Preparing for winter II

kippers

elaine373 wrote: »

Although new to this thread, I already love it.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I live in a 1930"s end semi,council house and have been here 10 months.This is the coldest house i have ever lived in since my childhood home, where we didnt have central heating or double glazing.Here we have double glazing and central heating but this is very inadequate for some reason and i can feel draughts.I need to find as cheaply and quickly as possible,ways to stop it being so cold .I have asked on freecycle for any door length curtains.I will aslo look in the charity shops this week. I do fancy using the bubble wrap method to insulate some of my wondows but wondered what the best way is to stick this down?? I am also going to stock up on bare essentilas, as many of you have already done. There is something rather exciting about all this or is that just me being sad???

I think some old houses are just cold.....ours is a 1930's semi too. We have had new central heating, new double glazing and new loft insulation and the house is only warm while the heating is on...when the heating goes off the temperature plummets....I don't think we can do anything else to keep the heat in. We have just accepted it's cold

debtmess

think i need to read through this all, by having a quick glance through i seem very unprepared, im in a ground floor flat (one above me) have double glazing so i should already do better than last year heat wise, however the front room has a fireplace its not been blocked or filled in anyway (landlord wont block it up as its good ventilation) how can i stop drafts ? i wanted to turn into some sort of open fire but no idea of costs or what is needed (its basically the surround mantle and well a space lol )

off top of my head i need to stock medicine box and get ds a spare of each inhaler for the back of the cupboard, stock up on medicines for the little ones)
wash all our fleeces we have 2 each, 2 for the sofa the boys also have a fleece sleeping bag each) the kitten has 1 for his bed
source 3 hot water bottles for the boys don't have a microwave so cannot buy the bean type
just brought hats gloves and scarfs but ds3 needs a new winter coat (has to be thomas though)
find a kettle to use on the gas cooker incase of power cut though a saucepan would surface if needed
4 pairs of wellingtons i have yet to see many in the shops locally
2 need slippers
stock up on some tinned food don't have much storage space in cupboards so need to find somewhere to store (any suggestions)
salt and shovel in case of snow, need to keep enough to help my neighbour she is a lovely old lady but struggling to stay mobile

i have already sorted us all waterproof trousers so we can continue walking to school in the rain, i refuse to catch the bus for 4 stops (about a mile and a half)
have a stock of tea lights and candles
all windows now have curtains
don't think there is much i can do with the front door as its upvc don't have a back door to worry about nor loft etc to worry about insulating



im sure more will come to me as i read through this

rosieben

debtmess wrote: »

...need to keep enough to help my neighbour she is a lovely old lady but struggling to stay mobile
..

what a lovely thought :T

re food storage, my last place was so damp I couldn't keep any food in the kitchen at all so I set up a cheap pine shelf unit on the landing and kept tins in under-bed crates. I then had a problem with mice getting to the food shelves but thats another story! Thank goodness for a modern flat

Kitchenbunny

I knew I had forgotten something. I need to get my medicine cupboard stocked up again, having depleted it last year. I have now:

Had a gas safety check which made sure the boiler was OK.
Mended a jumper which had a hole in the shoulder.
Sorted out my socks and got rid of the worn ones. (Gone to rags for the car)
Bought a 3kg bag of pasta when it was on offer at Mr T for £2.

I need to:

Buy more tealights.
Wash the blanket under the patio door so it isn't damp to start with.
Make a draught excluder for the front door.
Get another gas bottle for the camping stove & lamp. (Emergencies)
Get another pack of mantles for the camping lamp.
Buy additional dry staples - i.e., rice and lentils.
Get some bottles of water for the car (and the house) in case of frozen pipes.
Stock up on plastic bags for lagging in case of leaks around the back or patio doors.

Still more to go, but I do feel like I'm getting there.

KB

debtmess

rosieben wrote: »

what a lovely thought :T

re food storage, my last place was so damp I couldn't keep any food in the kitchen at all so I set up a cheap pine shelf unit on the landing and kept tins in crates in those under-bed crates. I then had a problem with mice getting to the food shelves but thats another story! Thank goodness for a modern flat

ditto ! i moved in jan this year from a 3 bed house to a small 2 bed flat we have so little storage but no damp, last year i had a massive larder cupboard under the stairs so aside from labels going damp i had lots of space for tins and unopened packets, i used to live minuites from asda whereas now im a good mile and half if not more to a supermarket there is little shops and my only local place for a good shop is m&s

Magpie27

I love this thread and have got loads of good hints from it but this is my first post. To all of you who are looking for door curtains I managed to get a thick velour single curtain from Dunelm for £2.99 It's too long for my door so going to try and shorten it today. They had loads of single curtains they were selling off cheap

happyin_devon

Magpie27 wrote: »

I love this thread and have got loads of good hints from it but this is my first post. To all of you who are looking for door curtains I managed to get a thick velour single curtain from Dunelm for £2.99 It's too long for my door so going to try and shorten it today. They had loads of single curtains they were selling off cheap

ive had this problem too,so i just folded up and sewed curtain to right length ,rather than cutting it,so its kind of double thickness at bottom edge,means i can do away with draught excluder sausage dog at front door as door curtain now thick enough to stop a tornado!!

Confuzzled

elaine373 wrote: »

Although new to this thread, I already love it.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I do fancy using the bubble wrap method to insulate some of my wondows but wondered what the best way is to stick this down?? I am also going to stock up on bare essentilas, as many of you have already done. There is something rather exciting about all this or is that just me being sad???

for the bubblewrap, get a kitchen sponge lightly damp and wipe the window with it, then gently press your bubblewrap into place. the surface tension holds it there and should any of it start to fall (mine did in one corner near spring) you can just apply a tiny amount of water again and press it back into place.

it does leaves a small amount of cleaning for you in the spring but it's quick and easy to fix, easier to remove than greasy kiddy handprints

as for getting excited... i don't think you're sad, i enjoy the battening down the hatches feeling and have ever since i was a kid. mind you here we don't get a guarranteed snow you in your house for at least 3 days blizzard every year like we did when i was a kid (i grew up in the american midwest) so my excitement has had to be transferred to prepping for a few months in advance rather than the rush a week before a big storm! but i certainly can understand the feeling. i love a good snow storm too, as long as all that are near and dear to me are home safe!

Dontknowanymore

I'm dreadin this winterr, recently moved into this flat and it had no central heating.
Just old under floor heating which is run on electric! :eek:
I have 2 children, 6 and 18 months, so am dreading the leccy bill, I cant leave the heating off because of them, so I'm going to scour this thread for some tips!

elaine373

Magpie27 wrote: »

I love this thread and have got loads of good hints from it but this is my first post. To all of you who are looking for door curtains I managed to get a thick velour single curtain from Dunelm for £2.99 It's too long for my door so going to try and shorten it today. They had loads of single curtains they were selling off cheap

Guess where i am going later???????? thanks for this, hope i can get one or more.