Things that worked or didn't work last winter

Flibsey

Ive really enjoyed reading this. one of the best things I did last year was to felt an old wool sweater (jumble, 25p!) and make a dragught excluder from it. cut off the arms and sew together at the shoulder ends, stitch up one end and cut up the rest of the jumper into bits, stuff into the tube made form the sleeves, sew up the end... it's fab.

also I live in a house which was converted in the 1980s to e "open plan"... by this i mean it has doorways but no doors and no way to hang doors. SO we have curtains. very long and as heavy as we can afford.

just wondering, is it possible to hang a curtain pole from a ceiling? just thinking for my stairwell lol. if not then I'll hang a curtain a bit higher up and live with the heat going halfway up the stairs instead of the full way!

BigMummaF

I left the bubble wrap up at the bathroom windows--they're frosted anyways so it doesn't show from the outside --& I can't believe the insulation this adorable stuff has! It was a bit difficult initially to stand there brushing your teeth & not pop the little pods, but that soon goes
Our kitchen, bathroom, front door & one bedrooom are north facing so we do need to do something, if the scary forecasts for another long hard winter prove right

oldtractor

Another vote here for door curtains,hot water bottles and fleeces. Blankets on the furniture for snuggling in,thick socks wolly slippers hats and gloves.

Gingerbiscuit_2

ginnyknit wrote: »

This is , I think, the first thread where hot water bottles have been mentioned lol, Im glad its not just me who adores her hoggy! This year OH is more disabled than last so I have to be prepared, one thing I didnt have to deal with last year was him travelling by wheelchair so am wondering what will work best? Need to keep him warm and dry! He is only 54 so he wont have the rain coat type things for in his chair 'cos thats what old biddys have'

Im 35 so no way do I do the cape thing!! But I have good raincoat, did toy with the plastic trousers but can leave you feeling warm and sweaty if you go in shops as cant take them off like you can a coat.

To keep warm I have a hot water bottle and keep in rucksack on my lap so its flat keeps warm for ages I wrap in tea towel or if really cold have been known to stuff down between a jumper and coat layer.

Also when really cold out I wrap a black fleese blanket under rucksack and around the top of legs above knee so cant really see with coat/bag so not into the tartan blanket look! It helps to keep your body temperture up and can just put away if need it. Warm and not looking to grannyish! Hope that helps.

BargainGalore

I am toying with sticking bubble wrap to garage door for integral garage as we use it for storage

FoxFace

What a brilliant thread! :T

For Gas & Electricity we are on prepayment, which although generally expensive, we save a fortune because it's always in the front of your mind if you use it, you have to pay to top it up again

We don't really use that much heating either, but will still be trying some of the tips from here to try to bring the costs down even further :cool:

Flibsey

FoxFace wrote: »

What a brilliant thread! :T

For Gas & Electricity we are on prepayment, which although generally expensive, we save a fortune because it's always in the front of your mind if you use it, you have to pay to top it up again

We don't really use that much heating either, but will still be trying some of the tips from here to try to bring the costs down even further :cool:

my friend was saying the same this morning over coffee at her place! I have to say, having gone onto a meter-reading tarrif (we give monthly readings and then get the bill) it's been an eye opener.

herbily

ginnyknit wrote: »

This is , I think, the first thread where hot water bottles have been mentioned lol, Im glad its not just me who adores her hoggy! This year OH is more disabled than last so I have to be prepared, one thing I didnt have to deal with last year was him travelling by wheelchair so am wondering what will work best? Need to keep him warm and dry! He is only 54 so he wont have the rain coat type things for in his chair 'cos thats what old biddys have'

How about a cycling cape - they've got plenty of material at the front to keep knees dry, but not too much at the back to get rucked up. Comes mostly in a high-viz yellow. Or for something more discreet, how about a military-surplus camouflage poncho?
http://www.patrolbase.co.uk/details1.asp/ProductID/490/german-snow-poncho.htm

I can also thoroughly recommend a Snugglesafe heat pad to keep on his lap - they're for pets, look like a rock-solid frisbee that you put in the microwave to heat up. One of those and a poncho, he'll be dry and toasty! :rotfl:

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

Barneysmom wrote: »

Hello olliebeak, it was purely condensation.
Whenever the patio door leading to the conservatory was opened, all the heat escaped into the conservatory. The heat hits the cold glass causing it.
Just too cold in there to dry out I guess
Also, letting the dog out if it's been raining the water comes in aswell.
Trouble is we have had the conservatory for 5 years and didn't really have a problem before this year.
So, should I make heavy curtains for the windows next winter or will it make the problem worse, I don't want to spend a load of money on fabric if they are going to get mould on them?

About your conservatory.
We had the same problem even though it was heated all of the time.
The problem cleared when we bought a dehumidifyer.
Best thing is running a dehumidifyer not only keeps the conservatory dry and mould free but it warms the room too.
We did'nt need the heating on in there unless we were actually sitting in there because it was dry and felt a lot warmer.
The money we spent on the dehumidifyer and its running costs were probably paid for by not using the heating in the conservatory too.

Beetlemama

Beetlemama wrote: »

We use the plastic cling film type stuff on our windows, it's the one you hair-dryer and it goes all tight. The real downside to this is if it is hot of stuffy (coal fires are hard to regulate) you can't open the window, but it did last and it made a huge difference to the temp in the bedrooms.

Well, I didn't expect to be doing this the first week of September, but it's turned so cold that we're gazing longingly at the heating controls again, so I am "cling-filming" our living room windows today. I'll wait to do the bedrooms a bit longer.