Preparing for winter III

OK, found some Thinsulate fingerless thermal gloves in B & M's for £1.99. Had these last year and it means I can drive wearing gloves and also wear them in my office at work when it's really cold. They're mens so a bit big but I don't care:) Also got some thick wool/thermal ladies socks from there. £3.99 for 3 pairs and they had pink in instead of the usual boring colours. HB have also got moisture absorbers in for £1.99. They're non refillable but cheapest I've seen.

On a side note it's gone from being really cold here yesterday to lovely sunshine and sweltering in comparison. It's not really that warm but had to take off gloves and scarf when I was out.

*snuggle* I have thermal socks from cotton traders.. pack of 5 pairs reduced to £3.95 ish ... most warm... brown but who sees them in your shoes? I got a couple of roll neck tops too which fit nicely.

Apart from refilling the pantry, (not working so supplies are much lower than I'm used to as this year I've depended on my store cupboard more than ever before). The veggies on the allotment are confused - the strawberry plants are still flowering as are the french beans, yet the root veg is nowhere near as far along as it should be for this time of year.

The boiler needs sorting this month - don't want cold baths in winter. I had to save to get it fixed & get boiler cover. Otherwise all draught proofing etc is sorted.

Just liitle bits to sort now.

I just need to take a trip to Primarni for DS's underwear and an spare pair of PJ's. Kids grow so fast but decent coat/boots etc is sorted for him. I've heard they do welly liners so may buy them for us both instead of making them.

Have tested flasks/hot water bottles to make sure no leaks have appeared since last year this weekend.

I need a new pair of monkey boots as I wore out my last pair last winter. I ave bad feet so find these comfy for every day in rain & ice etc. Lets face noone wears snow boots except when it snows. They've gon eup from £27-£33 which I'm not happy about.

The prepping I did in years previous when I was working are gonna pay off this year as we have stuff in case of power cuts, (torches, wind up radio, gilllie kettle, sleeping bags etc), warm blankets, kitchen equipement (slow cooker,blender etc), decent clothes horse all in ready.

3 month supply dog food due this week.

Still catching up with this thread after not having been on it for nearly 2 weeks. Thanks for all your interesting posts.

The weather is quite mild here today and therefore spent some time in the utility room writing a list of what we have got in the freezer, then I did the same with the freezer in the kitchen. No more buying take aways because we don't know what we have in the freezer!

I read earlier that some of you are looking for the best shoes/boots for icy pavements. My mum who lives in Sweden and 3 years in a row broke her arm on the icy pavements and therefore is very nervous of going out when the weather gets bad swears that golf shoes are the best. Obviously you cannot wear these indoors.

Also, I have noticed with winter boots that if I wear a thin sock and there is a gap between the toes and shoe my foot stays warmer compared to wearing thick socks that leaves no gap in the shoe.

Off to make some breakfast muffins now.

After a chance meeting with a lovely person trying to get by on JSA in a cold flat near the sea and has no money for winter preparations, I came up with as many ideas as I could think of costing from nothing to a few pounds.
Here’s what I came up with from experience and ideas from here that I remembered

1. Find your stopcock for the water and make sure that it turns off. This will be required if you get a burst pipe and limit further damage and costs.
   
