We are now approaching that time in the summer months when the blistering sun shines bright and hot all day, making everything feel as though it were happening inside of an oven. It doesn't matter what part of the country you live in: the heat of the summer can sometimes get just a bit unbearable.

Many people retreat to their homes to take refuge from the summer heat, but whether you have window air conditioner units, central air conditioning or nothing at all sometimes a home simply doesn't cool down the way it should. Running your air conditioner constantly for days or even weeks in a row can also be a pretty expensive proposition, especially with energy prices skyrocketting upwards.

Besides putting in more air conditioners (and raising your electric bill even more) are some extra things you can do around your home to help make it cool. Here are four ways you can help cool down your home:

Ceiling Fans: Some people think they're ugly, but you can't argue with the cooling results a ceiling fan when weather gets warm. Ceiling fans are available in hundreds of different styles and shapes and they've become quite affordable in recent years. You may need an electrician to install a ceiling fan if you don't already have an outlet and brace in the ceiling of your room, but consider it a small price to pay for years of room cooling. Even if you have ceiling fans installed now be sure to make sure your fans are blowing in the right direction! Most ceiling fans can cool and help warm a room, based on the direction they're turning.

Shades: Here is something else a lot of people don't like for aesthetic reasons, but true-light blocking shades make a big impact on the temperature in your home, especially if you have large windows that face the sun during some or part of the day. Light-blocking blinds put up on windows or even in front of glass doors will cool those rooms almost instantly in the heat of the day when the sunlight it beating in.

Maintain Your Air Conditioner: Whether you have one central AC unit or several small window AC units, it's important to maintain their peak efficiency and effectiveness by cleaning air filters, inspecting them for damage and even making sure they are properly charged with coolant. A central AC unit should probably be inspected and given the once over on an annual basis by a professional and single air conditioner units should be checked out each time they are installed or turned on for the first time in a season.

Plant A Tree: Okay, unless you plant a thirty foot shade tree in your lawn this may not help right away, but there are a number of shade trees that do grow very fast and could be providing your home shade within a year or two. Trees block a lot of that sunlight that beats down on your home all day long. If you're walking in the hot sun and you want to cool down you go and sit in the shade, right? You can use the same principal for cooling your home: shade is cooler than sun!

By combining some of these relatively cheap and easy home cooling methods you can really reduce the amount of work your home air conditioner has to perform and in turn save a fair bit of money on your electric bill this summer!