Preparing for winter II

GreyQueen

I have bathroom curtains, unlined 100% cotton, on a double-glazed window. It's a modesty thing; the window is opaqued glass but overlooks a public walkway and I know from the few neighbours who don't use curtains that you can see thru the obsured glass somewhat esp with the bathroom light on.

I wash them 1-2 times a year but TBH, they never even look dirty and certainly never moldy. I guess it's very much a case of horses for courses and depends on the individual bathroom.

In my kitchen (a very small room) I use a plastic-slatted venetian blind which comes down once a year for a sponge-off with hot soapy water whilst laying over the side of the bath on a towel. It's plain white and never goes moldy, just picks up airborne grease from the stove. HTH.

Oh, if you have a TK Maxx, they have an "active wear" section with fleeces which are often very reasonable and the men's socks section of mine usually has hiking socks and ski-ing socks; would the latter be suitable for use as welly-boot socks, I wonder?

sammy_kaye18

Morning all

Firstly - KIMSMUM & MOMENTS OF SANITY - Welcome to the thread.

Winter prep here is well and truely underway. Today I am picking up my dining table and chairs - yey! My logical thinking is my kitchen is more a kitchen diner, so Im putting table and chairs in there because if Ive been making dinner then the room is heated and we can sit at the table in a nice warm room to eat our meal.

Bizarrely I've had to put the heating on today - its only been on timed for an hour because Holly has a cold and its blowing a bleeding gale here today! Autumn is definitely coming - and Im gutted too because although Im welsh this rain is bloody awful and I cant get out to forage - I've found a patch of brambles on my doggy walk that will take some effort to get to but I can manage it pretty easily. Should add it will cause no harm to any wilderness etc in the process just its a fair hike! so as well as a tasty reward ill be burning calories off in the process!

Plus at least with all this rain my blueberries are getting a good watering oh and I have some blueberries/raspberries and strawberries discounted from la coop last night - spent £11 on reduced stuff but came home with 3 big pizza's, 2 punnets of strawberries, punnet of blueberries, punnet of raspberries, 2 bags of carrots, 4 mint areo yoghurts, 4 chocolate areo yoghurts, a cucumber, 2 punnets of grapes and 2 big blocks of mature cheddar cheese. So needless to say Ive stocked up my little freezer box and my freezer is my next on my 'to buy' list.

Also ETHOL AUSTIN are selling off thermal gloves/hats and scarfs - mainly black - for 75p if anyone needs them - Ive picked up 3 of each so me, Ow and Ben all have a set. Holly has a princess set from last year. x

Apart from that - Ive decided then end of the month to take Ben shopping to Swansea so he can buy a winter coat from Primarni - I figure if he picks it he has more chance to wear it and might see about some new PJs for us all too.

karen_is_trying

Morning all ive just printed off that fab get ready for winter list im a bit of a lurker but woke up freezing today, im also in south wales and its chucking it down here hence heating on too someone mentioned flanelette sheets i know a lot of people dont like littlewoods but you dont have to have a credit account with them to shop, they are selling lovely flannelette sheets bogof we have them on our kingsize my son on his double and just bought my little one 2 pairs for £10. £5 bogof for fitted sheets and same price for flat sheets they did have to have 2 washes to get rid of the fluff but their fine now and so snug. if you cant find them and want a nosey type lace sheets in search bar... delivered to collectplus for free too... they do have a lace trim on them tho but in white it looks ok even for males to keep snug ...

sammy_kaye18

karen_is_trying wrote: »

Morning all ive just printed off that fab get ready for winter list im a bit of a lurker but woke up freezing today, im also in south wales and its chucking it down here hence heating on too someone mentioned flanelette sheets i know a lot of people dont like littlewoods but you dont have to have a credit account with them to shop, they are selling lovely flannelette sheets bogof we have them on our kingsize my son on his double and just bought my little one 2 pairs for £10. £5 bogof for fitted sheets and same price for flat sheets they did have to have 2 washes to get rid of the fluff but their fine now and so snug. if you cant find them and want a nosey type lace sheets in search bar... delivered to collectplus for free too... they do have a lace trim on them tho but in white it looks ok even for males to keep snug ...

Hi Karen - where in south wales?

nikki2804

Morning, thanks for the advice on bathroom curtains. I'll bubble wrap the window and see how to the roller blind copes.

The house is so cold this morning, I point blank refuse to put the heating on in August so both me and LO are wrapped up!

karen_is_trying

Near Llantrisant, Tonyrefail Sammy x

lillylei

Ok this is sort of winter prep sort of not.

the new house I mentioned earlier in the thread may not happen and there is nothing suitable on the rental market at the moment.

We have a badly built kitchen extention that is mouldy, black mould everywhere. Its ok in the spring/summer as when I clean it it stays clean, come autumn winter it needs wiping down every week (its by the windows on the ceiling, behind the cupboards which I cant reach so cupboards cant be used)

Its also in our bedroom (above the extension)

What is the best thing to prevent/ reduce this? we air the place regularly (even in the cold I like fresh air in the house)

I still want to move as I dont know if I can take another year of 'mould watch'

Thanks, and sorry if this isnt strictly the right thread but need to be prepared for when it gets grow-y again

Doingmybest2bgoodhurrah

Hello, I love this thread, its great!

I started thinking about winter prep a few of weeks ago. So far I've:

checked all the wellies have plenty of tread left on them & found the dubbin for the walking boots

made sure all the hats gloves and scarves are laundered & accessible

bought a couple of pots of salt

stocked up on screen wash & checked the ice scraper in the car hasn't gone walkies, also checked we have sufficient anti-freeze

checked the hot water bottles

bought torch batteries

found the bubble wrap I put away somewhere safe to protect a couple of delicate plants in the garden from Jack Frost

have been making fat balls each weekend from the fat from the Sunday joint & seed mix. These are ready in the freezer with saved bacon rind. Have also stocked up on peanuts & bird food

trying to buy a couple of things for the store cupboard each week. Managed to find a 10kg bag of basmati rice in Tesco for £9.00. I did this last year & it has only just run out. Have loads of jars & plastic tubs tubs saved for this.

But there's still so much to do, am trying to tackle it bit by bit. If there's an early cold snap like last year I don't want to be caught out.

DMB x

Doingmybest2bgoodhurrah

lillylei wrote: »

Ok this is sort of winter prep sort of not.

the new house I mentioned earlier in the thread may not happen and there is nothing suitable on the rental market at the moment.

We have a badly built kitchen extention that is mouldy, black mould everywhere. Its ok in the spring/summer as when I clean it it stays clean, come autumn winter it needs wiping down every week (its by the windows on the ceiling, behind the cupboards which I cant reach so cupboards cant be used)

Its also in our bedroom (above the extension)

What is the best thing to prevent/ reduce this? we air the place regularly (even in the cold I like fresh air in the house)

I still want to move as I dont know if I can take another year of 'mould watch'

Thanks, and sorry if this isnt strictly the right thread but need to be prepared for when it gets grow-y again

Sorry to hear you have a mould problem. I used to live in a house which was damp and used to have a constant battle with mildew/mould, especially in the colder months, as you say. Also, the winter always brought condensation on the windows, which used to really get me down. I found that a dehumidifier helped a lot. These aren't cheap to buy and do have a running cost, but the improvement was so worth it. Generally, like you, I think ventilation is a big help. If you have an externally vented cooker hood, try to use it when you cook, similarly if you have an extractor in the bathroom try to use it at bath/shower time. Fortunately I've never had a tumble dryer, but have heard that the condensing variety can add to condensation. I also used to try to keep the temperature of my shower and washing up water down whenever possible, as the steam seemed to affect the windows instantly. I used to avoid using the dishwasher that much, as the vent used to expel moisture during the drying phase of the programme.

I know a lot of these things will have a cost implication & some things unfortunately mean refraining from using domestic appliances, so if I had to choose one thing, it would be the dehumidifier. Overnight use used to leave me with beautiful clear windows each morning & really helped my "state of mind". I struggle in the winter anyway, but the dampness, mould & condensation used to really drag me down. It made a big improvement to the house. It didn't cure the problem but it sure did help.

HTH,

DMB x

cat_smith

Organised 2 builders to come and quote for plastering and decorating that needs doing before I can replace floors. Organised someone to remake 2 pairs of my Mum's curtains into ones for our patio doors and living room (took me 13mths to make 1 pair from scratch so think this will be more efficient!)