Preparing for winter II

fuddle

Just back from my holidays, curtains closed, candles on, blanket at door to stop draughts. My winter prep starts here

First on my list is

gloves for my little ones (crocheted the hats and scarves but can't do gloves for some reason)
Draught excluder for front door
refresh candle stores
add to blanket supply
matches
look at and refresh torches.
Bubble wrap for toilet window.
snow shovel
winter car box

fuddle

ZsaZsa wrote: »

We rent too, but I've managed to hang a telescopic shower curtain rail across the front door with some cheapy tab top curtains. No nails,screw or drilling

Oh I like that idea thanks

Red_Doe

Confuzzled wrote: »

do you have a tent? if so, i know this sounds weird but could you rig it up inside on top of some cushions or even the mattress? it would be sooo much warmer inside that tent when you're sleeping, even a tarpaulin hung over a rope stretching over your sleeping area would trap some of your body heat inside... i know that won't fix the cold kitchen etc but i also know how difficult it can be to keep the fire going at night so any extra warmth you can trap inside when it's bitterly cold would be a blessing on the worst nights

That's a good idea Confuzzled, thanks. We do have a small two person tent, if I can figure out how to put it up without having to use the pegs, it'll definately get used. See this is what I love about this forum, lots of helpful and practical ideas.

Confuzzled

smileyt wrote: »

Good idea, tugrin.

RedDoe, would you be able to afford to replace the empty gas cannisters if you could get the first one delivered? I'd be willing to give a fiver or so. It would only take 12 of us off this board.

Does anyone have any idea how to organise this (providing reddoe agrees?) Could it be done via paypal or something?

Or something similar for oil?

I hope you're not offended, Red doe xx

i'll chip in too, and please please don't feel like we're thinking badly of you or be too proud to accept the help, honest i lived like you are i KNOW how bad it is, if i can do a small part to help out then i'll jump at the chance to do, no need to feel bad about it at all, honest guv!

Rainy-Days

Red Doe not sure if this is going to be of any help to you but our log store was built out of old pallets that DH got from a local transport company for free. We have stained it a dark oak colour and kept the front open although we have some thick plastic, which we use as a cover to drop down over the front. It gets a bit noisy if the wind is howling, but we use bricks to hold it down and into place. We also had some felt left over from when we did the shed roof about four years ago and he used that to cover the roof area and keep the logs dry. Its a decent size and it took a couple of months to get enough wood to get it assembled but it's a good job done and it just really cost time to do it more than anything. He used to go on his way home from work and load the car up with the strips of pallets. One bloke wanted the thick blocks for his fire but that left the strips of wood which we needed so it was a decent trade off I suppose. It's just a thought - you know as we are able to store allot of wood especially fallen branches from over the field, they can dry out and then be used for burning.

Confuzzled

Red_Doe wrote: »

That's a good idea Confuzzled, thanks. We do have a small two person tent, if I can figure out how to put it up without having to use the pegs, it'll definately get used. See this is what I love about this forum, lots of helpful and practical ideas.

you're more than welcome! if you have any picture rails etc perhaps you could put a cup hook in the picture rails and tie the guy ropes to that, out of the way but it should keep the tension nice and taut

Red_Doe

Confuzzled wrote: »

i'll chip in too, and please please don't feel like we're thinking badly of you or be too proud to accept the help, honest i lived like you are i KNOW how bad it is, if i can do a small part to help out then i'll jump at the chance to do, no need to feel bad about it at all, honest guv!

I really do appreciate the kindness, but I'm not accepting money from folks, we're all pretty broke here, that's why we're here! But I do thank you for being so kindhearted, it's very much appreciated.

goodgodthatonesevenbigger

Red Doe

Have you tried to see if you can pick up an empty gas bottle anywhere, when i was looking for one for my stove i picked an empty one up from a friend that was throwing it away, all you do is swap the empty one for a full one and save on the cost of the deposit.

skintbint_2

red doe - can you sew? how about making lots of little microwave cosy's - they hold the heat for ages and you could pop them in your gloves, down your boots, make ones with long ties on them for round your back/chest - make little channels in them that way the filling doesnt gather all at the bottom if you see what i mean and they would be less bulky - made a couple last year but top tip dont use rice you end up smelling like the local takeaway!!!!!!

fuddle

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=calor+gas+bottle these are pretty much empty gas bottles. There might be something there that will save you money as all you do is refill them. That is why the price of your gas is so expensive because you're being charged for the bottle too (as far as I can understand)