We’re not yet officially into spring, but I’m ready to get the firewood out of the living room and to start griping about the heat outside. That’s right, I’ve skipped right past spring fever into summer fever.

So, in an effort to fool myself into believing that warmer days are right around the corner, I decided to provide a handy rundown of how we can all enjoy a little summertime climate control on the cheap. Thus, I present eight ways to save on your air conditioning costs.

Schedule pre-season maintenance. You should have a pro examine and adjust your air conditioner annually. That will insure top performance and will stave off that breakdown that will occur on the hottest day of the year.

Reduce interior heat. There’s no reason to make that air conditioner harder than what is minimally necessary to keep you nice and cool. We all love a little sunlight, but we should balance that with an appreciation for the way curtains and drapes can deflect heat, keeping our homes cooler.

Set the right temp. Hey, the idea of living in a meat locker will be appealing on some of those August days, but keeping the thermostat set a little higher will drastically cut energy use. According to Saving Electricity, “Each degree below 78 will increase your energy use by 3-4%. ” I don’t know if I agree with their assessment that 80 degrees is cool enough, but there’s no reason to overdo it.

Use fans to your advantage. Not only will you get that sensation of the wind rushing through your hair, you’ll also cut down on energy use. A ceiling fan will push air downward, keeping things cooler and improving climate control efficiency.

Don’t run the AC when you’re away. Unless Fido is under vet’s orders to stay cool, you can get by without cooling the house while you’re away at work. Why waste all of that power and run down your A/C? If an air conditioner runs in the household and no one is there, does it really cool anything?

Shield your AC, but don’t smother it. If you can get your air conditioner positioned in the shade, it’s going to be more efficient. You can even use a little creative landscaping with trees or bushes to help out on this one. However, you don’t want to surround it with plant life (or anything else). Proper airflow is essential to its proper operation.

Stop using the hot stuff. It’s true. Your grandma’s recipe for baked stuffed cabbage truly does rock the house. However, using that oven also increases the temp in the house, making your AC work harder to accomplish the same goals. End result? You spend more. Skip granny’s cabbage and have cole slaw instead. The same thing goes for that heat-dry cycle on your dishwasher. Skip it.

Don’t cool empty rooms. Do you have a guest room that no one’s using? A utility room that doesn’t see a lot of action? Keep the doors closed and close the vents if you have central air. There’s no reason to waste money and power on areas in which no one is going to set foot.

All right. Now we’re prepared to take on that summer heat. We just need it to show up first, don’t we? Considering the length of this cold season, you’ll probably have plenty of time to prepare to put all eight of these recommendations into use.