everything you’ll ever need to know about getting your home in order.
Decorating tips to help you create a summery atmosphere indoors
Now that your home is decluttered, cooled, and cleaned, let’s talk about how to make it look, feel, and smell summery, because even if you’re leery of the whole summer “getting outside” part, the power of the season’s cool vibes can’t be denied.
Make Your Home Smell Like Summer : Every season has its own scent, so I asked perfumer Sarah Horowitz of Sarah Horowitz Parfums for some expert tips on how to make your home smell like summer. According to Horowitz, there’s nothing better than a scented candle. “Look for notes like sea salt, tropical florals or fruits, or subtle coconut to bring a sun-kissed beach feel to your space,” she suggests.
Another trick: Lightly spray your favorite summer scent on a cool light bulb before you turn it on. “The heat will gently diffuse the scent throughout the room,” Horowitz said.
Fresh flowers are another easy way to set the mood. “I love weaving sprigs of fresh mint into a bouquet—it adds a fresh, unexpected note that’s instantly refreshing. Plus, they look gorgeous,” Horowitz said.
Summer Decor : You can create a summery feel in your home without a major renovation or tacky, life-is-the-beach decor. A few simple changes—adding bright new pillows, changing the curtains, or swapping out a heavy blanket for something lighter—can transform your apartment into a Tahitian bungalow. (That might be a bit of an exaggeration.)
Bright patterns and sun-bleached colors like ocean blue, jungle green, or golden yellow are summer classics. But if you’re looking for something calming, opt for airy linens and soft neutrals for an easy, sophisticated vibe. Or you can just go overboard and make it as outrageous as possible; it’s your summer.
Houseplants: Houseplants produce oxygen, improve mood, and give your space a nature-like feel, like a tiny organic oasis in your living room. You can’t go wrong with summer classics like birds of paradise or spider plants—both of which are relatively easy to care for. If you want a tougher, even lower-maintenance plant, you can stick with hard-to-kill succulents or flowering cacti and still create a summery vibe. Plant them in colorful pots or by a sunny window for instant seasonal charm.
Summer Indoor Fun Guide
Being a stay-at-home person doesn’t necessarily mean being antisocial. Interacting with other people is important, even if you’re staying home. Sure, you’ll have to invite friends over, but now that you have a clean, airy house that looks and smells like summer, you may find that your friends who love the outdoors will happily spend a low-key summer Saturday in an air-conditioned house watching Annette Funicello movies and sipping margaritas. Here are some ideas:
Movie Night: Lifehacker’s Ross Johnson has compiled a list of the best summer movies . Watching any of these movies with good friends is the perfect way to spend a hot August evening.
Board Games : For a summer board game night, you can’t go wrong with easy-to-play classics like Uno , Sorry , or Jackbox Games . But if you’re feeling more ambitious, try Daggerheart , a new tabletop RPG that’s like Dungeons and Dragons but with less math.
Doing nothing : Themed parties and events are great, but so is doing nothing with the people you like. Doing nothing can be the best thing about summer, so invite people over to do as little as possible. Pick a summer Spotify playlist and sit around scrolling through Instagram or chatting about friends who didn’t show up. Summer is all about no pressure: But make sure you have refreshments.
Summer Cocktails : Whether you mix drinks or pour them from a pitcher, these drinks will bring summer to life:
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Classic Margarita : The Margarita is the drink most people associate with summer. It comes in endless variations, but the simple original is the best.
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Corona with Lime : It’s time we all admitted that IPAs taste terrible. A light, refreshing Mexican pilsner like Corona with a squeeze of lime in the bottle tastes great and is the quintessential summer beer.
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Blue Hawaiian : Blue Hawaiian looks silly, but when mixed properly, it’s a bland classic rather than a cloying tacky mess.
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Cucumber Collins : A blend of gin, seltzer, cucumber, lime and mint, the Cucumber Collins is a light, refreshing, sophisticated summer drink.
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Any cocktail made by a pitcher: What’s summer if not the perfect time to mix 10 drinks at once and share the pitcher until everyone gets too sloppy to refill it?