Preparing for winter II

Justamum

My quishions from JML are on the way. I need to buy some more hot water bottles. I've got a king-size 13.5 tog duvet which is a really good quality one from my mum. It weighs a ton though. This year I got DH and I single duvets so that there are no more duvet wars, so I'm going to cut the king-size one down. It should make one for me and I'll buy DH his own.

Money_maker

Klug wrote: »

What to do to help plan for the winter?

I feel the cold very badly (mum has Raynauds so may be heading that way!), but DH runs hot!

In the winter, I am always cold in bed despite flanelette PJ's (sexy!), hot water bottle and socks. DH won't let me have flanelette sheets on the bed as he is too hot.
Anyone got any ideas of how to keep me warm please?
I'm even cold today and its 20 degrees outside. :rotfl:

I have the same problem also! DH wonth have more than a 4.5 tog duvet all year round. I have a super heavy thick blanket which I fold over and have over my side - the big heavy ones will really make a difference. If still cold, I'll wear my thick fluffy dressing gown to bed too. Think this is a problem a lot of us have

Thanks for the weather link, Rainy-Days :eek:

candie_gill

Thankyou Rainydays, will be really handy for me to do this and i will stock up on tins of soup too as my OH loves these for supper on a cold night. Any more ideas for meals i could freeze? Going to buy 30 of those plastic takeaway type tubs and fill those and tell OH not to be eaten till winter! Got some fresh meatballs going spare atm so may freeze those for later on before they go off. Also plan to stock up on plenty of porridge, love it in winter with a bit of cinnamon and golden syrup.

I read earlier someone mentioned putting chains on pram wheels, i don't think this will work and your pram will make a big noise and be unsteady on level ground. A car has power behind it which is why it works, you will still have to push your pram through the snow- i remember last year i was ragging mine backwards to the bus stop- what a nightmare! Sorry i cant offer you any advice how to sort this, think its just one of those things unless your child will sit on a sledge?

Rainy-Days

If some of you are buying wellies you might want to think about putting an extra sole lining in them for extra warmth. Wilkinsons do a lambswool fleece sole liner which you just cut to the size of your shoe or boot and will give you extra cosiness especially if you suffer from poor circulation and cold. It is round by the shoes polish section of the store!

lillylei

slm6002 wrote: »

Is there anything that i could attach to my buggy wheels to help when pushing in the snow. In previous years they have tended to get clogged up. Just wondered as someone mentioned tyre chains. I will be doing a lot of walking with the buggy so just wondered or is it a little OTT?

If you can lock your wheels do that, those swivle wheels are great but I alwasy found (in both my stroller and big 4x4 buggy lol) that if i locked the front wheels it was easier to push, they still got a little clogged but brute force helped keep it moving.

Confuzzled

lillylei wrote: »

If you can lock your wheels do that, those swivle wheels are great but I alwasy found (in both my stroller and big 4x4 buggy lol) that if i locked the front wheels it was easier to push, they still got a little clogged but brute force helped keep it moving.

weird thought occured to me. if you could get your hands on a snow board, maybe from freegle or such like a stroller/pram could be lashed to that and bobs your uncle on snowy days, mind you that's a big IF but it could always be requested... skis would work too but would require sawing and sanding down to fit, a snowboard would be just right...

another thing that might work, old plastic fish boxes, again you could probably ask for one on freegle etc or go down to the docks if you live near the coast. anyway they are a decent size and you could wax the bottom, fashion a knotted rope as a pull and have a little room for some groceries as well as the child, this of course is dependent on having a child old enough to sit up ok but i bet they would find it a lot of fun

or you could get one of those strollers that the previously mentioned you tube video, not sure how much those are or how to order but they looked pretty good

