Preparing for winter II

[Deleted User]

SuziQ wrote: »

Yesterday my local Asda had the draught excluder brushes for the bottom of doors reduced for £1.50 so I got one for my back door-they are quite wide and you cut to size. My local charity shop also had some of the double sided draught excluders for doors 'as seen on TV' (lol!) for £1.99 so I bought one for my front door-it seems really good quality and fits really well without impeding the door open and closing. I picked up a couple of blue fleeces from Tesco for £2 to line my oldest boy's window-have been looking everywhere locall for some velcro to fix but wouldn't you know, I can't fond it when I need it? I was supposed to be waterproofing the front of the house yesterday but the rain was torrential-hope today is better! Both boys back to school today 9what am I doing still awake?) but DD doesn't go back to Uni until next Tuesday, have got her to agree to help me with doing a major clear out and tidy up the next couple of days.

I got some velcro from ASDA. There was a sewing display behind the self service tills. It wasn't called velcro though it was called "hook and eye tape" Velcro must be copyrighted.

bexs.ua

squeaky wrote: »

www.ilovefreegle.org

www.freecycle.org

Worth a try.

Also see if you have a "Furniture Project" near you... google furniture project

Oh Squeaky I've tried and tried and even put a request on the local FB sales/wants page but no-one seems to have even a broken one!!! I'm even willing to collect and travel a 20 mile radius... :mad: anyone'd think I had 5 eyes and horns on my head or is there a secret code to somehow get a broken freezer??? :rotfl::rotfl:

Confuzzled

littlecal wrote: »

Lizzyb1812 - thanks for the info about surgical spirits,all I need now is to stay awake long enough to do it!!! I'd swear that my SAD is kicking in already but on a brighter note am well ahead with winter prep

you might be right there, in winter i always sleep more than in spring and summer and i've been falling asleep on the sofa about 3 hours earlier each night despite still getting up at the same time each day. i just can't keep my eyes open and when the restless leg kicks in i know it's just sheer tiredness and nothing else. this only happens to me in winter time, in summer i can live on 6 hours happily so i don't think you're imagining it at all!

have you considered a vitamin d supplement as well as a light box or daylight bulbs if you have/can get them? i know a lot of people with SAD that swear by vitamin d, i bought some during holland and barratts last sale and have started taking one daily a few weeks ago in hopes of fending off the winter blues... (vitamin d also helps with digestion, so with stodgy winter food that's a plus too!)

Confuzzled

Red_Doe wrote: »

That's awful sashanut. Hope your current preventions work this time and that you don't get robbed again. I've noticed a change in the things getting stolen the past couple of years. It seems to have gone from items like tv's, jewellery etc into 'practical' things like food, fuel and livestock! Don't know if it's a sign of the times but given that around here some OAP's had their winter fuel stolen, maybe we should all look at security for such things.

i suspected this would happen as the economy continues to be such a mess. i've been watching extreme couponing and whilst i think it's great they want to encourage other people to use coupons effectively i have to say i would NEVER and i mean never ever be willing to give away that much info.

you get their full name, age, town, see the outside of their house, inside where their stores are, which supermarket they frequent and thier face and family and sometimes friends... any one within 100 miles could probably track them down and raid the place and with things as bad as they are in the states right now i've no doubt someone will indeed be a target at some point


at least here we're anonymous enough to know that even if someone dodgy was lurking they'd have more of a challenge to find our stockpiles. i'm not sure insurance would cover things like loo roll and rice stockpiles, but regardless, having had my car broken into (by a neighbour in the same block of flats i later found out :eek:) i know personally the sense of violation that is felt, and i dare say a bit of paranoia for a long time afterwards... wouldn't wish that on anyone

chirpychick

Hello
Im very sorry I havent had chance to catch up yet, but needed to ask- what is that stuff called that you stick over the window to make it double glazed? 3 of our windows have "blown" and id read someone mention it and hubby hadn't heard of it so i wondered if you knew what it was called and where to buy it and how much it costs?
After being laid up last week i have just about managed to get back upto scratch with the housework. Have a few more bits to do today and then it should all be done.
Got our first quit smoking group tonight, we have been quit 4 days now and im already making plans for where i can use that money between now and Christmas lol.
I also got our first bill through since switching and changing plans and energy companies. Im so disgusted, this time last year with hardly a care regarding energy (sad but true) we were paying £47 a month duo and its now £63. I just dont know how we will manage this winter! Ive done as much as our finances will allow.

Still to do:
expanding foam
REPLACE FENCE PANELS x3 ASAP!
window glazing stuff
draught excluder for living room door
car kit
power cut kit
get duvet for sofa

FYI poundland had expanding foam in at the weekend and some fleecey blankets.

Does anyone have ANY suggestions to how we can keep warm this winter without using the heating?

Ive already put blinds up in the bedrooms as well as curtains, blind in kitchen, door curtain for back and front door, draught excluder front and back door, draught exluder letter box, thick heavy lined curtains in the bay window, sealed cracks, re insulated the loft (ours wasnt up to standards), radiator foils, fleece blankets, slippers, socks, jumpers, gloves, scarves, hats, winter coats.

I just cannot think of anything else i can do.

We dont have the lights on only a very low watt energy saving bulb lamp, i dont use the tumble dryer ever, i try to use the washing machine every other day and have a full load, have showers not baths, i dont have the tv on during the day at all, minimise its usage in the evenings and have it on energy saving, turn off and unplug everything with a light.
My laptop is on all day and evening every day but its just that, router, fridge freezer and freezer that are on. So i really feel our bill is as low as we can get it, but i cannot afford for it to go up anymore because of winter.
So any ways to keep warm very much appreciated. Perhaps there is something i have missed on here or not thought of?

