Preparing for winter II

i have got a list made that keeps getting things added to it the more i look at this thread

so far i have bought cupcake pjs for a fiver in primarni.

i intend to clean out the cupboard under the stairs as it has shelving in it, add more shelving and set up shop with tins and uht milk in there.

need better curtains in all rooms and kitchen.

Confuzzled wrote: »

so i'm not the only one!

funny, battening down the hatches is a phrase i commonly use any time a storm/blizzard is threatening to roll in, and i rather enjoy it as long as my family is home safe...

Me too!! I even enjoy a good storm if we're in the tent like last BH weekend! Something about the raw power of nature I find thrilling.

I'm planning on having the boiler serviced shortly - better safe than sorry.

I've dug OH's long-sleeved shirts out and will launder them before the weather turns nasty.

We already have a sleeping bag on the sofa as we've had a few "nippy" evenings up here recently. As it gets colder we'll have two, and finally a 11.5 tog duvet for when its really cold.

I'll put the sping/autumn duvet on the bed in a few more weeks, its not quite cold enough yet, and we don't like to be too hot in bed (We have one of those where you button the summer duvet to the middle weight duvet for when it gets really chilly. They're fabulous!)

I've got the winter curtains for the patio doors ready to go up this weekend (voile in summer as the doors are used more. Thicker one's in winter for insulation)

Other than that there's not much more I want to do, as we're hoping to move house in the next few months, so I don't want to make extra curtains when we'll only get a few weeks use from them. I'm also running my storecupboard down ready for the move. I think we'll be ok though, it doesn't usually snow before November!

I'll stay tuned for more good ideas

PGxx

Well, we've had the chimney swept, boiler serviced (only because it stopped supplying hot water though or we would have forgotten), we've been collecting wood all through the summer and have bought bags of coal as and when we could afford it. Store cupboard healthy and freezer full. My temp job runs out in a couple of weeks and prospects of another are a bit bleak, so we've been trying to get ready.

Best of all, in the Millets sale (and with a 20% off voucher) I bought some long johns (or janes) and guess what - they are fluffy inside! Can't wait to wear them. I've tried them on and I look absolutely stunning. Hope I don't get taken to hospital or something or they'll be hysterical.

Soon be time to start dressing like a fleecy pompom again. Well done to everyone for getting ready.

does anyone have tips for a conservatory?

We have a lean to style one that is quite big and goes scross the back of the house. We heat it with a halogen heater when we are out there but switch it of when not. Last year the kitchen was freezing and the dining end of the room (we have a new style house where we have a lounge diner and an arch to the kitchen so no doors)

midnightraven3 wrote: »

re the hall/stairs

our lounge has a big archway out into the hall, so sitting you can really feel it

much as i am house proud
my mind is gearing towards having something like they have in hospitals, the curtain track thingy on the ceiling, so i can at least curtain off the bottom of the stairs (it would need to be kinda L shaped)

or am i bonkers, and it wont work:rotfl::rotfl:
be honest, i can take it:D

Could you put a pair of curtains across the archway to your sitting room, rather than trying to block off the stairs?

Is it a draft, or just general cold. If it's a draft, you could walk round with a candle to find out where it's coming from and deal with that.

Our last two houses were both Edwardian, both with MASSIVE and very beautiful stained glass doors and surrounds. My husband ended up screwing a pane of perspex over the inside of the glass on the front door and on the side panels - and we had thick curtains as well, but that little thing made a huge difference.

How thick are your curtains? Are they interlined? If not, can you hang fleeces to the inside (if you open out the tape fully, you should just be able to tack the fleeces to the bottom of the tape, then draw it up again or you can even use hooks, like on a detachable lining)? How long are your curtains? Do they "puddle" on the floor/go right up to the ceiling?

What about the floor in your hall? Is it made of stone/tiles/other hard surface? My kitchen floor is so freezing in the winter I have to stand on bits of cardboard to keep my feet warm! Would rugs warm it up?

Are your banisters open or closed? Could you experiment with putting a fleece or something over the banister (not permanently, just for an evening to see if it makes a difference)?

If none of that makes a difference, think mediaeval :rotfl:yes, I'm talking tapestries here! Well, not tapestries, but if you had/could make/borrow a nice patchwork quilt or something, you could stick it on the wall as a last resort - ostensibly as a decoration but really to warm the place up a bit!

Sorry for the list of questions - just trying to picture what it looks like!