2. Do you know how to change a fuse? And do you have spare fuses or wire? Get some if needed
3. Should you not be able to use your usual cooking facilities, find a way to at least boil some water to go with 20p noodles or fry an egg etc, this could be a candle stove: http://patverettosfrugalliving.blogspot.com/2007/09/variation-on-theme-candle-stove.html or some £land barbeque trays with a bit of charcoal, you may not need it but if you do, you’ll be pleased you’ve tried it and know it works.
4. Candles are cheap to buy, keep in a drawer with some matches should the power go.
5. Should your heating stop due to a variety of reasons, how can you keep warm? Consider going to the library, visit friends, go for a walk it will feel warmer when you get back.
6. Keep doors and curtains closed to conserve heat and layer up as much as possible. Yes you may look daft in a hat, and nose warmer http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/PATTnosewarmer.html but who cares in the privacy of your own home. The style police won’t see you.
7. Make a solar heat catcher: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art36322.asp google has lots more.
8. Take an incense stick to your window frames to see where drafts are and plug the gaps. This can be done by blue tack (can’t remember who suggested that on here,) duct tape, masking tape or caulking from the £store but you’ll need a gun too and these are around £4 so unless you have a lot to do think of other ways, papier-mâche works well for all sorts of gaps, (credit to frugal who used it last year for that idea) and you can always buy foam strips. 99p store currently have 4 rolls for yes, 99p.
9. Doors are often ill fitting, again check for drafts, and use the same principles as for windows.
10. Window glass can get very cold, bubble wrap…..given away free at my local MrS if asked for, is a great insulator, spray the panes with water and stick bubble wrap on.
11. Bubble wrap also makes great blinds (use in addition or not, to window treatment as above); measure the width/length of the window and cut to size, attach to the top with double sided tape/drawing pins, what ever you have. A piece of string or something nicer if you have it can also be added to hang down front and back then when its rolled up you can tie it up.
12. Make a window quilt from fabric scraps or old sheeting
13. Cardboard shutters are great: http://www.touchwoodproject.org.uk/project-you/give-it-a-go/frugal-and-green-saving-without-spending-cardboard-insulation/
14. http://www.instructables.com/id/folded-cardboard-window-blind/?ALLSTEPS
15. Foil behind the radiators is good. This can be kitchen foil on a piece of cardboard stuck to the wall with blue tack etc or £stores sell windscreen visors to keep the sun out of cars and @£1 good value
16. Drafts coming in under doors can have door snakes made, again bubble wrap, or old towel just tied up and placed against the door if you can’t sew or old clothes cut to size and stitched and stuffed with the ever growing pile of odd socks!
17. A velvet door curtain lined with fleeces and thermal lining is great, if you have one! If not anything will help keep in heat. A blanket, duvet cover, foil blanket http://shop.redcross.org.uk/shop/product.asp?id=59644 2 for 99p at the 99p store, bubble wrap, you get the idea.
18. Wall hangings have made a big difference to my sons Victorian high ceiling drafty flat especially on the out side walls, again sheets, duvets, foil blankets, bubble wrap, cardboard, (my son made cardboard guitars and stuck them on with blue tack, looked great) anything can help, If you’ve got a book case move it to the outside wall, books are great insulators, make a toilet roll wall if you’re one of the many loo roll hoarders this thread seems to have:D
19. Close off rooms not in use. If you won’t use it for several months seal the door with foam strip, a spare curtain/sheet and a door snake so no warm air will be lost to it.
20. Consider moving into one room; treat it as a studio flat cheaper to heat.
21. If you have an open fire that you’re not going to use, get a carrier bag, stuff with old clothes or pillows etc add something to hang down so you don’t forget it s there and stuff it up the chimney.
22. Should you use the oven for cooking leave the door open after (consider safety obviously for little ones, the elderly or pets)
23. Floors can be cold if you have no carpet, temporary rugs can be old towels/blankets or cardboard. DS made a bubble wrap rug, sandwich bubble wrap between thick cardboard and tape edges.
24. If you can access under the bath, bubble wrap insulation helps keep the water warmer for longer, loft insulation is good for this too, often bits turn up on freecycle
25. Your curtains need to be as close to the window as possible, you want to prevent air circulating between the curtain and window, use Velcro, magnets, double sided tape etc to keep the curtain close to the frame
26. Don’t allow curtains to drape in front of radiators.
27. Cardboard/bubble wrap/newspaper on your car windows will stop them from icing over
28. Layer clothes always. Ask on freecycle or a local forum if you have one for anything that you need, try jumble sales, then charity shops
29. Join your local lets: http://www.letslinkuk.net/ you may be able to swap skills for someone to help you get your home ready for winter.
30. Keep a torch to hand with spare batteries
31. Make warming soups, cheap, tasty and nutritious
32. Need waterproof footwear or a coat maybe, try freecycle, a local church, the sally army, or community group etc, you’d be surprised how happy people are to help someone who needs help.
33. Learn to knit……….ask on freecycle for needles and wool and offer shopping or ironing maybe on Lets in exchange for knitting lessons. If you can knit you can buy at jumble sales/charity shops all sorts of worn out/too big/small jumpers and make something useful for yourself or others.
34. Cold and don’t want to put the heating on in the evening? Have a bath instead. It warms you up, and it’s cheaper than the heating on. Get dressed into warm clothes whilst still in the bathroom and then snuggle in bed or the sofa with a throw/duvet over you.
35. Make wheat bags to heat in the microwave or get a hot water bottle
36. Check for any grants you maybe entitled to.

If you have a few more £’s to spend:
Buy window film from argos, £ stores, wilkinsons diy stores etc. Yes it really does work, maybe a wind up torch or lamp too.

Remember you pay your heating bills, not your neighbours, so don’t worry what they think of your cardboard cupcakes on the wall or the bubble wrap blinds at the windows but so you don’t become a laughing stock of your area do remove the nose warmer before you answer the door.;):D

There are probably loads more but at the time it was all I could think of. Hope the list helps someone.