slm6002

thanks for all of the great ideas - you are all so imaginative and creative

chirpychick

I cannot believe how quickly the winter is approaching.
Hubby did have a week off last week and we spent a good few days getting ourselves organised but i still feel as though i have so much that i need to do.
Asda had strong white bread flour on special offer yesterday (2 for £2) so i got 2 of those.
I am awaiting my final pay cheque due any day now so that i can sit down and work out exactly how much surplus we have if any to stock up on what we need.
This year will be the tightest year financially i have ever experienced and i am very very concerned about the gas and electricity. We are trying everything we possibly can.
Im even considering hand washing instead of using the washing machine!
We rarely have the television on now and turn everything off. We use a lamp instead of the "big light" but our bill is still £20 more expensive per month than last year.
I saw also in Asda that they had single duvet's for £5.99 so again when i know how much spare cash we have i will be getting one for the sofa.
I think thermals are very very expensive so im going to wear leggings under everything.
My hubby is fairly ok for winter clothes but i have nothing but luckily MIL and Nan are having clear outs so might be lucky when they give me their black sacks LOL.
I have almost given up on the flannelette now as they are way above budget this year.
I love this thread and look forward to learning more ways to protect us from the cold.

chirpychick

GUESS WHAT!!
I just went on to very for a check to see if any flannelette covers had come back into stock and they had!!!! Ok so i got the sheets 2 for £5 in blue and the duvet covers 2 in the yellow (they didnt have yellow sheets in the size i wanted) for £29 so thats £34 for 2 beds- the sheets dont match the duvet covers but nobody is going to see except hubby and i.

Rainy-Days

chirpychick wrote: »

I love this thread and look forward to learning more ways to protect us from the cold.

It's good isn't it! While we are beavering away getting our acts together the rest of the indiginous population are still thinking no further than the next pay packet.

I have not done too much today, but I did sit this afternoon with a nice cup of tea writing a list of things that still needs to be done over the next 12 weeks before Winter really does set in. Ideally, if all we have to do for the first couple of weeks of November is the leaf blower then I think we are sorted!

Left to do and in no particular order by October.
Clean and wash windows inside and out.
Check and WD40/oil the gates and hinges including the shed and side gate locks.
Sand down and stain bird table shed and arbour.
Tidy out shed
Buy Benylin cough mixture (October)
Poundland for the dehumidifier gels (might be able to get this tomorrow if they have them in stock).
Take out the mini greenhouse from the shed - put it up the top of the garden underneath the trees where it is sheltered
Repot all the cordylines and put those in bubble wrap inside the mini greenhouse. It might give them a bit of extra protection!
Sort through the wardrobes
Clean out freezer (list for butcher has been pretty much done) just a note for anything else we are running short of.
Sink 4 pints of semi skimmed milk and two loaves of bread in freezer marked up for 'emergency'.
Clean out guttering and facias
Put garden table and chairs away in the shed - end September
Turn off and drain the outside tap and put it's special cover round it.
Boiler is booked for service with engineer in September
Vacuum garage and quick tidy round out there.
Get a sack of each of red and white potatoes and protect them in the garage - October
Wash Throws
Clean and polish both cars, make sure all fluid levels are correct with tyre pressures. Monitoring Discovery front tyres as they might need changing currently on 3.5!
Remove all summer bedding plants and dispose of along with cutting back in the garden (October).
Dog food dried 15kg sacks x2 to get from Pets @ Home
Wash the new flannelette sheets
Wash the horse rugs - need to go to a specialist place for that!

Done
Tinned food (soups, beans & spaghetti etc) pretty much up to date and dealt with.
All winter coats washed
Hats, scarves and gloves either washed or leather treated.
All shoes and boots polished and where appropriate re-heeled/re-soled
All suede boots and gloves spray treated with protector product
Purchased one lot of flannelette sheets - another set to buy (half done)
Screen wash for the cars purchased and stored away in garage.
Christmas presents majority done (just need to be wrapped)
Cleaned out garage and storage cupboards
Stocked up on dog tinned food
Chimney swept
Coal and logs bulk bought and stored away
Log burner reblacked and all cleaned out ready to go
Curtains vacuumed/laundered
Cushion covers washed
My oak dressing table and other wooden furniture has been beeswaxed polished and buffed up.
Carpets and rugs throughout have been washed with vax machine
Draught excluder bought from Dunelm on Wednesday

List being added to and updated/amended


The weather forecasters WILL give us all a few days advanced warning for snow and serious bad weather however, us lot will have had all the big preliminary stuff done and dealt with so, it's a few straggly ends such as milk and bread that we will have to worry about - at least we won't be running around like lemmings like the rest of them! You never know some of us might not even need to go out at all - just sit there at home in front of the fire and say 'bring it on - let it snow'!