Preparing for winter II

Fruball

Hobsons_Choice wrote: »

If anyone fancies a carpet cleaner, take a look at the Bissell site. I bought a small reconditioned one from there four years ago and it's still going strong and will do for some time yet I think - and I have neutral coloured carpets all round the house (fool!!!!)

oooooh useful! Thank you

rising_from_the_ashes

Awwww Shirleymarye hopefully the sun will come out soon - it did say the west would have a "slower" start to the day.

Onto my 4th wash - have decided to do the cushion covers and then will hopefully get the cushions in after that - pets stuff can wait until tomorrow.

Rugs also outside getting a "blow" to freshen them up too!:D

Rainy I wish I only got grey tinged water when I wash my carpet - mud brown is more like it:o. It does gradually get cleaner but there's only so many times I can go over it or it ends up soaking.

Never thought of looking for carpet cleaning solution in the £ shop so thanks for that & will have a look the next time I'm in.

It's just off white (carpet) :eek: - people before me put it down to sell the house (and probably does make the room look bigger which is why they probably did it) but with me, the dog & 2 cats constantly traipsing in/out the door to the back garden, it's really not very practical! Hopefully I'll be able to save up enough money to replace it in a couple of years.

Only downside to all this washing ............ the mountain of ironing it's created!;)

kmiller4

squeaky wrote: »

Yes, I'm well aware that plain flour makes a more "cakey" bread because of the lack of gluten - but around here until recently, strong bread flour was six times the price of plain (All Purpose) flour*. The price of the cheapest plain flour has been climbing fast lately - but it still might be worth the cost of buying gluten if it makes a better bread for me.


* It always seems that in my local shops the cheaper brands of strong flour get whipped off the shelves long before I get anywhere near them. So only the expensive strong flours were available. My latest "find" is the first time for over a year.


So thanks for the info on how much I'd need to use - I think I'll give it a go and see what results I get and if the improvement is worth the cost.

£plain + £gluten < £strong && (result > old) = WIN

Bread flour is more costly here as well It is about double the cost of AP. Its about 1 quid for 2 kg AP flour and about 2 quid for the same amount of bread flour.

Rainy-Days

Rising my carpets are cream, we have a black labrador and a spaniel, but we make sure that their paws are clean before they come into the house after their walkies.

I got my Vax from Netto before they closed it was about £50.00 or thereabouts but it has saved me quite a bit in the long run. I used to have the carpets professionally cleaned, but this way I can keep on top of them and do them when the weather is good. The biggest problem is the rug in the kitchen over the ceramic tiles as that is where the lab likes to pitch up especially when I am cooking for obvious reasons so that gets done more often!

abwsco

Our Home Bargains have some of the Bissel pet formula in at the moment. Think it's £2ish. We bought a Bissell quick wash quite a few years ago and have had our moneys worth.

My winter prep today after work has been ordering 2.0m³ of semi-seasoned wood for the open fire and woodburner. Pity there's a six weet wait for the woodburner though as the manufacturers are so busy. Good news for them but I'm impatient:o

Pooky

I've been avidly reading this thread for months but as we were waiting to move house I was busy running stocks down and packing boxes but now we've finally moved and the last box was unpacked this morning I've been able to catch up.

I've started a store cupboard of doubles, we're on top of cliffs with only a tiny village shop in walking distance, DH is disabled so I need to make sure we don't have to go out in the snow and ice.

As for the carpet cleaning issue, I've been so sick of carpets for years that we splashed out and had all new viynal flooring put throughout the entire house before we moved the furniture in....the only place that will have carpet is a runner on the stairs (got to paint the stairs first tho!!)

Being a new to us house, I'm yet to find out how effective the heating is, we have invested in an oil filled radiator though as we're about to have solar panels fitted. We've got an open fire in the lounge and family have been donating wood so quite a stash to use up.....do need to order some more thoug but have the number of some local people to call.

I was also given a black sack full of fleece fabrics that a friend of a friend got at a mill shop for 70p a sack!!! It's all big bits of 2mtrs and over so shall be making a huge patchwork fleece throw for the back of the sofa.

The village is prone to heavy snow due to being so high up so really do need to step up the snow prep.

Im another that loves the cold weather and snow, I'd hibernate all summer if I could and emerge in time for autumn :T

jammy_dodger

ive bought some rolls of loft insulation as much as i could pick up in the car ( 6 tripple rolls ) my nearest b and q is 40 miles away

am going to lay it over the weekend then hopefully pick up some more also have a friend giving me a pair of long curtains to go over the doors

have invested in one of those electric meter readers so i can closely monitor my usage , have oil heating but its sooooo expensive i want to go as long a s possible before i have to turn it on

thanks for all the wonderful advice on here

pennib

Nice to 'see' you Pooky. I'm not a lover of the winter need the sun to function!

VJsmum

Confuzzled wrote: »

same here winter baby that loves winter prep then enjoying the snow and the snowed in feeling (as long as it doesn't last too long!)

I'm a mid winter baby and I hate it! SO i'm not sure the theory holds true. It isn't just the cold, I hate the dark nights too. I can usually cope in the run up to christmas but January and February are miserable for me. Once the kids have left and i don't have to work then i'm off to spain for 8 weeks every year in the caravan.

tugrin

Jammy please remember to be sesible with the lost insulation and wera gloves - big maco me didnt (hey it was that covered stuff....) and was left with itching and blistered hands where I did the cutting!! Some of the little nicks/scratches took quite a few weeks to clear up. Sorry if Im telling my grandmother etc
I have been at my sisters house today and I ove it there but its soo lovely that when I come home to my dump I feel even more depressed. She says she has been there for 20 years and has had the time to get it straight and the way she wants it - but she has never had vry much money and her house looks fab - where am I going wring I wonder?
If weather continues good and doing sofa cusion covers tomorrow to try and rid sitting room of persistent Eau de Chien pong also going to worm dogs as I wonder if that might be contributing to the oldies incontinence.
No luck on dehumidifier requests on freegle but that was a long shot I know. Seen one on e bay at a very good price - if it doesnt go too high it might be worth the 50 miles to Cambridge to pick it up (could have a nice day out too)