Preparing for winter III

nicki_2

Fuddle - we have one of those thermostats and I love it. I have ours mounted halfway up the stairs about head height as the radiator with no control on is in the hallway and its tiny. This is also the coldest room in the house (excluding the kitchen) as its a north facing gable wall since we're end of terrace, so it makes sense for it to be there. Originally the installers wanted to fit it in the livingroom but since there's two radiators (its a big room with a quarry tile floor under the laminate) and a gas fire in there as well as it being open to the kitchen I told them to put it in the hall lol They then put it right opposite the radiator :mad: So when they went I moved it :rotfl: We have it set to come on in the morning for a few hours because if its chilly we can't get up It comes on again around lunchtime for an hour or so (this is when our house is in shadow as the windows face east & west and the house gets chillier then), then again for 30min for the end of school time to help dry off any wet coats etc and defrost us in the cooler months. We then have it come on about 6pm until 10.30pm. All these times its set to 18c and in between it varies between 14-16c. I do occasionally boost the heating to 20c when its damp as the house gets so cold, or when we're getting out the bath etc I don't know how we coped without it

[Deleted User]

PAH - I covet an american Root Cellar, they look such a good idea but we don't really have anywhere suitable to build one. We are set higher than our neighbour by about 10 feet and the soil is river plain silt and gravel, so very dry and dusty, not ideal to excavate. I'll just have to make do with the spare room!!! AUNTIE BYATT - Ise gladd vat yew likded mine jokie, has yew stiwl gotted Bess wiv yew or have she gonded bak tew her biigg sista? I finks vat er Inglynook puppie isa kinda laskan sledgie doggie wot livs inna kowld place lotsa luv frum Docky anna slurp xxxxxxx.

fuddle

Thanks so much for the feedback re: the room thermostat. I'm digging out a savings tin as soon as I log off here. It will hopefully lessen our gas usage.

So interesting about official emergency household planning. I'll look into that in more detail as I'm dipping my toe into prepping for adversity.

I must get wind up radio and wind up torch.

pigpen

Winter prep list for Pigpen

I need to..

*make door curtains for front and back door
*get blinds cut to size and put up in the kitchen.. need screws!
*Boots for everyone.. Squeak and Tiddles done
*make draught snakes for back, front and french doors... I have a pattern finally
*make linings for boys room curtains and put up their blind
*Tiles for the kitchen

Have already.

* Had installed new bedroom windows.. and the loo and bathroom!
*Draft tape ALL the doors and the remaining 4 non-DG windows.. Mine and Squeaks bedroom window done.. it made a huge difference.. but I needed extra double sided tape and the french doors desperately need doing.

Adding a shopping list.

* curtains tracks for front and back doors
* coal/logs .. in case of dead boilers we WILL have heat!
* snow shovel is a good idea.. might help OH with snowman building!
* Refill medicine cupboard.. calpol, tixylix, ibuprofen, cocodamol, day/night nurse capsules, anbesol, savlon cream, [STRIKE]lip balm[/STRIKE], strepsils, vicks sinex, rennies,
* Battery charger
* boots/shoes for.. Jacob, DS3, DD2, DD3, DD6, DD7, DS2 maybe.
* stockpile nappies/pull ups, sanitary towels.
* stockpile medication.. insulin, needles, test strips, lancets, glucose tablets, batteries for BM, growth hormone.. in case stocks struggle to get through to chemists, spare 'pen'

Fruball

Remember to think about quantities when you are planning medicine stores etc.

I am in bed with norovirus atm and ran out of re-hydration sachets after a day with 2 of us needing them! Luckily a friend dropped a couple in and I arranged a MrT delivery today as I knew I would need more meds and food for DD1 who has escaped the evil bug so far.

A minimum or 2 boxes per person of the dior*lite should be kept in store - dehydration is horrid.

Same with calp0l etc... if you have 3 children that are all poorly, one bottle just isn't going to last long enough!

prepareathome

If funds allow a solar powered battery charger is a good idea for charging up mp3, ipods etc - you do have to look around but you can get some that don't break the bank, I think mine was £14 and I just leave it along with solar powered ( and wind up) torch, radio and some lanturns on the window ledge of spare room permenantly so they are always ready to be used.

Obviously the more expensive chargers hold more power and charge faster but this on does me, have tried it and you can use your equiptment while its in and if you are using it in daylight will continue charging up as well.

I also have one of those 6 or 7 in one car starters - it has a couple of cigerette lighter type things ( mind gone blank) so can charge up things with your car chargers - again handy for mp3/ipods etc, also has a mains plug which means could run lights or something that doesn't need to much power for a bit, has a built in light and a usb port for charging things as well. Means even if say power is off and no internet you could still run pc or laptop for games etc. My aim is to buy a second one this year at very least. Just have to remember to keep it charged up itself, and of course its there if cold stops car from starting which happened to us not last winter but one before, couldn't use if for three days as cold had drained the battery ( ok battery was on its last legs got new one and no problems last winter).

