Preparing for winter III

prepareathome

I know this is more a store cupboard thread item but yesterday when I was in Mr S I found their basic rice pudding was 13p a can so I snagged 15 of them. I make my own but sometimes in the winter you just suddenly(well hubby does) feel like something warm around 10pm and to late then to make any he can eat before bed so these are great ( don't taste to bad and not all liquid) with as he has them some jam in them.

Last time I bought any, last year I think they were 25p a tin. We used just the last tins a few weeks ago on a cold night and had planned to buy more, so was very pleased with the price.

Gettingtherequickly

I am investing in a solar charger at £20. I am specifically getting it for my kindle for when I am holidays, will be sharing a room with my friends kids and the cover has a light so will be devouring the battery, so this way I can read in bed and not bother the littlies.

Have discovered that it has various attachments so my mobile is also covered. However, as I happily admit to being a complete technophobe, will it use artificial light to charge in addition to sunlight? As I will be in Egypt, sunlight won't be an issue

jamanda

prepareathome wrote: »

I know this is more a store cupboard thread item but yesterday when I was in Mr S I found their basic rice pudding was 13p a can so I snagged 15 of them. I make my own but sometimes in the winter you just suddenly(well hubby does) feel like something warm around 10pm and to late then to make any he can eat before bed so these are great ( don't taste to bad and not all liquid) with as he has them some jam in them.

Last time I bought any, last year I think they were 25p a tin. We used just the last tins a few weeks ago on a cold night and had planned to buy more, so was very pleased with the price.

A few of these rice pud tins have been secreted in my stock cupboard too - along with the tinned spuds, peas, etc.

I've a sneaking suspician we are going to be glad of them later on.

Rummer

This is the first year that I am feeling quite prepared for the winter thanks, in no small way, to previous versions of this thread!

My main concern is travel over the winter and I have all the things I need for my car sitting in a box just waiting to go in the boot, all I need for that is to add new energy/cereal bars and clean clothes.

In relation to the house there is little to do other than top up the store cupboard, fill water bottles and get the boiler serviced. We are lucky in that we stay close to a number of shops that were well stocked even in the worst of the weather in previous years but I always have some spares in just incase.

The main things we have had to content with in the winter months is our water going off and the heating breaking. This has happened to us so often now that we are usually well prepared!

I do love the feeling of preparing for winter, knowing that I am ready to face the chill. As always though I will follow this thread with interest as there are always so many fabulous hints and tips!

Possession

I'm feeling a bit stupid. I bought some of the Tesco fleeces with the idea that I would fix them to the upstairs curtains. But have just realised that there are roller blinds as well as curtains in every room so fleeces aren't really necessary. The children have already commendeered some to snuggle on the sofa and they were very cheap anyway so not a waste, I just need to think a bit straighter!

becca-2012

Possession wrote: »

I'm feeling a bit stupid. I bought some of the Tesco fleeces with the idea that I would fix them to the upstairs curtains. But have just realised that there are roller blinds as well as curtains in every room so fleeces aren't really necessary. The children have already commendeered some to snuggle on the sofa and they were very cheap anyway so not a waste, I just need to think a bit straighter!

I also have roller blackout blinds then curtains, work brilliantly in our house. Could you not use the fleeces over a front/back door. Don't think you can have too many fleeces whatever they are used for!

bossymoo

My dd has a blackout blind and curtains but I can still feel the cold near her window. I've got a tension rod to go betweent the window and blind, and still going to slot a fleece over it, when it's very cold.

I have enough for all upstairs now!

My storecupboard items are in crates stacked in the bottom of the spare room cupboard. It's not really accessible, especially the stuff in the bottom one. Any tips on organising? I don't want the stuff to not get used, and I heard its a good idea to use and replace at least one item for each shop you do, to keep the dates in check. I suppose I could just do an inventory label for each crate?

Rainy-Days

Not as such preparing for winter but I have been having a major hoof around in the loft. I have sorted stuff for ebay and car booting at the end of this month. I have got rid of bags of clothes to a bank that pays you money per weight. I have gone through my late mums china tea services, worked out which ones I am keeping and which ones will have to go.

The main emphasis is on getting the loft cleared to an acceptable level because this is the last year I intend to be in this house as we are selling! This means that if I don't get this mammoth job dealt with in the next 8 weeks or so it will end up at the tip, charity shop or being taken with us. All of which is going to cost money one way or another. I am no way going to be trudging stuff to the new house - I need a clean sweep of it.

Last year I had a loo roll mountain - this year it has depleted somewhat to such an extent that even DH mentioned about it - so that is a job to get in as well, but again I am going to be a bit more muted on this because I don't want Pickfords turning up thinking I am have some freaky weird loo roll fettish on the go I just wonder what size removal van we are going to end up with at this rate! For the china stuff though I may hire a Transit van and transport that stuff up there on my own steam because I cannot risk it going by any other means - if I bust it it's on my head no one elses!

I have had a set to in the tack room as well and donated two of the boys old winter rugs to a small local charity for them to use.

SpikyHedgehog

bossymoo wrote: »

My dd has a blackout blind and curtains but I can still feel the cold near her window. I've got a tension rod to go betweent the window and blind, and still going to slot a fleece over it, when it's very cold.

I have enough for all upstairs now!

My storecupboard items are in crates stacked in the bottom of the spare room cupboard. It's not really accessible, especially the stuff in the bottom one. Any tips on organising? I don't want the stuff to not get used, and I heard its a good idea to use and replace at least one item for each shop you do, to keep the dates in check. I suppose I could just do an inventory label for each crate?

I work in a preschool & we've had a major sort of the cupboards last week (no kids in except my boys & the other manager's DS, who all helped in varying degrees ). Other manager labelled all the boxes of stuff with nice clear labels & took photos of the resources in them & printed & laminated the photos to stick in the inside of the cupboard for that resource to go in, so each category of resources is in a different cupboard.

This may be more labelling than you want to do, especially with consumable resources... But it looks great and I am tempted to do the same with my store boxes at home (and DS2's toys).

prepareathome

Bossymoo could you change the crates to clear plastic boxes so you can at least see what is mainly inside them. This is what I have done for packets -sugar,pasta things like that as although I do try to keep an up to date list I fail at doing this on a regular basis so I try to keep similar things in each plastic box ( ok these are 3ft x 2ft x 2ft so rather big) but you can get them much smaller and it does make it easier to find things even if hubby has to be called to move the top ones as they have lids so are stacked due to lack of space.

BUT yes it is a big but, as I have my dads tape collection ( he recorded (with their permission) every one he spoke to over 60 years and I promised him before he died I would go through them and find all family, friends and famous people ( he was on tv quite a few times in the 1960s/70s, no he was not famous or actor or singer or anything like that ) and put them on disk. He died a year ago.

A task I have yet to start as there are thousands of tapes, at least he did transfer most of the reel to reel types onto cassette, any way they are all in the same plastic boxes but at the bottom of each pile so at least makes it easier to see into the food boxes as they are not so low down.