Preparing for winter II

Uniscots97

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

WD40 is on my list - just about finished my bottle tonight.... finally remembered to spray the springs/wire on the garage door!

Have also added 3 of those gorgeous hot water bottles as want a couple more (mine usually end up in cat beds when it gets really cold - boy am I a soft touch!)

thats not being a soft touch its called caring .

I do the same with my dog, and stock up on her treats (jelly babies).

To save money switching kettle on etc, when I go to wash my face at night. I splash my face (water warm), wash with face wash rinse (water warmer), then fill the hot water bottle direct from the tap with the (now) hot water).

GreyQueen

toottifrootti wrote: »

oh you are lucky VJsmum - I went to our poundland on thursday for the foil blankets to use behind the radiators but they had very little camping stuff left.

I was in both Poundland and the 99p Store yesterday and, although they are sold out at PL, 99p Store still has those twinpacks of foil emergency blankets.

I also got a car sunshade from PL to use as a bit of insulation on the floor of my tent and bethought me of this thread; a quid for a big bit of insualated foam. 150 x 70 cm, surely some use for that in someone's winter prep list?

Right, I'm definately going back to bed NOW.:D

Princess_kate

Another thing crossed off my list! Curtains in the hall, picked up a pair, neutral colour & plain for £4 in the CS, bought 2 taksam poles from ikea, £3.05 each, i will attatch some of the many fleeces i have to the curtains for some additional warmth but i am super happy that for around £10 i will hopefully have a warmer hall this year!! I bought another runner from wilko too, as i have a fully tiles hall/utility, its all one thing, quite a big space with a door either end and has the stairs going off it. Runner was £8 same as i paid in aldi but this one seems a lot warmer, very happy!

I will stock up with a bit more cat litter come end of october as for some reason people think its good to put on ice, I can only imagine the mess it would make! But my indoor kitty would not be very happy if I ran out! Went to costco yesterday, got 70 small bottles of water, £8, 2 big bags of frozen chicken breast and 4 whole pork tenderloins reduced to £9.50. Got 24 tins of tomatoes too, £6, works out 25p a tin, cheapest i can find now & they are lovely! They had run out of minced beef so I will go again in around a month to get some mince and fully prepped chicken thighs.

Tissues and de-icer left on the list. Will check out the shed as im sure theres a few bottles left from last year but prep is coming along very well here & it makes me feel happy & safe. Not going to help me actually trecking through te snow to work but when home we will be ok!

Although I have bought lovely waterproof walking shoes, wellies we just so cold last year, a new soft shell jacket and waterproof trousers from go outdoors. Picked up 3 regatta t-shirts yesterday for £9.99, wash really well & dry so fast! Loving go outdoors at the mo!!

Hope everyone is well & prep is coming along well for everyone!
Kate

rising_from_the_ashes

Popped along to the Sunday market to see "what's in" and not a single fleecy blanket, wellie boot or hot water bottle in sight!

Did manage to get 2 pairs of warm boot socks for £2 but they were the only ones he had "oh, you're far too early, it'll be around a month before I get them" - I won't be able to drive in a month which is why I'm trying to be organised! Grrrrrrrrrr:mad:

Has anyone got anything from Chemist Direct before? - bit worried as it says a signature "may" be needed and I'm not always in during the day.

Wellies ordered so another thing ticked off. I'm sooooo glad I found this thread - I've haphazardly prepared in previous years but forgot loads of things - it's such a relief to be "doing it properly".

Last year I was down to 3 days supply of dog medication (had been ordered but post didn't come for 3 weeks) and ran out of cat litter - not going to happen this year!:D


Had a great idea last night - have to pop to the hospital on Thursday for a pre-op scan. Use the park & ride and get the bus, £2.60 (return) but I can get a day ticket for £3.50 (allows bus hopping!). Thinking I could get a bus into town after my appt and pop to £land:j:j. Even if they're out of camping stuff, I see they've Kenco refills for (guess what) a £1 - struggle to get these for less than £3 anywhere so worth going just for them! (Also fat balls & seed for birds etc).

I will probably look a bit odd trailing around the hospital with my shopping trolley tho':rotfl:however, it seems silly not to go when I'm nearly there and it's not going to cost me a lot.

Pips_Mum

I'm still reading back through this thread and compiling my list which I will post later. Come across tis link and had a look, theres some really reasonable stuff on there so I am bumping it again. Get paid tomorrow so going to get OH the 3in1 coat and also a new pair of walking shoes as he now walks to work each day so will need to be warm.

http://www.regattaoutlet.co.uk/

Be back later with my list so in the mean time have a good day all x

annie123

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Has anyone got anything from Chemist Direct before?

Yep and I've always had to sign, but its sent via royal mail so collect from sorting office. Ours has introduced 2 late nights till 8pm for collection which helps.

rising_from_the_ashes

Another store worth having a hunt around for outdoor gear is Marshalls: (you can order online as well as go to the store)http://www.marshallleisure.co.uk/ (camping stoves now starting at £8).

I've been to the store (not far from DM) and it's great - I could spend all day in their quite happily!. I got a fab fleece for £8 in the clearance section, as well as a slightly different one and it's matching waterproof for under £40 just after Christmas.

Was in there a couple of days ago and now kicking myself that I didn't get some gas for the camping stoves or look for boot socks!:mad:

Confuzzled

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

and ran out of cat litter - not going to happen this year!:D

a cat rescue person i once knew told me that if you're running low on cat litter you can mix wood ash from your fireplace or log burner with a bit of soil (or compost). you may not have either but i thought i'd mention it in case anyone else might use it in emergencies.

we did this a few times, we went heavy on the ash and light on the soil as we didn't want the cats to get the idea it was ok to use the neighbours raised beds as litterboxes! i should think you could also mix in some sand with the ash and soil too. the ash keeps the smell down and it's not mucky if it's wood ash, don't make the mistake of using coal ash, my (now ex) husband did that and it was a right mess :rotfl:

seafarers_wife

ive bought myself a rug for the living room so thats something else crossed off my winter prep list. still on the hunt for curtains and want them sooner rather than later, but i cant find any that i like and i dont want ones that are to make do till i find ones that i like if that makes sense.

I really need to get a move on though with the curtains as speaking to neighbour and the people that lived here before us were complaing (understandably) about a £1000 gas bill for winter :eek: i didnt even spend that much on gas and electric a year in my old house.

list still to do

Buy new kingsized duvet for spare bed
buy wind up torch/phone charger - not escential really
curtains for front door
curtains for hall windows
curtains for french doors
curtains for bathroom windows?
sort out car kit (de-icer, scraper, spare wipers, washer fluid, cash, phone, charger, blanket, shovel & brush)
get gas fire safety checked
tomato soup (i go through buckets of the stuff)
uht milk - buy in bulk from costco, but only had stuff dated dec 11 so will wait another month or 2
diluting juice
rice

extras that ive thought of after reading more of other peoples prep
more cat litter
de-icer in bulk
screenwash in bulk

rising_from_the_ashes

annie123 wrote: »

Yep and I've always had to sign, but its sent via royal mail so collect from sorting office.

Fantastic!

Hot water bottles, flu tablets, glucosamine & chodroitin (for dog - also very cheap!), a laser toy for cats (keep them amused when they can't get outside as they go nuts if cooped up in the house for days on end) all ordered.:D Unfortunately, no WD40 left:(.