Preparing for winter II

wilf55

diddly74 wrote: »

Last year my MIL "double Glazed" her already double grazed council windows with just normal clear plastic and double sided tape and she said she found it soooooo much better, once her nets were up she couldn't see it from the inside and well frankly didn't care what anyone else thought of her cloudy windows! Hubby remembers stuffing gaps in the walls and windows with newspaper when he was a kid (tho the council have updated it a bit since then) so its known to be a bit of a cold 'ole.

Originally Posted by Kitchenbunny
Any ideas where the best place to get a food flask is? I'd like to get one for both my DH and myself so we can have a proper hot meal away from home and I can reheat some of my homemade ready meals in the morning and put them in the food flasks to keep warm until lunch (or so the theory goes )KB xx Have you tried Wilko? This is one they do. http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/Flasks+Food-Storage/Style-Works-Food-Flask-1ltr/invt/0285293?htxt=dhbbf8pdO47p4Y9SMJqd2ootlZngGu90ubTh72TUOcCapPdQ7WAKFLURqauLpNlkNym15gf%2F66vm%0AZ73o2HrpCw%3D%3D its a 1ltr flask. If soup is smooth then a normal flask will do. I can remember many a school lunch time drinking oxtail soup and dipping bread in it out of my flask - and in those days you could only get the glass lined ones!

Weather is definately on the decline. We have a slow deterioration forecast here in the Midlands with possible low nighttime temps of 6 by Sat Night. I am very lucky that my hubby is a great hot water bottle! From what is forecast it should be a good drying day here - must strip the beds today then - I will have to wait for everyone to get up tho first lol.

sorry to quote the whole post lol:D

food flasks in wilko dont know how good or anything or even the price perhaps you can look online but they did have them in our local one on saturday

Fruball

Welcome Wilf

hmc

got my pr of door curtains. they touch the floor and i have hung my old curtain inside it too(much to the curtain poles horror!) just need my cousin to do front door pole . really pleased. have winter duvet on both beds. son is now in long pj's.
i have 2 side windows that arnt dglazed. would the bubble wrap work well on these?
love coming on here for all the tips,thanks everyone

Mythi

Hi all

I love this thread (and the one before it!) and since I started following it last year I've managed to acculumate £170 in credit on my gas bill, which will definitely pay for the winter bill

Took lounge curtains down at weekend, washed and dried them before putting them back up with the thermal linings my Mom bought for me last year ~ they make such a huge difference. Door curtains are up, bedroom curtains will be 'lined' with Primani fleeces this weekend, I do need to dig out the curtain that I put up at the top of the stairs (I live in a first floor flat, the front door is down stairs and the lounge at the top of the stairs there is no heating either downstairs or in the stairwell so it gets very cold, so I put a curtain up at the top of the stairs which seems to help) this year I will line it with yet another Primani fleece...will try and do that this week/weekend at the latest.

Freezer is reasonably well stocked, as are food cupboards. Gloves/scarves/hats sorted. I've amassed plenty of fleeces for snuggling up on the sofa/bed/wherever and I've recently got back into crochet so have a couple of blankets on the go as well.

Thanks for all the fabulous tips everyone!

Confuzzled

hmc wrote: »

.
i have 2 side windows that arnt dglazed. would the bubble wrap work well on these?
love coming on here for all the tips,thanks everyone

yes bubble wrap would be ideal, and if you need to peek out the window you can just peel a corner back a bit and look out. it only needs a tiny bit of moisture to get it to go right back in place, like natures glue without the stickiness

Confuzzled

Mythi wrote: »

Hi all

(I live in a first floor flat, the front door is down stairs and the lounge at the top of the stairs there is no heating either downstairs or in the stairwell so it gets very cold, so I put a curtain up at the top of the stairs which seems to help)

i'm living in a similar style flat, fortunately though i have a small hall cupboard at the top of the stairs which then made the landing big enough for the owners to put a door on. still even with the door it gets quite cold near that area so i used bubble wrap on the glass and put the net curtain back up to hide it (i really need the light coming in from there or the living room is notably darker).

smart thinking of you to at least hang a curtain though, i can imagine it makes a huge difference!

