Preparing for winter II

seafarers_wife

ive been to costco today and got more off my list so think im almost done. for those near the gateshead costco they have a yaktrack type thing in for men and women, they also have boxes of the hottie handwarmers and they have holts screenwash for about £5 for 5 litres that does to -36, its concenrated so im assuming you mix the concentration depending on the temperature where you are. i didnt pay attention to the lables or the prices as if it looked reasonable into the trolley it went.

list update

buy wind up torch/phone charger - not escential really
curtains for bathroom windows? - not sure, will discuss with mum when she is up
sort out car kit (de-icer, washer fluid, phone, charger, blanket, shovel & brush)
tomato soup (i go through buckets of the stuff) still got plenty left so will see how i go and maybe buy more november time
microwave rice
chicken breasts from butchers
steak from butchers
instant mash (love the stuff)
lasagne sheets
5 x packs turkey mince - buy one extra each time i go to supermarket
3 x packs lamb mince
de-icer in bulk

Oh I also bought 80 loo rolls today, so now have over 100 and im not going to count to see exactly how many i have!

nataz

Well jaunt to Mr Ts was rather unsuccessful, no beans or de-icer, darn branch is having a mega shuffle around so took ages to find the car section! Did however manage to get the 22p pasta.

I too have a small pane of glass on back door, so might give the bubblewrap / velcro curtain a go.

Took the thermal blinds from amazon out of box, look quite good. They're just too narrow for my windows, so gonna tack some fleece on either edge, that should make them big enough and still make them a good buy at just £2.99

mancbird

I love this thread! I've been lurking for a while and have got some fantastic ideas to make our home cosy this winter We have a baby on the way (due in 5 weeks) so keeping warm is a big priority for us this year!!

I'm at my mam's this weekend so going to go to IKEA and get some cheap fleeces to make curtain linings. I think they're only about £1.50 so I will add some curtain heading tape and pop them between my curtains and the linings I got from the charity shop last year

I do have a question for you all - should I get a calor gas heater? We live in a rented house in a rural location with no gas. Our only heat source is a multi fuel burner which powers the central heating but the house can get very cold and wood and coal can be very expensive to get delivered here.

Our living room is 2 rooms knocked into 1 so very large and draughty at one end we have old sash windows (where our dining 'room' is) and at the other end (our living 'room') has French doors leading to a single glazed unheated conservatory and a door leading to the kitchen. The kitchen is in a part of the house that used to be an outbuilding so despite there being a radiator in there it is FREEZING! The French doors have thick velvet curtains up (and I'm making fleece liners for them) and I am also making some draught excluders.

As I will be on maternity leave me and baby will spend a lot of time at home, mostly in the living room so I want it to be toasty for him I was thinking of getting a calor gas heater to use to 'top up' the heat in the room. It could also be moved into the kitchen if needed. We have tried oil filled radiators and electric heaters in the past and they made no difference unless you are practically sat on top of them!

I have seem new heaters for £95 including a canister and the refills would be £23. Does this sound like a sensible idea or do you have a better suggestion?

RAS

Red_Doe wrote: »

we have one open fire, I'm scrounging firewood from wherever it can be found

Is there anyway you can get a stove rather than open fire; ninety percent of the heat goes straight up the chimney in an open fire. Try www.freegle.org.uk or freecycle if that still operates in your area.

Red_Doe wrote: »

and I bought, earlier this year, a vintage paraffin heater from Ebay, and will keep that in the kitchen to keep the chill off (last winter was so cold I could barely cook due to not being able to feel my hands)

Please please set this up now and check that it works, giving off a proper blue flame. Do you have a CO monitor. Because if you are using one of these indoors, you need it.

Red_Doe wrote: »

and have another small greenhouse paraffin heater. I know you're not supposed to use them indoors but so long as I leave the doors ajar for ventilation they should at least stop it being so cold, winter will tell. )

Please do not use this indoors. They give off CO. Carbon monoxide poisoning kills at higher levels, but a lower levels is wrecks both the brain and the lungs. Sub-lethal levels of CO poisoning induce early onset of some forms of dementia. It really is not worth the risk.

