Preparing for winter III

mcjordi

my dad got me a nice fleecey jacket from the car boot £5 which is a bargain considering im not a small person lol

another AF delivey today.. got a good 8 weeks worth of grub in the cupboards atm.. not including the freezer shop im gonna be doing next week..

prepareathome

I received my annual gas statement today - we are on prepay, went on it about 30 years ago when hubby became self employed as a taxi driver and we didn't want to chance big bills and no money. Yes for years we paid more but for us it worked, never once did we go without gas or electric.

We could have changed when he got a 'proper' job and got wages but were so used to this way we stayed with it.

Last winter, ok it wasn't as bad as some, we set the thermostat on 18c and just left it so if temp dropped it would just come on but did't often put it any higher ( usually if its very windy we might have to, to about 20c never more.

The statement says I used £505 for the year now might seem a lot to many, but to me its the cheapest I have ever spent and that is with the big price hike this time last year. All our heating, hot water and hob are gas and we have not stinted on baths. We do now have a combi boiler so water only heated on demand.

I actually get £15 cheque every Sept as I am a dual fuel customer ( works out the best for me thought I check every 3 months, but so far most I could save by changing is £20 per year) the £15 I always use to buy gas with so actually only paid £490 for the year.

I know the reason house was so snug was I took on board all the tips mentioned on here. I think I joined this thread last Sept/Oct.

So just want to say thank you to everyone for your input and I just hope next years statement will be same or even less.

Just waiting for electric one.....oven is electric but thinking of buying an halogen oven to use along side my two slow cookers that I do use a lot to cut costs even more.

Thank you all xxxxx

Possession

That doesn't sound bad to me for the year PAH. For us electricity is definitely the bigger bill though. I need to think of ways to get it down.

Justamum

I pay £140 a month for electricity and £110 for oil. Our phone is £55 a month and we don't even make any calls - but most of that cost is for the internet.

bossymoo

Thanks for the ideas about the garage doors. I will go with the fleeces, and if they look awful I'll put them on the inside of the blinds...

Now just to find some fleeces long enough to reach the ground. Where's my measuring tape...?

Rainy-Days

Justamum wrote: »

They've filmed a Wartime Farm I believe, so hopefully that will be shown later this year. All the series have been absolutely fantastic!

Ooohh I shall look forward to watching this one then. Loved both the Victorian and Edwardian Farm series. I also loved the Victorian Pharmacy that they did as an offshoot of both these series. Found them massively interesting and informative. I love Ruth Goodman, I honestly believe that she lived another life in the Victorian times as she almost lives and breathes that era with such passion. Her knowledge is just amazing.

Prepareathome - I enjoyed doing the winter prep last year and putting together the list for everybody to use as well. My late mum was my benchmark for allot of it so I have her to thank as a wonderful teacher. Just sad she is no longer around to impart even further pearls of her wisdom, but I think we have captured most of them.

I recall one of her mantras that she used to say in the process of her winter preparations which was:-

Clean
Repair
Replace
Prepare

In a nutshell, clean everything inside and out, repair anything broken or in need of repair, replace what cannot be repaired and prepare (your food cupboard, clothing and home) for what may come your way even if that means a bad winter.

Justamum

Rainy-Days wrote: »

Ooohh I shall look forward to watching this one then. Loved both the Victorian and Edwardian Farm series. I also loved the Victorian Pharmacy that they did as an offshoot of both these series. Found them massively interesting and informative. I love Ruth Goodman, I honestly believe that she lived another life in the Victorian times as she almost lives and breathes that era with such passion. Her knowledge is just amazing.

What I like about those series too is that they are all so enthusiastic about it - digging out a toilet? No problem - and with a big smile on their faces. Everything they do, no matter how hard, is done with pleasure.

ETA - they've been filming since September apparently, so should be finishing this month, and I should imagine it will be in the autumn schedules, so not long to go!

SpikyHedgehog

cutestkids wrote: »

I have bought flannelette flat sheets for the boys beds today and next week will buy the fitted ones as well.

I hope to get blinds for their rooms also before winter as the curtains are quite thin so an extra layer between them and the window would be good.

I'm not bothering with any more fitted flannelette sheets - I got them for each bed as we got the beds, so I know DS2's single fitted sheets are about 8 years old, but the elastic's completely gone. But mine are only about 3 years old, & the elastic's already gone in them, and the sheets itself was getting very worn. I know fitted sheets are a lot easier, but will stick to flat sheets from now on. The boys will have to lump it or wait till they leave home to buy their own fitted sheets

What I did last year was what mum used to get us to do. I made the beds with a sheet to sleep on, pillows, flat sheet to go over us, duvet in cover to keep it clean on top of that for warmth. Then, when I changed the sheets, the bottom sheet & pillow cases came off for washing, the flat top sheet became the bottom sheet, clean pillow cases & top sheet, duvet went back on. And it reduced the washing so much! Which is always good for cutting the costs of running the washing machine, but particularly good at reducing drying costs.

nikki2804

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena wrote: »

Hiya nikki2804

This doesn't sound right at all, have you got an online account? if you have you can pop your readings on there and get your up to date balance.

If not you can give your readings to me and I will do it all for you and make sure the Direct Debit it set correctly.

You shouldn't have been made to feel like that about the letter we sent, we would normally just send out a letter asking for your readings or give you a ring.

If I can help, just email me using the email address in my profile page, I just want to make sure all is correct for you

Helena

Hi, I do have an online account. I'm not fabulous at updating my meter readings but they are done every month or so. Ironically the account is only £12 in debit. Moving in Winter now seems like a bad idea, took so long to set up the new account so the overpaid money was refunded (even though I asked for it not to be) and when the DD started again it never built up a credit again

nikki2804

I went to Costco tonight and picked up 24 tins of Heinz beans. Worked out at around 33p a can. Also picked up another Christmas present (bottle of whiskey for FIL)

Got my car fixed today. Thankfully was nothing major (scraping noise when turning left) So its nice and roadworthy for Winter.

I start college soon and I am receiving a fantastic bursary. When my first payment goes in (smaller one) I think I will do a big tin/dried food shop. My store cupboard has suffered greatly in the last few months, time to replenish it.