Frugal but happy in winter?

jcr16

both hubby and i grew up in houses with real fires , so for us there is nothing better. however we don't ahve an open fire in current house( but we do have a chimney so have plans to get it sorted somewhen)

however what we have is an electric fire which looks like a wood burner. we don't use it for heat but it has a switch where u can just turn the lights on in it and it gives a glow like a real fire. doesn't cost much to run this way and the look of it makes u feel warmer even tho it doesn't. It is great on wet windy cold days ( like today) when curtains are drawn lights are on , one low and the fire lights are turned on. makes u feel very snuggle and cheerful

nanokitten

Hot water bottle and lots of nice music playing (make yourself some compliation CD's for various moods, get up and go, chilled out, etc.... really good way to boost your mood.

nanokitten

Also if your energy saving lightbulbs are too dim, invest in higher wattage ones, they might cost a little more but a lightbulb which is not bright enough to see by is a false economy imo (and you''ll still be saving money compared to conventional lightbulbs. see here for more info:
http://ebulbshop.com/acatalog/Wattage_equivilent_and_colour_temperatures.html
you can also get daylight energy saving (CFL) bulbs
eg: http://ebulbshop.com/acatalog/Bayonet_Cap.html

cheerfulness4

celyn90 wrote: »

Otherwise, bring winter foliage in to brighten the place up, make sure the house is aired and not stuffy, have something in the house that smells nice, change the linen frequently and keep the place tidy so your not depressed by pile of things to do Try to get outside at least once a day

What good suggestions - all stuff that you can do whatever your type of house.
Love the idea particularly of bringing winter foliage indoors.

I do the same as most with the candles, hot chocs, cosy blankies & dvds etc.
The one other change we made was to repaint the living room a really light shade and it seems to radiate the little light levels we have in darkest winter around the room.
We warm it up with lots of accessories with deep reds, golds and 'clotted cream' coloured touches. Very warm and cosy.

Nitha

Sainsburys have done a range of wintery scented candles in scents like ginger bread and plum pudding. A bit pricy a £4.99, but they do smell amazing!

cheerfulness4

They sound lovely nither. DS2 and I have a tradition of lighting the candles at 3.30pm and closing the curtains in mid winter to keep the warmth in.
Actually feeling quite cheerful at the thoughts of it.

Bitsy_Beans

Ah stop it you'll have me wishing for Winter and Christmas at this rate.
I have to say I love sitting in the dark with just the Christmas tree lights on twinkling Ooooooh am getting excited just at the thought of it <insert saddo icon here>

slash69

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

Ah stop it you'll have me wishing for Winter and Christmas at this rate.
I have to say I love sitting in the dark with just the Christmas tree lights on twinkling Ooooooh am getting excited just at the thought of it <insert saddo icon here>

i'm with you bb there is nothing quite like sitting in the dark with the fairy lights on and chrissie songs playing, sat watching a certain shopping channel tues and they were having a christmas craft day i got all excited and started re checking my xmas pressie and cards list and sorted out all the xmas music and dvd's into a little basket..i soooo luuuurve xmas lol

Bitsy_Beans

slash69 wrote: »

i'm with you bb there is nothing quite like sitting in the dark with the fairy lights on and chrissie songs playing, sat watching a certain shopping channel tues and they were having a christmas craft day i got all excited and started re checking my xmas pressie and cards list and sorted out all the xmas music and dvd's into a little basket..i soooo luuuurve xmas lol

Gosh you sound as bad as me. I end up breaking out the Xmas music around October as I just love it

Bring on winter - I've had enough of this rubbish summer. At least in Winter I can expect it to be cold and wet and dress appropriately

slash69

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

Gosh you sound as bad as me. I end up breaking out the Xmas music around October as I just love it

Bring on winter - I've had enough of this rubbish summer. At least in Winter I can expect it to be cold and wet and dress appropriately

:rotfl:i know the feeling, last week of november i start getting all antsy cos i wanna put the tree up (put it up 1st dec) and then get depressed after new year as it's gotta come down on 12th night