Things that worked or didn't work last winter

bluebag

missrir

re the neoprene wellies, make sure you are sitting down before you ask the price. Ooooof!

missrlr

bluebag wrote: »

missrir

re the neoprene wellies, make sure you are sitting down before you ask the price. Ooooof!

Yeeeeees, may be not! Will water test old Wellies to check if they do actually leak first

Discovered the dehumidifier I thought was borrowed is actually DH owned, bingo!

the_cake

Cosy socks: the ones called Heat Holders cost about £5 a pair (about £6 for the longer ones) and work very well ... but they are not very long lasting, and probably difficult to darn as they rely on their fluffy innards for their cosiness. But they are excellent - I used to sell them in a shop I worked in, and masses of people would be sceptical, buy one pair, then come back and buy loads more. And don't forget my favourite Cosy Hint & Tip - Bedsocks! xx

alice-mary

I know that it is only May (try telling the weather) but I am sitting by the coal fire that I just had to light today and thinking how glad I am that I still had some coal to burn! I have just re-read this entire thread and am already thinking about what needs doing before next winter, even though I am not convinced that we have quite left the last one yet!

I now have new front and back doors so there shouldn't be any draughts in future and am wondering what I should do with the "curtains" that I used to have in front of them. They are huge sofa throws that were too itchy to use on the sofa so I stitched curtain rings onto them and used them for the doors but now I am stuck for ideas. I have lots of fleeces and blankets for the beds, chairs and sofa, with a couple for the car too so I would appreciate some ideas for the ITCHY ITEMS from the readers on here. TIA

Alice
xx

Ken68

I reckon you will still need curtains for the doors,Alice, you probably still have the poles up.
Maybe not for the draughts but more for insulation. I have double heavy curtains on both doors front and back, one lot on a track and the other on rings.
Or use them over the windows at nightimes.

[Deleted User]

I wear bedsocks even at the moment as my circulation isn't good.the rest of me is warm but my trotters are freezing so I have a stash of wolly bedsocks that keep my tootsies cosy I can't bear to be cold.I also have several knitted (by myself of course) blankets that go over my knees when watching t.v.With the evr increasing cost of heating I do all sorts of things to keep me warm My best buy last winter was a huge cotton dressing gown from The White Company,it cost me £50.00 but has been brilliant as I can slip it on when getting out of the shower and as its cotton towelling its like wearing a large towel so I can get dry very quickly.I have even been know to wear a beanie indoors to keep my head warm I see no point in being cold, and layer up when its chilly

twiglet98

I'd definitely keep the door 'curtains' up, every layer you can put between the room and the door (or even the walls) helps keep the room warmer.

JackieO, my DD got us tickets for Robbie too!

K9sandFelines

foxgloves wrote: »

Fridge magnets over keyholes is genius......it's little things like that when you wonder why you never thought of it yourself. A draught issue I just can't seem to think of a solution for is our catflap. The catflap is through the wall and does the job well where comings & goings of large free-spirited cat are concerned, but the wind blows straight through it into the kitchen. I've cut this down a fair bit by putting up a much more heavyweight curtain (recycled out of something that has already been 3 different things but still looks good!) but our house is already quite open plan downstairs (due to 'improvements' done by previous owners) & I reckon the catflap is responsible for lowering the temperature a good bit. Toyed with the idea of one of those flaps which only opens when cat approaches wearing little remote control tag on his collar as that wouldn't blow open, but our cat is a long-term stray (now homed with us), a bit of a warrior and always losing his collars in fights with neighbouring moggies. Might experiment with little catflap curtain & try tempting him through with a favourite stinky tin on the other side! Anyone else had this problem & solved it?

There is one you get which opens via the microchip also ... forgot the name.

elisabeth76

Thanks for all the great ideas for keeping warm for next winter I always feel the cold so I'll make a note of the new ones.
One new one I discovered this year which might be helpful, like some other posters, we have a howling gale coming down our chimney on occasions. I try to avoid using the gas fires and as they are 'only for show' rely on the central heating. However, feeling annoyed that all our lovely heat was going up the chimney discovered there was a solution called chimney balloons. They come in 3 different sizes and you insert them into the cavity and inflate them to occlude the draught. The improvement was immediate. You obviously just have to remember to remove it before turning on the fire.

Redleela

K9sandFelines wrote: »

There is one you get which opens via the microchip also ... forgot the name.

Just in case someone is still looking for this cat flap it is called Petporte. We have one & it has kept the neigbourhood brute at bay.

http://www.staywell.co.uk/Intl/UK/Products/Pet-Porte-Smart-Flap/Microchip-Smart-Flap-Wall-Mount-White

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/category.asp?dept_id=933