Preparing for winter II

Petlamb

looking at mysupermarket, seems 3kg will cost about £1.35 - does that seem good to most? or will somewhere else net me a saving?

last winter we really struggled as this flat is at the bottom of a hill and the hill gets SO icy! (Naturally town is at the top of the hill!)

inspirespirit

I am reading this thread with much interest. I HAVE to get my fuel bills down this Winter as I'm still paying off excess from last Winter.

Also, any tips regarding cars will be very welcome. Last year the motor bit of my windscreen wipers froze and cracked. At first when the wipers wouldn't work, I just thought it would cost me about a tenner for new blades, but oh no, it was the actual thing that made them go backwards and forwards. Nissan quoted me 250 pounds with a 4 week wait as they were like rocking horse droppings to get hold of because it was happening to so many people. Thankfully I managed to get one for 70 quid off that auction site and my local mechanic charged me 25 pounds to fit. So still just under a hundred pounds for something that could have been avoided had I taken necessary precautions to stop car from freezing up. I've learned my lesson and am nowpreparing myself for this Winter thanks to this very handy thread.

oldtractor

re keeping bills down. I've recently ordered some wolly pullovers for me and DH to wear in the house during the winter. They are reduced from £30 to £7.50. I've also picked up other items half price and some reduced to £5. Its the Edinborough Woollen Mill site if anyone is interested. I've saved a packet and look forward to saving even more when I dont need the heating on!

oldtractor

Does anyone know they sell those ice grip things to go on wellies or boots? I'm looking at discounted if possible.

ifonlyitwaseasier

try this

i got some a couple of months ago and have them in my winter box ready

muffin_man_7

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

try this

i got some a couple of months ago and have them in my winter box ready

best thing i ever got my eldest said they are great

sammy_kaye18

sammy_kaye18 wrote: »

So far I have this list to do things to the house
fleeces inside living room windows
fleeces on hollys window
fleeces on bens window
fleece inside our bedroom window
fleece on top bens bed
fleece on top our bed
fleece on top hollys cot
fleece under ben sheet
fleece under our sheet
fleece under hollys sheet
big rug for living room floor
[STRIKE]draft excluders[/STRIKE] Home Bargains have gravel weighted fleece draught excluders for £1.99 in a variety of colours and they have loops at the end for attaching - I got 4 - one for living room, one for each of the kids doors and a spare for ?????? possibly bathroom as I have a feeling the dog would destroy it if I put it in the kitchen
fleeces for sofa snuggling
move pooches bed
make a door curtain for front door
2 extendable shower rails or net curtain wire - INVESTIGATED - Home Bargains sell them for £3.99 and they will fit a 112cm - 200cm space - must measure doorways first
bath mat + toilet mat for bathroom to add warmth under foot
small curtain to fit small window in hallway
make a door curtain for back door
curtains in bens room
curtains in our room
curtains in cupboard in our bedroom
dressing gown for ben washed found it out ready to wash
bens slippers washedfound out ready to wash
shelves for kitchen alcoves to make a store cupboard note to self - you dont know how to put shelves up and Ow is a complete DIY phobic - look at how to site!

possible new fridge freezer?? INVESTIGATED - seen one for £229 which goes down to £218 with my coop discount but its plenty big enough for us - savings needed

this list for things to get for us
gloves/scarf/hat (me)
gloves/hat/scarf (ben)
gloves/hat (holly)
winter coat - ben
winter coat - holly
winter coat - me
fleece sleepsuits for holly
pyjamas (me)
pyjamas (ben)
vests (ben)
long sleeve body suits (holly)
me - slippers
me - jumpers/hoodys
ben - jumpers/hoodies
gripper/bed socks - me
gripper/bed socks - ben
gripper socks - holly
Hot water bottles
sports skins - ben (he will be into his rugby/football seasons then)
insulated cup for me for watching
reflective jacket/strips to wear for the school run Home Bargains selling a pack of 4 paw prints of hands for 49p each - will pick up next trip
reflective tape or clip ons for the buggy to be seen (road is poorly lit here)

And this list as general stock
[STRIKE]candles![/STRIKE] Got 200 tea lights for £4 today in Wilkinsons
[STRIKE]torch[/STRIKE] 3 small torches BTGOF (buy two get one free) blue for ben, red for holly, and silver for under the sink - kids to be kept in bedrooms
batteries! (ben has a touch light in his room and am considering getting another cheap pack to keep one at top of stairs/bottom of stairs in case of power cuts)
extra tins to stock up store cupboard
extra dog/terrapin food
baby food jars/milk

well I have made some progress at least today.

I have squirreled away the draft excluders, and the candles ready for later use. Have put Benjamin's torch in his bedroom already but told him its only for emergencies that he uses it.

Also brought a small lidded box in home bargains today for 99p that I plan to make a car survival kit from for my boyfriend to keep in the back/boot of his car. Im thinking of including the following
- granola/cereal bars
- bottled water
- fleece blanket
- dry socks
- dry tshirt
- roll of black bags - method to madness - can be worn as a poncho etc
- gloves/hat/buff
- window scraper
- small torch
- £2 in small change
- small shovel/trowel to at least help clear snow
- bag of salt

That way I know whilst my boyfriend is on his way to and from work that he has adequate supplies to see him through until help can arrive to him. He does also have a cell phone too but I'm thinking I might get a cheap PAYG phone and keep it for emergencies in the box too so that's added to my list. Am also considering some of those snap hand warmer things as they would provide at least a little heat and he wouldn't have to run the car then.

Also meant to add that I shall be adding salt to my list of things to stock up on. x

mcjordi

sammy- i think you paid a bit much for the tea lights.. £ shop have a bag of about 80/100 for £1 im sure of it..

i used dishwasher salt.. people thought i was crazy for mentioning snow in august but i had the last laugh when i had loads of it stored up ready to use and there was non left on the shelf when it snowed..
its a dear do tho so may mix it with table salt to make it go further this time round..

sammy_kaye18

mcjordi wrote: »

sammy- i think you paid a bit much for the tea lights.. £ shop have a bag of about 80/100 for £1 im sure of it..

I find the poundland tea lights are smaller and burn a lot quicker than wilkinsons ones so I got mine from wilkinsons. Will freeze them nearer the time though.

Have decided my new savings will go towards a new fridge freezer or dining table though.

Kitchenbunny

A good idea to work on a small box of things for the car. I already keep a blanket rolled up in a side compartment and have just bought a small first aid kit to go in too, but I think I'll also carry some of these for when it gets really cold. Also it's worth doing some precautionary checks on the car now and keep doing them to get into the habit so tyres are in good working order, as are brakes, etc. There's a motoring board on MSE which I'll be checking out too for other hints and tips.

I just got sidetracked looking at "self heating meals" and found some of these . I don't think I'll be buying them but it's good to know someone has thought of it! Bit pricey though.

KB xx