This 1 thing has been my secret portable weapon against heatwaves for a decade – it's damage-free, renter-friendly, and just $38

Heatwaves are hard to take most of the time, but when you don't have AC, are chronically ill, or have a child at home, quick and simple solutions are needed.

That’s why for nearly a decade, I have sworn by a portable blackout blind from Amazon in the hottest, sunniest rooms of my home.

It's been a great way to cool down a home without AC, both while my daughter was a baby and now for our south-facing rooms in the summer.

Why portable blackout curtains are so useful

Portable blackout curtains are affordable, usually costing $20-40, quickly and easily suction onto your windows, and can be removed without damage.

They can be adjusted with Velcro tabs to fit the sits of your window, and be packed away neatly, or taken with you on vacation or short trips when you need.

And, once summer, or a particularly gnarly heatwave, has finished, you can fold it up and store it in its pouch.

This leaves your usual window treatment ideas looking as lovely as ever, without any permanent alterations for extra cooling power.

Portable blackout curtains are made from dense materials that help block the sun’s heat from entering through your windows, or warming up your furniture, flooring or the air inside your home.

This helps to physically stop the heat coming in when not much else can.

I began using it in my daughter’s nursery when she was a few months old as a good way to cool down a bedroom fast, and we hit a hot summer, and simply packed it up in its pouch to take everywhere we went.

Doubling up with a portable blackout curtain is a great way to keep a home cool in a heatwave.

What to shop

Using a cross draft in your home is another way to cool down rooms, as well as switching the direction of your fan.