Preparing for Winter V

mardatha

Rebecca Ann, buy cheap fleeces at places like Ikea and use them to line the back of curtains, the double layer makes a huge difference. If you have good strong curtain poles then it's possible to hang cheap downies from them on stormy windy nights.
Dont stress trying to heat bedrooms - heat the beds themselves instead. Hot water bottles or electric blankets. And warm pyjamas/dressing gowns, not cheap thin rubbishy ones.

littlegreenparrot

The last couple of years I've bought lovely sets of tartan brushed cotton sheets from Asda. Can't remember how much now but around the £20 mark for a double set. Well worth looking for them in the autumn. Makes such a difference.

Primrose

Rebecca Ann, If you live in a rental don't spend money of things which will benefit your landlord. Get practical stuff you can take with you.
I had a uncle who wouldn't spend money on double glazing. Every winter he simply sellotaped a huge polythene sheet across his windows to keep out the draughts and didn't remove it until spring. Not convenient if you want some ventilation in your house though!


Invest in thermal underwear for everybody. It really helps. I've bought a couple of cheap body warmers from charity shops which help to keep you warm when sitting still for a long time. Warm socks and bobble caps keep heads and feet warm.


Hot water bottles and woollen bed socks are a huge comfort on cold nights. If you have local charity shops, ask them to keep an eye out for a replacement slow cooker for you, or try car boot sales.
If you are late night TV watchers, turn the heating off earlier and go to bed earlier. The extra sleep may do you good !


I would mention the window draughts to your landlord and ask him to fix them before winter arrives.

RebeccaAnn

Thank you all very much.

I will keep a list in my purse and hopefully find a few bits in the charity shops before I have to buy new. Never thought of car boot sales, I will have a search and see if we have any good ones locally. The safety pins and fleeces is a brilliant idea, I have been looking at making window quilts but they seem quite time consuming and I would be gutted if we moved and couldn't reuse them.

beautiful_ravens

I dont know where to keep my winter blankets?! Thanks to decluttering, I got rid of wardrobe and drawers, we have no airing cupboard, under the bed is where I keep clothes and the rooms get mouldy easily. Any ideas?

Primrose

Can you store your winter blankets under the mattress?
Or flatten them out and lay them on the seat of your cofa covered by a decorative throw?
Or in those transparent plastic zip cases which you sometime see in dry cleaners for storing duvets in have been dry cleaned?
Or in your holiday suitcases?

beautiful_ravens

Good ideas!! Thanks

mardatha

Vacuum bags under the bed I mean those air tight ones you use the hoover on to sook out all the air lol

Laura_Elsewhere

A friend who trained as a butler (!) told me that the vacuum bags are really bad for long-term storage as they break the fibres and leave permanent creases and can lead to tears along the crease-lines; also, they aren't actually air-tight so don't protect against moth-eggs hatching, if moths are a problem, and they also won't keep out mould, but will actively encourage it

He enlightened me on that little lot just after I'd bought four vacuum-storage bags, bah humbug!

richj

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

A friend who trained as a butler (!) told me that the vacuum bags are really bad for long-term storage as they break the fibres and leave permanent creases and can lead to tears along the crease-lines; also, they aren't actually air-tight so don't protect against moth-eggs hatching, if moths are a problem, and they also won't keep out mould, but will actively encourage it

He enlightened me on that little lot just after I'd bought four vacuum-storage bags, bah humbug!

did he offer an alternative?