Thanks in advance

Confuzzled

bexs.ua wrote: »

Oh Squeaky I've tried and tried and even put a request on the local FB sales/wants page but no-one seems to have even a broken one!!! I'm even willing to collect and travel a 20 mile radius... :mad: anyone'd think I had 5 eyes and horns on my head or is there a secret code to somehow get a broken freezer??? :rotfl::rotfl:

have you been asking specifically for a broken one? if so you could offer to remove their old energy inefficient models, you know take it off their hands for them so they can make more space and save on energy yada yada yada

it might be no one is willing to give a broken one away as they are embarrassed (weird huh? but i've run into stuff like this with used items) or maybe they don't understand why you want one ... people can be weird sometime...

do you have a tip near you? i know a lot of them sell off things that are still of some value and they always have fridges and freezers. also our recycling centre always has them so if you have one near you you could call and see if they have one you can take off their hands, it is afterall another form of recycling!

jamanda

Chirpychick - only things I can think of are hot water bottles, and those wheat bag doodas that you put in the microwave for a minute or so. When I hurt my back those wheat bags were a godsend, and they keep your nooks and crannies warm while you are snuggled under all your clothing.

Also, lots of thin layers of clothes are warmer than one or two thick layers.

Confuzzled

chirpychick wrote: »

i try to use the washing machine every other day and have a full load,
So any ways to keep warm very much appreciated. Perhaps there is something i have missed on here or not thought of?

Thanks in advance

i'm not sure how many of you there are but, have you considered washing less frequently? you don't have to wash something the first time you wear it, if you already wear them several times then please disregard this, but i found i cut back on my laundry significantly by simply giving clothes an airing then putting them back in the wardrobe after wearing them as long as they didn't have stains or didn't smell

also with towels, you're clean when you come out so no need to wash those until they've been used several times. make sure your OH doesn't mop the floors with them though then they really do need a wash!

as for cutting back on heating costs, i'd recommend a low low constant temp (10-14C) over letting the house go uber cold unless your house is super insulated. once the house gets cold you may never feel the true benefit of the heat when it is on and just keep jacking it up to try and compensate. plus you do need to consider damp and possible freezing pipes.

with a lower but constant temp you will generally find it easier to tolerate putting on extra layers, blankets etc. also many people say that dehumidifiers help as they dry the air and damp air feels colder (sooo true!) this would also sort out any issues of damp caused by keeping lower temps in the house. dishes of salt can help to a degree in the same way but if you have a lot of condensation a dehumidifier would be more efficient and cheaper in the long run, you don't need to run it constantly

localised heating like heated underblankets or heated throws are really cheap to run and are on a as needed basis. because you only heat the cold people vs the cold room it's very energy efficient.

also, you don't need to heat unused rooms every day unless it's really cold outside (and you're worried about bursting pipes etc). we prefer cold bedrooms to sleep in anyway so what we do is use the hall heater, the bedroom doors stay closed til an hour before bed, we then open them enough to let the hall heat seep in then close them at night. once a week or so i'll leave the doors cracked open all day, just to make sure that the room never gets too cold.

you could do a variation of this where you turn the radiators on even lower in those rooms all the time (we have storage heaters so our heating is a bit different) i'd also recommend draught excluders on those doors if you're not going to heat them all the time as you don't want the cold air seeping into the areas you're trying to keep warm.

i keep a thermometre in the bedrooms, if the temperature in there drops to 12C or below it gets heat that night even if it's not the normal day of the weak. i've not had any problems with condensation using this method, though this flat is reasonably well insulated so things could differ if you're in a very old home.

Confuzzled

well that's two lots of laundry hung out on this blustery autumn day, another one in the machine...here's hoping i don't anger the 'weather gods' and get them all drenched :rotfl: (i checked will it rain today website several times, should be ok!)

i was eyeing up the neighbours apple tree, the apples are so red they almost look fake! i'd be happy to test them though, purely for scientific research

my mega roll of bubble wrap came yesterday so i bubblewrapped both sides of the door at the top of my unheated stairs. got the curtain up already on the inside. i realise when i get deliveries they'll see the bubble wrap on the outside of the door but i don't care, if they ask i'll educate them, maybe someone will learn something useful!

i plan to make the new thermal curtains soon, we're have a slow, massive clear out so i can have ONE place for my stockpile and now i don't know where all the bits and pieces are so i'll make them when i find them all.

i haven't really needed it yet. i swear my downstairs neighbours must have her heat on. despite it being 8-10C overnight here recently i've actually been so warm at nights i've had to change out of my flannel pjs and into cotton ones. i swear her living room radiator must be jacked up really high, i was sweating the other nigth and had to open the windows! don't think it's hot flashes either, i'm only 40 and it only happens at night usually around 7-11pm, i think she turns it up whilst she's in there watching telly then turns it back down again before bed

that's actually good for us though, with storage heaters our heat doesn't kick on til after midnight so that time of night can be cold in winter if it's been a really bad day and you weren't able to turn the heaters up the night before.

i'll have my daughter do the bathroom window with bubblewrap this weekend and think i'll do the front door then too

BeverleyH_2

Hi everyone, I've been lurking for a while, picking up some good tips along the way, but have de-lurked today to let you know that Primark have a mid season sale on at the moment and have reduced their huge throws by 50%. They are so lovely and soft, thick and luxurious and such a bargain now at £5.00. I was going to buy one a few weeks ago but didn't want to spend the £10, I didn't hesitate at getting one today though at that price.

Also, if you have a Wilkinsons local to you they are selling twin packs of fleece blankets for £5.00. They seem a nice thickness too and they have some lovely colours.

I hope this helps