Preparing for winter II

kidcat

Confuzzled wrote: »

when i grew up in the states my mom bought me these little clips on elastic it was like a little clawed clip on either end of a short bit of elastic one end clipped to the coat and one to the coat.

solved the same problem but no tangles and a lot more comfortable. sadly i've never seen anything like that in the UK or when i was in amsterdam... i'd buy some for me too if i could find them

I bought those last winter for my two youngest, school were really pleased as it saved them endlessly trying to get gloves matched to the right kid and they dont like elastic or wool threaded through the coat in case they get it caught round the neck.
I think it was jojo bebe maman website.

maryb

I used to cut two pieces of 1 inch wide elastic, about 5 inches long and sew one end to the cuff of their school coats and the other to the glove. Stopped them getting tangled up in the cord but was long enough to let the sleeve ride up naturally when they raised their arms

sb44

Confuzzled wrote: »

you probably don't want to hear then that i have all of mine and i am having to hold myself back from buying a few more goodies then

To be honest we only buy each other a couple of things, something for the mother in law and the rest for our 11 year old and she has been told she won't be getting a lot as we don't have the money.

At least I won't have to buy food for over Christmas as we are going to my mother in laws on Anglesey. Well, I will be buying chocs, snacks and booze as we start our eating and drinking from the 1st December.

Confuzzled

sb44 wrote: »

To be honest we only buy each other a couple of things, something for the mother in law and the rest for our 11 year old and she has been told she won't be getting a lot as we don't have the money.

At least I won't have to buy food for over Christmas as we are going to my mother in laws on Anglesey. Well, I will be buying chocs, snacks and booze as we start our eating and drinking from the 1st December.

the only reason i'm so organised is that in my early 20's i had about 4 years in a row when novemeber rolled around and just before i was planning to buy presents for the family something major financial would happen and i'd be left scraping by for a few months.

so now i buy all year round when i can get good deals and squirrel things away. i have to make myself dig things out and take inventory every few months to make sure i'm heading in the right direction and not overbuying

i really loathe the shops near christmas it's too congested, too much tension in the air and TOO HOT (why do they jack the heat up, it only makes people want to leave not buy!) though i do miss the fun parts of it so i save a wee bit back for the edinburgh christmas fair each year

this year my ex is about 6 months beyond his funding for his ph.d. and he won't be able to do much for anyone as far as pressies go so i've kept it low key on this end too so he doesn't get shown up by me. the wee one already lives with me i don't want to make him look bad too! so that's made it easier to keep up with getting the pressies bought!

my daughters been very reasonable i told her it would likely be a low frills year and she's not been at all upset about it. if you're upfront with your child she'll probably be ok too as long as she has a little warning not to expect too much... besides maybe you'll grab a fantastic deal off of the grabbit now board for a pittance that will greatly exceed her now lowered expectations

NualaBuala

muffin_man_7 wrote: »

no you are not the only one i prefere a back pack if i'm out for a while need some where to put a drink tabs and any bargains if i see any i only wear jeans because they have pockets need some where safe to keep me cards and cash

Confuzzled wrote: »

sorry my grammar is appalling at 4am

yes i am often seen with a rucksack as well if i think i may need to carry stuff, and i am not ashamed of my trolley either... i'm way past worrying about being trendy and well into not liking pain anymore in my 'old age' of nearly 40 :rotfl:

Crikey, I would barely be able to string two words together at that time of night!


So that's a few of us into rucksacks, I feel vindicated! My "girlie" friends might laugh but I am always prepared with an extra layer, tissues, water, a snack, painkillers, rain jacket etc. I'll be 40 next year and have no qualms about trolleys ... isn't that the great thing about getting older, you just don't give a stuff!:D I think I'd find it too much hassle though, prefer my little rucksack. I don't feel the weight once I don't overload it and wear it properly.

I bought my sister one of the furry hot water bottles I got for myself and she is delighted. And she admired my homemade wheat bag, have offered to do one for her too. So we will both be snuggly!

After being down to 0 or -1C the other night it feels quite mild tonight. Will enjoy it while it lasts!

adelight

Curtains are all up! Finally! There's now a 2mx2m depressing brown square on my wall so I hope they help!
I did a little price comparison on electricity providers and found out that... we're on the most expensive tarriff possible for our usage :eek:
Based on our current usage we'd save 10% with most other providers, and 30% with scottish power.
I want to switch!!

muffin_man_7

pagangirl wrote: »

Hi - lurker jumping ahead 10 pages for advice.

Have made foil wotsits for between radiator/wall but how on earth do you attach them to wall - or am I just being dumb? Would blue tack work?

Any advice gratefully received.

hi pagangirl only just read your post i've stuck a silver foiled camping mat behind our living room radiater i used drawing pins i'm hoping it will help keep heat in this year as we only have gcheating hth

julsifer

hi everyone i have been stalking this thread for absolutely aages and have finally decided to join in

Well so far out of all the handy tips i've gotten from here, i have managed to:

Home-make a draught excluder for the main door which has had thick curtains on it all year round.

added some draught excluder adhesive round the already existing draught excluding strip, double the exclusion

changed bedding to warm flannelette sheets, cover and pillows, (awaiting mattress topper to be delivered)

lined bedroom curtains with cheap charity shop fleeces

Bought thermal shirt from aldi's (£2.99) and thermal socks for me and OH (£1.99/s)

Bought my christmas cards from aldi pretty glittery ones

Hot water bottle each with no covers for us, warms the bed up nicely.

Bought a wind up torch and a bag of big tea lights from wilkos, went back to wilkos today and found pack of ordinary sized scented tea lights, 30p for 12 ...bought 3 packs

STILL TO DO

fleece line living room curtains and bubble wrap some windows

find a new mini oven as our packed up last week and the oven on our cooker has never worked:(:(
xxx

stiltwalker

Hi there,

So glad I've been following this thread and done things like lining the curtains etc as the boiler conked out this morning, dead, kaput This boiler is an ex boiler! LA has found someone to come and put a new one in as the guy he usually uses is too busy already but he's away and can't come til tomorrow or Monday to see what needs ordering etc. Trying to be Pollyanna (did anyone else read that as a child or or you all gazing blankly at me?) about the whole thing and think that at least we'll get a nice shiny new boiler that will be more efficient and cheaper to run out of it and at least it's not freezing! Hope to have it all fixed before the temp drop even more. So a big thank you to everyone for there hints and tips on keeping the cold out we'll be using them all over the next few days more than ever.

katholicos

Brought myself a long sleeved thermal vest this afternoon from an M & S outlet store so it was only £6. I am currently wearing it and despite the temperature being 14 degrees indoors though i feel a little chilly it is not unbearably so. The heating is off at the moment as i have been out, but i may put it on for an hour to take the chill out of the air.