Preparing for winter IV

CH27

I'm back for my third year of winter prepping & like Rising from the Ashes says it does get easier.

I need to
check over my winter clothes that have been put away & get my boots heeled.
check the batteries in my CH thermostat
buy tea lights
buy matches
stock up on tins of beans & tomatoes.
Stock up on frozen veg
make & freeze portions of mash.
replenish the medicine cabinet.

I've got all the other stuff from previous years

lobbyludd

I've got myself a new winter duvet, as I had 2 sewn together and one of them was coming to pieces and to be honest I was sick of fighting to get 2 in the duvet cover: I have loads of blankets, I'll use those on top of the duvet if needed.

I've bought 2 single flannelette sheets from ebay (£2.99) so the kids will be extra snuggly, and a radiator (for 99p!) to get my brother to plumb into dd's bedroom, which has no heat source.

have made dd a crocheted rug and now need to do one for the lounge, then it's lining the rest of the curtains and the big expense: some more loft insulation.

other than that we have boots/coats/hats/gloves/candles/stores etc

Confuzzled

it would appear i've added building up my immunity to my winter preps list, i seem to have a cold

oh well maybe if i have one now i'll avoid it this winter


i got my new emergency basket in place today, it's tucked neatly into a cupboard next to my desk so it's very handy, all my winter hats, gloves and scarves are in a chest of draws in the hall and our winter boots and shoe grips are in the bookcase i bought for our shoerack in the hall.

i had my daughter try on her winter coat and thankfully it still fits but the autumn jacket is pushing it so i'll keep an eye out at the market and charity shops for another, i have enough coats for different weather to keep me going for some years now thankfully

still have to make those bedroom curtains and come up with some sort of solution for the hall windows, the magenetic tape solution won't work with those as they are too tall and i'd have to climb up on the sill every time i wanted the curtains open. i'm thinking maybe a bamboo rod , cup hooks and some fleeces, anyone know where i can pick up a bamboo rod?

hollieinbloom

Confuzzled wrote: »

anyone know where i can pick up a bamboo rod?

Can you not use the sticks you'd use in the garden to hold plants up? those are bamboo canes but if you wanted something thicker, maybe try out B&Q? xx

greenbee

Confuzzled wrote: »

i'm thinking maybe a bamboo rod , cup hooks and some fleeces, anyone know where i can pick up a bamboo rod?

I use cup hooks and dowel to make blinds. Thicker bit at the top (you need to check that it will fit into your cuphooks), and a thinner bit at the bottom to make them hang straight.

bossymoo

Confuzzled wrote: »

it would appear i've added building up my immunity to my winter preps list, i seem to have a cold

Hope it doesn't last too long
Reminds me, though, I wonder if I'll get a flu jab offer. Had one last 2yrs although I did tell them I wasn't eligible anymore, they still sent for me last year. I'll definitely get one at Asda if not through my surgery.

Since having these, I never seem to get any bug at all during the flu season. In fact, I don't think I've had anything since tonsillitis in May 2012. Must have saved me a small fortune on beechams and benylin :rotfl:

sammy_kaye18

Confuzzled wrote: »

it would appear i've added building up my immunity to my winter preps list, i seem to have a cold

oh well maybe if i have one now i'll avoid it this winter


i got my new emergency basket in place today, it's tucked neatly into a cupboard next to my desk so it's very handy, all my winter hats, gloves and scarves are in a chest of draws in the hall and our winter boots and shoe grips are in the bookcase i bought for our shoerack in the hall.

i had my daughter try on her winter coat and thankfully it still fits but the autumn jacket is pushing it so i'll keep an eye out at the market and charity shops for another, i have enough coats for different weather to keep me going for some years now thankfully

still have to make those bedroom curtains and come up with some sort of solution for the hall windows, the magenetic tape solution won't work with those as they are too tall and i'd have to climb up on the sill every time i wanted the curtains open. i'm thinking maybe a bamboo rod , cup hooks and some fleeces, anyone know where i can pick up a bamboo rod?

:eek: Confuzzled I could have written this post this morning.

1. Not feeling well. Owen brought me a juicer for my birthday so I think I will be using this in the coming months and hopefully over winter if I can stock up on frozen berries and cheap veg cheapily.

2. Found a suitable box yesterday that Im thinking will include hats, scarves and gloves for me and the kids, and the dog leads

3. The zip on my coat broke yesterday so I am guessing Im in the market for a new coat too - although Owen had a nice one from Go Outdoors which has a removeable fleece and is lightweight and waterproof. His is black but they did have a nice pink or purple one too and with a card I think it was £19.99

4. could you not use several bamboo canes tied together - if no one is going to see them then it wouldn't matter about looks just practicality and it would save you a few quid.

fuddle

I sat last night stitching 2 buttons on my winter 'dog walking' coat otherwise known as the 'duvet'.

