Preparing for winter II

Confuzzled

sparrer wrote: »

Is it just me or are others embarrassed to let people know they buy cheap loo roll? Daft beggar that I am I keep a few rolls of the more expensive one and put that out when I'm expecting visitors :rotfl:

oh i'm certain plenty are too embarrassed to admit it but personally i care not, it's going down the loo why would i pay a fortune unless i had some health issue that made it unbearable to use something that wasn't either really soft or really thick.

we did for awhile, when my daughter was in cloth nappies and we were uber poor use cloth wipes. we had wet ones for bm's and dry ones for wees and drying up after using a wet one, they went in a nappy pail and got washed with the little ones cloth nappies and cloth baby wipes. we actually enjoyed this it felt very fresh though we put out toilet paper for visitors.

when we moved to another city we had communal washing machines. the little one was no longer in nappies so we didn't fancy keeping enough used wipes of our own to save up to fill one of the expensive pay as you go washers and thought washing them in communally used machines was not the best etiquette anyway so we reverted back to using toilet paper.

if times got really hard again i might consider going back (we used old flannel sheets and old cotton shirts all cut into squares). but i doubt it will get to that i'd cut back elsewhere. it was conveniant at the time as it wasn't any different than washing my daughters nappies which we were already doing.

did i tell everyone we were doing it? no way! only those more frugal minded people... but the toilet paper for visitors was actually a luxury because at the time we were living on about £10/wk grocery/spending money :eek:

Confuzzled

Ida_Notion wrote: »

Maybe I'm just thoughtless and unfeeling to visitors, who could well be whispering behind my back to each other about the dismal quality of toilet roll on offer here (I doubt it though), but it's never occurred to me to upgrade for anyone. The way I see it, the worst that anyone who judges me negatively because there's Smart Price toilet roll in the bathroom can do is decide they don't want to know me any more, and that's the kind of person I wouldn't miss anyway.

couldn't agree with you more! :T

besides with that kind of attitude they should feel lucky i let them use my loo at all shallow barstewards! :eek::rotfl:

Confuzzled

littlecal wrote: »

(((((tugrin))))) you are entitled to a 'black moment' an unoccupied property can make a lot of difference IME. Can you try putting up a wall hanging or something similar on the 'empty' side of the room? Oh flippin' 'eck I know what I mean,it just doesn't look right in print!!!!!

if you have any bookcases or large furniture putting them against that wall could help reduce some of the coldness you feel coming into the room.

i've resolved that if i ever get a house i'm planning on putting in built in storage on all the exposed or north facing walls to take care of this very problem... i can dream :rotfl:

miss_corerupted

well i'm back from uni, studying forest policy sooo exciting! on a plus note I found a goat skin rug in a charity shop for £10!! so thats now next to my side of the bed its gorgeous. I put those double sided draft excluders on before i went. When I came home oh has taken them off because he doesn't like them!!! men.
i managed put 1 liner curtain up. I was trying to scrunch the first one up my pulling the string things and i didn't realise they weren't attached at the other end. argh so know i need to find a needle to rethread them. worse thing is i've done that before!!

Rainy-Days

Tugrin - Valk-Scot is right, there must be a source for the condensation from somewhere. An unoccupied adjoining property can make a difference to heat loss/retention particularly if you do not have thick walls or cavity wall insulation which makes a difference.

Showering/bathing I always have the window open ajar in the bathroom anyway and I make sure that the door is shut during and after to prevent moisture wandering all over the house. Even something simple like using an old towel to wipe down the condensation off the windows and tiles can make a big difference.

You have done so well, do not give up at the first hurdle, the way to look at it is this, this is your test run to get things battened down once and for all. Get these problems fixed and you will be on the home run to having it secure, safe and water tight. I get really down days as well. Yesterday DH told me that the fascia boards are rotten and unsalvageable, I could have wept. Total cost to replace ourselves = £350.00 with supplies from B&Q and Travis Perkins. Last month we had varying quotes to replace the facias with uPVC at £4,000.00 - it's a no brainer (we have allot of fascias and guttering surrounding the whole of the property with two big gable ends front and back hence the big price tag). Our neighbour this morning (who looked after our house while we were away on holiday) is going to help DH next week getting the gables off and replacing them - which is a huge boon to him because DH would have struggled. It's a big job but by next weekend it will be done and the rot gone.

The ode to this is keep on keeping on, find the root cause and deal with that, make sure your home is well ventilated in the interim to dry back and wet/damp spots and speak with the owner of the adjoining property. Not sure if Environmental Health may be able to help you, particularly if the problem is not stemming from your home. Check your house insurance they may be able to help as well - you are covered for escape of water. They will send a surveyor and he/she will give you a definitive answer when you know what it is, you can deal with it!

Yes it was cold last night I have even thought about putting the flannelette sheets on the bed today - but I am holding off at the moment until we get the first real frosts!

NualaBuala

((((tugrin)))), I'm sure all your preparations are helping even if it didn't feel like it this morning! I seem to remember people talking about wall hangings last year on this thread. I did a very quick search and found this recent post from Annie http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=46340601&postcount=5592. I wonder would hanging something (anything) on the walls help make it cosier. As for the moisture - I thought those were good suggestions above on ventilating and allowing all the humidity from cooking, bathing, breathing etc to escape.

Hope everyone is ok - hugs to anyone who'd like one!

I can't remember who mentioned the fleece-lined tights in Primani but thank you! I got some yesterday, can't wait to try them! I got another pair of PJs and some of their fake uggs to wear around the house as slippers, they wouldn't last me long as real boots though. I treated myself to a pair of rieker boots for every day which are lovely and comfy and lined with lambswool. They're not leather but they're lovely and cosy and will go with just about everything I wear so am pleased. So my feet and legs are sorted for winter even if nothing else is!

Not sure if it's the same in the UK but today Aldi in Ireland has thermal underwear sets and also thermal and fleece insoles.

LadyDee

Just back from Aldi - and I will NOT be cold this winter. A bit of an investment which has stretched the budget a bit but hopefully I'll be able to economise on the heating: Thermal trousers £10.99; 2 pairs thermal socks £2.99 each, and perhaps best of all I bought a couple of thermal underwear sets - long sleeves, long legs, at £8.99 each, bit of a passion killer but they'll be so cosy!:)

NualaBuala

By the way, I was wondering what do you all wear for outerwear - winter coat or waterproof type jacket? Any recommendations and advice are welcome as I'm starting to look around for something. I might try to make do with what I've got till I can get something in a sale.

Kathy, hope you make it across the pond to visit Ireland sometime It's lovely here but dear - seems to be more expensive than the UK. I get very jealous listening to the bargains everyone mentions on here! I rarely buy meat nowadays and when I do it's organic so don't know what the equivalent prices are for what you mentioned but it sounded very cheap to me! Also you seem to get amazing deals with coupons. We are mostly kg/g here but butchers and greengrocers are used to both systems now.

Rainy-Days

NualaBuala wrote: »

By the way, I was wondering what do you all wear for outerwear - winter coat or waterproof type jacket? Any recommendations and advice are welcome as I'm starting to look around for something. I might try to make do with what I've got till I can get something in a sale.

Some of my best jackets are what I bought years ago. One of the Next jackets that I bought back in 1995 is still going strong, it is a duvet like effect. It has a down and feather padded interior and it is really warm. I only use it when it is really bitterly cold, but I wash it every year and it comes up beautifully, but it does take several days to dry and I air it off in the conservatory for about three days. The best jackets I find personally are equestrian stuff. They are hard wearing and waterproof. I took my Harry Hall jacket on holiday with me and even though we had some wet and cold days (first week) it kept me warm and dry. Some of them you can zip a fleece liner in them as well. I only ever buy mine during sale events at these places as I just could not afford to buy them at full price. I have shorter bum covering jackets if you know what I mean, then when I am getting in and out of the car I don't have the coat or belt getting dirty on the door cills. Look for coats that can be washed as well. Ebay is a really good place to hunt for coats as well. I also find equestrian stuff cropping up on car boot sales too. I also find that coats where they have a cord that you can gather in or a belt are also warmer as they seem to hold and retain the body heat better than those without a gathering. My main coat buys have always taken place after Christmas when the sales are on, I can get a coat in Next for half price or even less and put it up for the following year - find things that have longevity in them, that you can wear and wear.

MrsRogers

Afternoon all - Plans have come to a complete stand still this weekend for us DH & I are full of cold and feeling rotten:(

On a brighter note the fleece blankets and medicine stockpiles have been greatfully recieved this weekend.

So nice to not have to go out when feeling dreadful. Will have to remember to replace all that we have used.