Preparing for winter II

jamanda

Toonie wrote: »

Can I ask what may be a novice question? I want to get curtains to replace the blinds in my rented flat, but I'm not sure about getting the measurements right. I don't want to mess it up. Is there a way I can measure the window and then add on a certain amount to get the right sized curtains? Or a better way of doing this? Thanks in advance.

You need to measure from where the curtain will be hung, i.e. curtain rail or pole, to where you want them to come to. Then add on extra for turnings for each curtain. I usually add on 3 - 4" for heading and 4 -5" for hem, depending on the weight of the fabric. Multiply by 2 (2 curtains) and that is the amount of fabric you need.

Widthways, measure your window across, and ideally each curtain should be about that width so you get plenty of gathers in them. Lesser widths will do, but will look a bit skimpy when you draw them closed.

Can you have blinds and curtains? I was just thinking the extra layer will be warmer for you in the winter.
HTH

J

muffin_man_7

my eldest daughter has both blinds and curtains and the room is warmer with both we are both looking for thermal linings to fit it as well but it's a big window with a big drop so not easy to find we will as a last resort join two narrow ones together so long as they are the right length hth

candie_gill

I have blinds and curtains too, if your blind is on the outside of the window trim it if need be and fit on the inside. Then your curtain pole and curtains on the outside

COOLTRIKERCHICK

I started collecting old pallets and wood etc a few weeks ago ready for winter...alot of people will not think about looking for free wood at the mo, with the warmer days... but come september/october, then people will be rushing round trying to find free wood

we have a coal fire in the living room that heats the water and rads etc, but over the last few years we have started burning more wood on there instead, ok the front glass is now black etc, but i would rather have black glass and save on buying coal...

I really feel sorry for people who have gas.. with all the price hikes.... we were thinking about changing to gas when we bought the house 18 years ago, when coal was so out of fashion.... now we are soooooooooo glad we didnt, as even though coal has got expensive too, at least we can try and keep costs down with free wood.

Gettingtherequickly

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

ok the front glass is now black etc, but i would rather have black glass and save on buying coal...

My mum has a wood burner and religiously cleans the glass every morning before it gets hot. It takes about 2 minutes and more importantly, allows the heat through, amazing how much can be held back by black glass!

Rainy-Days

Gettingtherequickly wrote: »

My mum has a wood burner and religiously cleans the glass every morning before it gets hot. It takes about 2 minutes and more importantly, allows the heat through, amazing how much can be held back by black glass!

There is a really simple and easy way to clean the glass. Take some old newspaper, scrunch it up and dip it into a bowl of water, dab the wetted newspaper into the ash and then rub and scour onto the glass. The ash acts as a scourer and removes the built up deposits! Then taking a clean sheet of newspaper again dip it into the water and then use that to clean down the remainder of the glass.
It's a really easy way to clean it all off and as the other poster has said it is going to be one hell of allot warmer for you and you will get the benefit of seeing those flames flicker too.

Bobbykins

I second rainy-days suggestion on cleaning the glass with ash - it works brilliantly. Just a word of warning though, only do it if you have only been burning wood. Don't try it with coal ash or it scratches the glass (ask me how I know:eek:)

mennie

I have spent the last 2 weeks going through all the winter thread with a notebook and pen and have come up with my list

I dont need to buy as much this year as last year I lined the curtains, bought heat reflects for the radiators, bought draft excluders.

So what I need/want for this year it

• more flannellette bedding, it was fab last year!!
• mattress liner - I used a duvet last year but it wouldnt stay in place and kept bunching up
• Thermals for us both
• more jumpers for me
• a clothes airer
• Flask
• 2 thermal mugs
• Make rice bags
• 500 tealights, we used so many last year, without any power cuts
• Fully stocked storecupboard, medicine cabinet and bathroom.

At the minute I am at the compaing prices stage, I will start buying next month.

We were snowed in for 2 weeks last year and my hubby was off work for 3 weeks - unpaid.

So this year, the biggest prep we have done is save up, so if it happens agaion (fingers crossed) we can enjoy it.

Toonie

Thanks for the help with the measurements

jamanda wrote: »

Can you have blinds and curtains? I was just thinking the extra layer will be warmer for you in the winter.
HTH

J

The blinds are falling apart and as we are a second floor flat close to a valley the winds are terrible and we've had to tie the blind to the radiator to stop it blowing in, so ideally we want some heavy curtains. I am planning on getting some foam insulation for around the windows though, as they aren't great either.

Confuzzled

mennie wrote: »

• more flannellette bedding, it was fab last year!!
• mattress liner - I used a duvet last year but it wouldnt stay in place and kept bunching up
• Make rice bags

this year i bought king size flannelette sheets do fit on my double bed, reason being is because i use 2-3 old duvets underneath me both as a topper and to keep me warmer in winter. i figure with that many underneath a king size sheet should fit nicely over the top and if it's loose it will only need a few stitches to tighten it up just right. this will then add just that bit more warmth AND keep my duvets from moving around so much :T

as for the rice bags, i use rice versus wheat as i can't find wheat bags without lavendar (i'm allergic to it) with using rice i'd highly recommend testing EACH individual bag in increments of 15 seconds of microwave time to find the sweet spot for each. if you have an 800 watt microwave and fill a wooly sock fairly full i'd start out at 2 minutes and work up til you find the right temp. you don't want to overdo it because once burnt the rice will stink or burnt popcorn every time you nuke it again... this i know from years of experience using them, it's not a nice smell

i've been using the same rice in my current sock for around 18 months, though after this time you may find that the rice starts to break down into small bits and will start to get forced out through the tiny holes in the weave of the sock or whatever you're using, if so you may need to replace the rice again. i use value rice last i checked one kilo was 75p and it took about 2/3rds of the bag to fill my sock but paying that even once a year is a bargain for the pain relief and warmth of a lovely hot rice sock! i use the socks a lot in winter to warm my hands which get really cold when i'm sitting for long periods of time as i work from home using my computer all day... rice sock and a large cup of warm tea really help for warming cold hands, pair that with slipper boots (they cover that spot at our ankle that often gets exposed and cold) and i find it's much easier to stay comfortable even in a cool house.

last night i was watching an old grand designs and this couple were saying 'oh we like this greenhouse style living , it stays a fairly consistent 26C and if it's really cold out we can just add a few logs to the fire to top up the heat' i nearly fainted from shock! i don't like it when it's 26C outside i certainly wouldn't want that INSIDE :eek: they had all thermal glass and a ground source heat pump, nice to know they work well but my goodness can you imagine living in that kind of heat all the time indoors? then they said they always find everyone elses houses so cold... well no wonder :rotfl: