Preparing for winter II

Cinny91

I was going to say, I ordered from them Saturday afternoon and got the dispatched email yesterday morning (and that they'd cancelled one item from my order that was OOS - the grey Golddigga scarf. Come on, who took it?! ) OH is off work today and normally calls/texts if anything exciting looking like a parcel comes through the post so fingers crossed!

Chillout - Those hats look pretty good! There's a similiar style one on Sports Direct actually for £6, although to pay a bit extra to get one that fits perfectly might be worth it. In all fairness, I just tend to stick to ear muffs. But the £2 trapper hat they were selling was a little too cute to pass up on.

Had one last trip to Focus yesterday as I was going past. Mainly for draught excluding tape as the windows really ate it when I started on the windows Saturday night. Managed to grab the last pack for 71p (was £7.15 :eek: and people wonder why they're closing!) Should quite easily get the rest done now.

Also, what are peoples tips on keeping Kitchen's warm? We're planning on making the windows a bit 'warmer' with the double glazing film, and draught tape. And will be getting a reflective board to put behind the radiator, there is a spare halogen heater we kept in there but it didn't make much difference at all bar making the place look orange. Any tips?

anguk

Army & Navy type stores often sell the Russian style hats quite cheaply. I bought a couple a few years ago from a little independent army surplus shop in town, they had brilliant things like thermal undies & socks good quality and cheap. Sadly it's closed now.

anguk

Cinny91 wrote: »

Also, what are peoples tips on keeping Kitchen's warm? We're planning on making the windows a bit 'warmer' with the double glazing film, and draught tape. And will be getting a reflective board to put behind the radiator, there is a spare halogen heater we kept in there but it didn't make much difference at all bar making the place look orange. Any tips?

We had lots of trouble keeping our kitchen warm every winter, it's an offshot built on the back of the house (unsuitable for cavity wall insulation) and the radiator in there only gets warm, apparently it was added on to the existing central heating and the pump isn't powerful enough? but it's rented so there's not much we can do about it.

Last year I put a thick curtain up at the back door and window which made a difference but the biggest help came from a Challenge oil filled radiator I got from Argos (half price in the sale so it's worth keeping an eye on them). I put it on a timer switch so it would be warm when we got up in the morning and then just ran it on a low setting all day. It made a massive difference and didn't add a great deal to the electric bill.

Reverbe

anguk wrote: »

Army & Navy type stores often sell the Russian style hats quite cheaply. I bought a couple a few years ago from a little independent army surplus shop in town, they had brilliant things like thermal undies & socks good quality and cheap. Sadly it's closed now.

Man i used to get tons of stuff from the Army and navy when i was a kid..havent seen one in years

sammy_kaye18

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
[STRIKE]move pooches bed[/STRIKE]now snuggly warm in the kitchen
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!
EDIT : [STRIKE]Front door mat to a)tidy up living room, and make hallway a bit warmer[/STRIKE]£3.99 colour matching doormat to the hallway - feels much better already!

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
[STRIKE]Hot water bottles[/STRIKE] - Brought two lil bottles today with knitted covers - reduced to £1 in B&M - pink for holly and mulitcoloured for ben
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 - INVESTIGATED -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


Sorry just figured I would update my list - took me nearly half hour to find it in this thread because it moves so quick.

Also wanted to add that Ethol Austin have gone into administration again now and they had lots of stuff at 20% off today and they were selling fleece trousers for £4 in a variety of colours - Im going to be popping back there very soon I think to stock up on pyjamas for us all, snuggly socks and a few jumpers/hoodies etc

life_in_termoil

I saw some fleece onesies in Primark last winter, wouldnt mind some of these. Will have to go and see if they have any in store.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

thanks to everyone who posted on this thread, its given me a kick up the bum to get organised. I found some really nice curtains in a charity shop on saturday which had not been 'pulled' so looked brand new, I wasnt sure on the size but i think they will be ok for the kitchen as it gets a bit parky in there in winter. They were only £5.50 and lined.

I am starting to get stocked up again as the store cupboard is running low, also I bought an old purse from a charity shop and will put £25 a month away until xmas and keep the money for january as I always run low on money then, also saving on a card for grocery stamps for january shop too.

I find that xmas is ok but january isnt as its a 6 week month with getting paid early just before xmas.

Also putting extra money into the gas and electric fund as price set to rise and we used more last year so want ot get in front for this year

icelandic_queen

Putting away 25 quid in a purse for January is a really good idea and one I'm going to borrow!!

chirpychick

You guys are such a bad influence!

I have seen some winter boots that i want from sports direct, they are £40 reduced from £70 but ive never spent that much on shoes before, i really need them as my current shoes are no good and now falling apart and last winter my feet were constantly wet and cold

But luckily today we got a cheque from the insurance people for a doggy accident a few months ago and we are getting more than we expected so convinced hubby to let me buy the boots as they should last for years given my current £6 pair lasted me 2 year and now have mouths LOL.

When im jobless in 3 weeks time money will be impossibly tight so i was thinking of getting the christmas presents of scarves hats and gloves for family too and making little winter hampers including a mug and hot choccie sachet with marshmallows and candycane and some homemade biccies and fudge. do you think this would be well received?

also we wont be using the car apart from when we need shopping or to visit the elderly in laws so hubby will be walking to work and he really needs some waterproofs so im going to order them and some thermal gloves. Ive seen a thermal hat too but he said he wont wear it, should i get it anyway incase? or trust that he really wont wear it?

I think not having use of the car also justifies my winter boots dont you think

We got 2 door curtains and a blind off ebay for £5 and 2 blinds for the bedrooms from argos in the sale but we are just finishing painting so they havent been put up yet.

I am going carbooting sunday to look for some blankets.

we still need to insulate the loft and fill a crack in the bay window.

we have the solar panel people coming out in July (im stupidly excited about this) i got 2 candles from Morrisons reduced section on saturday 29p each inc holders.

i have a long list really of things that still need to be done but we are definately getting there one little step each week.

im really really praying for lots of cold weather and snow this winter so i have every excuse to stay in and snuggle

oh and also we normally traipse around families houses at christmas everyone is an hour away in opposite directions so this year in one of my very old books i read about a mulled wine and mince pie party - the idea is you send out invites and tell people you will be home between 4-8pm on a set day before christmas and you are having an open house. I like this because everyone will come to us for a change saving our petrol money and all i have to provide is mulled wine and mince pie one per person so no great cost. Also very fun i like making mince pies and mulled wine too.

sorry completely rambling now but i love this thread and i hope that little idea above will help some others who usually have lots of visiting to do especially with the cost of petrol these days.

auntymabel

candie_gill wrote: »

thought i would let everyone know about some curtain hooks i have found. Wilkos do them too i think. Basically they are a normal ring on a curtain pole with like a mini clip that you clip the curtain onto. You can either use them to clip your curtains up as i have (will clip fleece behind in september time). Or you can alternate between your normal rings on the pole and clip the fleece up that way. Easier then pinning or sewing as easily detatched come summer. Cheapest decent fleece i can find is in asda for £3.50 it is, they do it in brown, cream and red. Im going to getit in brown as i have brown curtains. Starting to wonder if buying curtain lining would be cheaper hmmm

Halfcost have some some curtain linings 168cm by 137cm 1.99 per pair. Postage is 3.99 though. I was thinking of getting some myself if I can find something else to buy to justify the postage as I only need one pair. HTH

http://www.halfcost.co.uk