You have to remember if power goes down no internet, tv etc and kids get bored ( as do adults). I make sure my kindle is fully charged at all times ( well usually do - you will see I will forget some time and we will have a powercut) and I have wondered what I should do for hubby as he either watches tv, browses the net or listens to music at home but refuses to wear earphones, he reads but never used to much but now does when I have to go anywhere - he takes his book and sits in car reading instead of coming home ) so for his birthday I plan to buy him a kindle and get books he likes on it and also some decent speaker for a mp3 player ( I only have mp3 players no ipods here) so he could listen to music and have it charged up with solar charger if we did lose power. If I ever do get my dream of a small generator then he could watch dvds on portable flat screen - didn't buy it was one of the few things I managed to get from dads last year as it doesn't use much power. Organising for him is as bad as for kids.

I have lanterns that take candles as years ago when kids were little where we lived we were always having power cuts so the kind of lanterns you would use in garden are perfect with little ones around, I also have wall sconce's that take two candles and have a mirror behind them ( I bought 4 in a Past Times sale years ago for £9 each which as they are brass was a great bargain). I also have a lot of oil lamps - bought one cheap and someone bought me another as a present and its become a collector thing now, I have about a dozen or so small oil lamps - not good with little ones I admit or jumping pets, but could go on a high shelf or mantelpiece and do give off decent light ( and warmth).

prepareathome

This will sound OTT to many, but if there was a major outage then even our toilets could stop working, due to water needing to be pumped at some stage and this is what I have for a real, real emergency..........

Bucket - with lid if possible
Cat litter ( chalky type)
Cat litter scoop
Nappy/doggy poop bags

You either put the bucket inside the toilet or on something so you can sit over it..

Fill bucket about a quarter of way up with the cat litter.

If liquid is added then just add a small scoop of cat litter over it or do as cat does and use scoop to cover with litter already in bucket.

If solid is added then use scoop to remove and place in a nappy sack/doggy poop bag and seal - somewhere with a lid would be good place these bags ( or you can just take them straight to outside bin). Then add a bit more cat litter.

The cat litter will absorb the smell.

When bucket is about 3/4 full then empty into a plastic bin bag and seal.

Now its not the best idea ( one day I do hope to invest in portapotty) but its a stopgap and cheap way of at least having a toilet when water is at a premium for any reason or toilet won't work.

We have two toilets up and downstairs and a few years ago both would not work due to tree roots getting into pipes underground and blocking them and we used this set up for a week till everything cleared and got to admit smells went quicker than normally do - just think if you have a cat so long as you remove solids from it regularly it doesn't smell.

So might sound urg but something to think about - oh yes I just keep in Mr S basics cat litter for this. Just remember go for the chalky not woody type.

prepareathome

Frugal wrote: »

Remember to think about quantities when you are planning medicine stores etc.

I am in bed with norovirus atm and ran out of re-hydration sachets after a day with 2 of us needing them! Luckily a friend dropped a couple in and I arranged a MrT delivery today as I knew I would need more meds and food for DD1 who has escaped the evil bug so far.

A minimum or 2 boxes per person of the dior*lite should be kept in store - dehydration is horrid.

Same with calp0l etc... if you have 3 children that are all poorly, one bottle just isn't going to last long enough!

Thanks for the reminder, I ran out of re-hydration packets a few months ago and as yet not replaced them, so put them at top of my list.

Complan or similar is handy also to have in to help give you nourishment after something like norovirus ( poor, poor you) and you don't feel up to cooking even something simple, and again handy if no power and only food likely to come out of a tin, which mostly is not so good on a just recovering poorly tum.

Sending you lots of healing vibes

Rainy-Days

Frugal get well soon I know how hideous this bug is as I had it just before Christmas last year. Keep hydrated and when you feel you can manage something a piece of dry toast is a good starting point.

John Lewis flannelette sheets arrived this morning and DH finished off the roof ridge tiles (needed replacing) today as well. Big job but that its about the worst of the jobs for preps over.

Fruball

Rainy-Days wrote: »

Frugal get well soon I know how hideous this bug is as I had it just before Christmas last year. Keep hydrated and when you feel you can manage something a piece of dry toast is a good starting point.

John Lewis flannelette sheets arrived this morning and DH finished off the roof ridge tiles (needed replacing) today as well. Big job but that its about the worst of the jobs for preps over.

Thanks Isn't it dreadful? How long did you have it for? - DD and I have both hurled all over the bathroom floor on our way to the loo :eek: DD is 6 so totally understand that but ME???!!! Then there is the body pain... all over... The most violent and forceful D&V bug I have ever experienced and I hope I never do again. I am 36 hrs in now and DD 48 hrs so we are starting to feel slightly better altho totally wrung out inside _pale_ We have both kept a few breadsticks down so will try toast and marmite next and if that is ok, some chicken this evening. I am STARVING!!!

It's really important to have some easy to prepare, simple food in for anybody who is unfortunate enough to get this during a spell of bad weather or a crisis.