Mythi

Confuzzled wrote: »

i'm living in a similar style flat, fortunately though i have a small hall cupboard at the top of the stairs which then made the landing big enough for the owners to put a door on. still even with the door it gets quite cold near that area so i used bubble wrap on the glass and put the net curtain back up to hide it (i really need the light coming in from there or the living room is notably darker).

smart thinking of you to at least hang a curtain though, i can imagine it makes a huge difference!

Thanks!

I've looked at putting a door in but it I would also need to put a catflap in it as well as I have two cats and one of their litter trays is downstairs. With the curtain its heavy enough to stop draughts but lightweight enough for the cats to push past without it remaining open (if you see what I mean lol)

I made the curtain from a 6m remnant that was left over from some curtains I made for my cousin (she overestimated the material...lucky me!). All I did is hem both ends then fold in half (top to bottom) so it was double thickness then I did a line of stitching 2" in from the fold to create a pocket which holds a tension pole (like shower rail).

With regards to your door in addition to the bubble wrap have you thought of a draught excluder like this one: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DOUBLE-SIDED-DRAUGHT-EXCLUDER-NO-TOOLS-NEEDED-/190429552889?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Decorative_Accents_LE&hash=item2c567c60f9 would be pretty easy to make with a piece of material and a length of pipe insulation.

parsonswife8

Got my flannel fitted sheets, flat sheet and 4 pillowslips from Dunelm Mill this morning.
Next month, I am going to build our nest, once DH has finished re-wallpapering our bedroom.
Duvet under the fitted sheet, flat sheet to sleep under with smart new duvet and cover on top and 4 goose feather pillows.
Got another thick cotton throw which could go on top if it's Jack Frost weather.
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Bed socks and fleece pyjamas are on standby.:T

joeybrooks

Hi guys, been reading all of your tips and ideas with great interest. I will def be taking some of them on board and doing all I can to keep my house nice and toasty without switching on the heat.

I live in a 1900 terrace house. Fortunately when we bought it it had double glazing and UPVC doors and windows, so in that respect, it is well insulated. However the floors are tiled, lovely in summer but v cold in winter, so I will be getting some runners for the hall and kitchen.

I think I will look into lining the curtains with fleeces and I will be telling my mum about the bubble wrap. The windows in her house just drip with condensation, the wood is rotting, but it is a council house and she cannot afford to fix it herself and they are refusing to do anything. Also, so much cold comes in from the gaps in the wood - it is shocking given that the house isnt even 15 years old.

Anyway, thanks all for the tips, I must also remember to pack my car with the essentials. As someone said before, people think I am being a bit of a drama queen, but not only do I enjoy it, it is always best to be over prepared than under prepared.

I personally hope for a nice cold crisp snowy winter, being 29 and living in NI I dont really remember too many severe winters, even last year we got it relatively easier than Britain. I would love lots of snow etc, but I know how tough that can be for some people and I know we all have a tendency to moan when we get it, but deep down, I love it.

Anyway, I am sure this has been posted on here before, but basically it is a guy (weathergeek) that has been posting on the daily mail forums re a very bad winter. Lots of people have been debating, saying that he is over reacting etc, but if all of what he says is true, then it looks like it could be a bad one!

As I am a relatively new user I am unable to post the link, but I will try to tell you what it is without posting it
www.
globalcoolingnewiceageuk .
blogspot .
com
(dont do the spaces, it is the only way I can post it)

alec_eiffel

parsonswife8 wrote: »

Got my flannel fitted sheets, flat sheet and 4 pillowslips from Dunelm Mill this morning.
Next month, I am going to build our nest, once DH has finished re-wallpapering our bedroom.
Duvet under the fitted sheet, flat sheet to sleep under with smart new duvet and cover on top and 4 goose feather pillows.
Got another thick cotton throw which could go on top if it's Jack Frost weather.
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Bed socks and fleece pyjamas are on standby.:T

Oooh, I'd be careful if you put all that stuff on your bed at once. I put flannel fitted sheet and pillow cases on the bed with the flat sheet over us, under the duvet. Virtually impossible to get up in the morning, just too comfy. Don't say you haven't been warned you lucky thing!

I love my flannel sheets but we have either bottom sheet and pillow cases or the flat one on top but never both :rotfl: