Things that worked or didn't work last winter

Rainy-Days

Things that worked for us last winter:-

Putting extra milk in the freezer for emergency along with bought frozen veg.
Making sure we were well stocked with food and did the butchers visit as well.
Our bin is kept in the back porch which is double glazed and off the kitchen. The bin is out there so what we did was had a carrier bag hanging on the inside kitchen door and we put our rubbish in there then I went out once a day to empty it into the bigger bin. Only one trip out and that was enough.
Switching the gas radiator off in the conservatory and using a greenhouse heater on a timer switch out there, saved big time not having the radiator going mad trying to keep it warm.
Having the new boiler fitted in October 2010 was a boon.
Bulk buying in the wood, coal, sacks of dog food, all horse feed, hay/hayledge and straw saved us quite a bit of money and we have done the same this year.
Aigle neoprene wellington boots.
The Land Rover Discovery which we got in October 2010 was just a massive boon. We couldn't have really done without it to be honest. Previously we had Freelanders and upgraded to the Discovery more for pulling the horsebox. During the bad weather it came into it's own and we ended up pulling stranded motorists out of ditches and some who had just got stuck on the road.

What didn't work too well

Was drying stuff in the house on the airers we got allot of condensation as a result and we had to bite the bullet and use the tumble dryer!
Trying to clear the snow from the driveway using a shovel was no joke so we have bought a snow shovel this year.

SpikyHedgehog

unixgirluk wrote: »

Have you seen the plastic curtain strips they have to separate the warehouse from the shop floor in a supermarket? A former colleague of mine used their integral garage for storage as well, they found they were losing a lot of heat through it to the point the bedroom above was always cold and the floor freezing. I suggested the plastic curtain strips. They actually got vinyl from freecycle (or buy a off cut from a carpet store) and suspended it from the garage ceiling. They also tiled the garage ceiling with polystyrene tiles. This really held the heat and stopped the rest of the house getting so cold.

We're going to get some of these for preschool, as we're supposed to have the doors open so the children can go in & out as they please, which I agree is good early education practice, but = COLD :cool: Not too expensive either - for the 2 sets of double doors at preschool, we were looking about £200 for the strips & fixings. when I worked it out for the old building when we only had 1 single door we wanted them at, it would have been about £35 but that was a couple of years ago. For domestic you could go with less heavy duty ones unless you have small children you think will pull at them... We know ours will, so have gone for jolly sturdy ones. Can't find the link right now as it's at work, but if you search 'plastic strips for doorways', it will bring up loads of companies that do them.

bigsmoke

Chocolatepennyfarthing - don't know what kind of size/quality you're looking for but my local 99p store had some in today. Some without covers, some with 'knitted rubbed polo-neck jumper' style covers.

The ones with covers seemed quite cute to me for 99p but no idea how long they will last (does the rubber go on cheapy ones, does anyone know?).

BSx

oldtractor

chocolatepennyfarthing wrote: »

Anyone know who does cheap hot water bottles/covers?

i wrap mine in a towel.

rampies_wife

Minihauk wrote: »

Probably a stupid question, but would space blankets work behind radiators if they were fixed to cardboard? They are ultra cheap - 2 for 99p in the cheap shops. They are insulated and would reflect the heat, wouldn't they?

This is exactly what we did last year and it worked a treat .
We just wrapped boxes that our garden furniture came in cut some slots out to slip over the hanging brackets then wrapped them in the space blankets bought at the pound shop.Overall an afteroons work and ££££££ cheaper than ready made ones.:T

Eenymeeny

bigsmoke wrote: »

Chocolatepennyfarthing - don't know what kind of size/quality you're looking for but my local 99p store had some in today. Some without covers, some with 'knitted rubbed polo-neck jumper' style covers.

The ones with covers seemed quite cute to me for 99p but no idea how long they will last (does the rubber go on cheapy ones, does anyone know?).

BSx

We were always taught to store rubber waterbottles hung upside down with the stopper out, so that any moisture will drain out. That way the rubber shouldn't perish.
(If you don't have a hole in the end poke a knitting needle or skewer through but take care that you don't puncture yourself! I always attach the stopper to the bottle too so that it doesn't get lost.:)

bigsmoke

ooh, thanks eenymeeny, that's really useful to know

Fruball

I store the stopper for my HWB inside the cover - no risk of losing it then

Altho we prefer microwaved wheat filled teddies (warmies) now. Always be careful not to overheat them though as they could pose a fire risk

bluebag

chocolatepennyfarthing wrote: »

Anyone know who does cheap hot water bottles/covers?

I wrap mine in a pillowcase, just shove it down the bottom and double it over, I can finagle it half undone too when it starts cooling down.
Cheap and cheerful and matches the bedding.
If you need one for the eldely or a child, try a flanellette pillowcase.

bigsmoke

Frugal - I've actually just invested in one of those as we were lucky enough to find an old microwave out on the street for the binmen the other night. It was pretty filthy but after a good scrub down it seems to be working just fine.

I have problems with my neck so got one of the long thin ones that you can drape around your shoulders (with a fluffy polka-dot fleecy cover on it. i'm about to move desks at work mind, not sure what my new 'neighbours' will think of it - it's scented with lavender too!)

bs x