Preparing for winter III

MarilynMonroe_2

I would say an electric blanket switched off at the plug before they get in would be safer than a hot water bottle , although I had one when I was little and never had any mishaps BUT I think they were thicker rubber and better made back in the 70's personally, probably alot dearer too in comparison. Depends on their age and if they are able to move to their feet off quickly if it gets too hot.
I have an irrational fear of electric blankets cos you always hear about fires. I just chucked mine out I bought 12 ish years ago, probably used once!

Are many of you on the christmas thread?

MarilynMonroe_2

chirpychick wrote: »

I have to say again how much last years prep is paying off! Our downstairs and our bedrooms are really maintaining their daytime temperatures of around 20-23 degrees at the moment!
Still having issues with the cold hallway, I just don't understand why!
We have a big heavy door curtain and the windows are being fixed before the end of October which hopefully will make a difference. I just cannot fathom why it is so cold in the hall!
The letterbox has the black bristley things and hubby filled all holes etc that could possibly create draught. It is either the front door or the loft hatch (hubby insists its not the loft hatch), thats all I can put it down to. The hall is even carpeted unlike the whole of downstairs. might try putting bubble wrap over the double glazing on the front door?
Any other suggestions?

I made £60 on ebay and brought a winter coat from New Look, a hat from ebay and gloves from ebay.(the rest went on baby stuff). My lovely Mum brought me waterproof trainers and I got hubby some welly socks for his birthday (oct).
We still need to get 2 fleece blankets for the curtains in the nursery.
I have seen a gorgeous fleece all in one for the baby which i am hoping to make enough money to buy (it's £5 so not too extreme) and I am hoping to get a onesie for christmas (the only thing on my list) and hoping hubby will get brought some slippers by someone else too lol.
oh and do the car kit and hubbys commuter bag. (we have everything just need to put together).
That should be us done this winter - i hope to achieve a bit more next year but baby took priority this year.

well done on your ebay sales
I'm just thinking how hot I got after I had my daughter, it was like my thermostat stopped working, so you might be hot anyway lol x

chirpychick

MarilynMonroe wrote: »

well done on your ebay sales
I'm just thinking how hot I got after I had my daughter, it was like my thermostat stopped working, so you might be hot anyway lol x

It wouldn't surprise me!
I generally run hot anyway (it is ALWAYS DH who puts the heating on first every year) the only part of me that gets cold is feet! But currently it feels like the middle of Summer to me! I was kind of hoping that extreme would wear off after baby is born!! I love the cold
P.s you know i'm on the christmas board

ScattySkewbald

valk_scot wrote: »

The traditional method I'm told is to pee on the padlock, though I've never tried it myself as I'm female and lack the necessary directional part. The more hygenic method is a thermos of hot (not boiling) water.

Lol - think I'll give this one a miss, wouldn't be making myself too popular:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Thanks Bossymoo - didn't think of bubblewrap. Got plenty of it lying around at the mo thanks to my ebay blitz

Helen2k8 - Thank you, I'll have a better look and see if they'd be suitable

bossymoo

It's either that, or you can buy the covered padlocks. My shed has one of those. They have a rubber cover to keep the water out and prevent rust. Assuming its water that freezes the lock, this might work. I've never known mine freeze up. There is a little rubber flap at the bottom to pop over the key slot. You can get them in pound shops...

nicki_2

I spent yesterday lining curtains with fleeces, and blanket stitching two lined curtains together for over the front door as a temporary measure until I get the curtain track I've bought up. My heating kicked in at lunchtime yesterday so I turned it down

Today I'm going out to work to collect books from customers so I'm going to be naughty and put the heating on constant so when I get in (about 30mins after I leave, but I do a couple of trips) the house will be warm and I'll be able to warm up. Just sitting here updating a couple of things I'm freezing Mind you its drizzle, cold & miserable out there ATM so I'm not surprised

Possession

MoonJelly wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions. We are already co-sleeping so I can vouch for the effectivess of sleeping in one bed. BUT I've never heard of microwavable toy bags -will definitely check out.:T

It's this kind of thing :
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=hottie+microwaveable&_sacat=0&_odkw=hottie&_osacat=0
We have them and they're very good, but I've found we need 2 for each child as they like to cuddle them but also need one for their feet!

Holche

ScattySkewbald wrote: »

Can I pick your brains please????

The padlock to the yard where I keep my ponies constantly freezes during winter and as I'm always up there first I get the task of defrosting it - any easy ideas how I can prevent it happening? I've tried WD40 and wrapping it in an old towel but have only had limited success.

I've found lock deicers on ebay which are like heated keys - anybody used them?

I find that keeping the padlocks to our yard well oiled seems to prevent them freezing as much. Use something like 3 in 1 oil though rather than WD40. In extreme temperatures wrapping the padlock in bubblewrap also helps.

rosalie-lavender

My daughter has one of these. He is adorable.:D

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intelex-Cozy-Plush-Microwaveable-Warmer/dp/B000WC2M9S/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1348134861&sr=8-11

I think I paid about £5 for hers. The prices do fluctuate up and down on Amazon.

Confuzzled

chirpychick wrote: »

I have to say again how much last years prep is paying off! Our downstairs and our bedrooms are really maintaining their daytime temperatures of around 20-23 degrees at the moment!
Still having issues with the cold hallway, I just don't understand why!
We have a big heavy door curtain and the windows are being fixed before the end of October which hopefully will make a difference. I just cannot fathom why it is so cold in the hall!
The letterbox has the black bristley things and hubby filled all holes etc that could possibly create draught. It is either the front door or the loft hatch (hubby insists its not the loft hatch), thats all I can put it down to.

i suspect it's a combination of both the letterbox and the loft hatch. you could try holding a lit incense stick near both openings to see if there is a draw that would signify air coming through, in fact you may wish to check the entire area

bubble wrap on the glazing should help a bit, a simple solution for the letter box would be to find a way to attach a piece of fleece or felt over the slot on the inside of the door, maybe a velcro strip they have some with adhesive so you could lay one side of the strip against the door and it would stick and then attach the other side to your felt/fleece (you may need a few stitches to keep that in place it depends on how well the adhesive would stick to the fabric) so the velcro would be just above the door slot but the bottom half of the fabric would be loose so letters could be posted through without too much trouble (make sure the fabric is a good size)

if you had problems with the fleece staying down you could sew in some very light weights in the corners with say a bean or something just to keep it from flapping about after being disturbed by the postie

as for the loft hatch, you could use some of the sticky backed foam strip draught excluder around the seal, this won't keep you from being able to get into the loft but it would help stop any draughts from coming down and is very very easy to install and remove, i even use it on wooden window frames in the flat i let (they are terribly warped) with no damage to them when it is removed. just be sure to clean and dry the area prior to installation or it won't stick properly