The smart school run coat is ear marked for dry cleaning next pay day.

Girls coats are still fine

1 pair of wellies need to be replaced (other pair will be hand-me-downs)

DH needs nothing

House needs nothing but I will add another fleece blanket to the box

Food stores an ongoing strategy.

Need Gas for emergency outdoor cooking (if we lose power)

More tealights

Save jars to put tea-lights in

Some PJ's hand-me-downs but some need replacing for eldest - Primark

---

My 4th year of winter prepping and I am definitely more relaxed knowing that the items already sourced will last us. We have a house move coming up possibly. Having lived through winters in a large damp house with extortionate fuel bills and last winter to now in a small well insulated new build, I am concerned about whether the house will be up to winters but...

I know where to come if not

Confuzzled

thanks to everyone for the suggestions for finding a bamboo rod, however, i think i had an eureka moment this morning, those fleeces i bought from ikea are just the perfect size for my windows and they are very light so i think i'm going to find some of the net curtain stuff (what is it called here?) for hanging net curtains.

those hooks are small and should be sturdy enough for me to draw the curtains to one side in the morning, if not i can still use a small cuphook through loop at the end of the wire. i'll just need to sew a small channel at the end of each curtain.

the fleeces are white with a light grey swirling pattern and look nice enough and do let light in as well for really cold days if i don't even want to draw them at all. also, if i do this i can actually put them just inside the window well, it's angled out which is a problem for a tension pole but not those little hooks. if i do this you'll barely see them plus the curtains will pool lightly at the bottom of the very deep sill which will create a nice barrier of about 18 inches from window to fleece, so no condensation problems, excellent cold barrier and it'll look neater too

why i didn't think of this before i don't know but i'm glad i did, i suspect getting the net curtain wire stuff will be cheaper than getting the rod anyway and will look better and no trip to b&q required which will save me a tenner in travel alone, yay :T

also came up with a no cut solution for the bedroom windows. the next door neighbour gave me two pairs of curtains she no longer uses and i noticed that if i fold them lengthwise then fold over a few times they fit each window nicely. now i'll have to make sure that with the added fleece inside the magnets are strong enough to hold them up but as long as that works i think i've just discovered a way of making my curtains and still having regular curtains later should we move or need them for something else all i'd have to do is remove the stitches i put in and take out the magenetic strip

and just now another eureka moment (maybe i should get a cold more often! :rotfl:) one of the sets of curtains is purple and would match all the purple kitchen items my daughter talked me into buying, the other set is a lovely sable colour that would look good on the living room end of this room, i could just add fleeces onto those and use them down here then use the curtains we had down here for the bedroom windows, because they aren't as nice... ooh ideas ideas, though i'll need a few more fleeces now :rotfl: the ones i planned to use in the bedroom curtains aren't so nice because we weren't going to see them anyway, to unpick and start again or buy more hmmmm

MaddyWaddy

Afternoon all, I have finally caught back up with the thread :T

I am not sure where to start I have a general idea of what I need but this is my first proper year of making a decent effort at prepping as last year I was heavily pregnant with my little girl - needless to say with a new born and an extremely chilly April / May (when my heating usually goes off) I had to keep it on ... £600 Gas / Elec bill

I freecycled all my tee lights thinking I never used them so i'll have to buy some more of those and maybe some jam jars to keep them safe

We already have enough duvets as I have just replaced the old ones ... needless to say the old ones will be going on my side of the bed both underneath and on top (me and dh always argue about him being too warm and me being too cold!) I have been looking for the "old fashioned" sheets that looked like sheeps wool - they weren't the brushed cotton ones but proper woolley ones ... I had them as a kid which was lovely and toasty.

I have never had hot water bottles but I will be this year as I am aiming to keep the heating turned onto low upstairs. I also need to tackle the kitchen which is an icebox yearround

I am also looking into an indoor washing line but have seen some poor reviews about the ones in argos so I am thinking frugally and thinking of making one - just need to find somewhere to put it that is hot enough to dry the clothes and not use up all the radiators.

Will be sourcing hats, scarves and gloves shortly as well as winter coat for all of us including my step daughter who hasn't got one. Will need to make sure she has enough winter clothes too - it is getting chilly already.

I have made a start on the food cupboard and second freezer which is a good job as money is tight for the next 2 months Just bought a big sack of spuds too which usually last 4-6 weeks