Red_Doe wrote: »

I can't get the gas cylinders even though I have a portable gas fire...they charge an initial sixty pounds for one cylinder here! Half of that is apparently a deposit, so that puts it out of our price range.

Do you know anyone who has a caravan that they let out over the summer who might loan you a gas cylinder for the winter, or at least until the end of March?

I am going to add one suggestion that you will hate. HAve you seriously considered whether it would be better to relocate somewhere where you have more resources and a better standard of accomodation. It sounds like you are renting somewhere that really is not suitable for all year round living; it might be fine for a holiday let but not as a full-time house.

squeaky

Evening all,

Calculations of teachers pay is wandering rather far from the topic of the thread. Could we draw a line under it please?

TYIA

mcjordi

80+ rolls of loo roll? are you expecting a sellout lol

im lucky if i use 1 roll a week..
need to stock up on shampoo and bubblebath and loo roll..
still havent managed to put up a baton to hang the curtains from for the front door... (people keep bringing their broken cars/stuff for me to mend)..
one mate brought his 106 round as his cooling fan was on all the time.. (he was told it was the thermostat by local motor factors) i said i doubt it is.. i was right.. he bought the stat anyway ( £15 outta pocket he was) and all i asked was him to pop round so i could test the cooling system but he wouldnt listen lol.. fitted the stat anyway made 0 difference and it turned out to be a £5 sensor which i have ordered of the bay..
Honestly some people just wanna chuck money away

rant over....

Confuzzled

nataz wrote: »

Well jaunt to Mr Ts was rather unsuccessful, no beans or de-icer, darn branch is having a mega shuffle around so took ages to find the car section! Did however manage to get the 22p pasta.

I too have a small pane of glass on back door, so might give the bubblewrap / velcro curtain a go.

Took the thermal blinds from amazon out of box, look quite good. They're just too narrow for my windows, so gonna tack some fleece on either edge, that should make them big enough and still make them a good buy at just £2.99

ooh there's an idea, i could just sew a strip of fleece to the bottom of mine that are just too short.... and then i could also buy another for the front door downstairs and do that same with that! thank you!:T

jamanda

Confuzzled wrote: »

ooh there's an idea, i could just sew a strip of fleece to the bottom of mine that are just too short.... and then i could also buy another for the front door downstairs and do that same with that! thank you!:T

Fleece isn't very heavy, so it might be worth weighting the bottom hem if doing this. A few pennies or something along the bottom will weigh it down if you think it would help.

tugrin

Heres a thought about stokig up on milk - soya has tremendously long sell by dates - ones I saw today at Tesco were until next August so got a couple to add too store also tin of evaporated which is tolerable on coffee and good on the old tied peaches.
They didt have 22p pasta or even a place for it that I could see and it said temporarily out of stock for th Branston beans also no flippig de-icer - ot a very successful trip but it was o my way home from a friends. Also checked out Lidls -this week they have got some really thick throw/blankets which are heavier than fleece for 9.99 and faux uggs for same price (slippers? Not as good as sheepskin but may could be a substitute unti pennies are saved up for real thing).
Also discovered 2 of the removal mens blanket-paddong type things tat they left behind in the shed - thinking I could maybe make a warm mat for the concrete floor i sittig room which is growing increasingly chilly as the weather turns. Any suggestions on how to pretty them up as they are that grey-all-the-fluff-from-the-tumble-drier colour.

Also, can you freeze cream and butter?

rising_from_the_ashes

tugrin wrote: »

Also, can you freeze cream and butter?

Butter certainly, not tried cream.....

Your Mr T's sounds like ours, no sign of 22p pasta or any de-icer (and believe me, I hunted).

I did manage to get the baked beans tho', heaven knows what I'm going to do with them all - so will have to have a hunt for some things to do with them ... wonder if they'd go with rice?

Re the blankets - do you have an old duvet cover you could sew onto the upper side?