Preparing for Winter V

Primrose

We have one of those electric roll out sun awnings over our patio.  Have only ever used it in sunny weather but there,s probably no reason why we couldn,t stick our rotary washing line in a cast iron parasol base we,ve got under the awning  it so the washing was under cover.

The only problem is the awning has an automatic wind sensor on it.  If the wind blows  too heavily the awning automatically winds itself back in as a safety feature, so the washing would still end up getting wet if that happened.

Tardis4

What about a £30 marquee from Argos, to go over a rotary or drying racks outside? They also have marquees with curtain sides for £80 which would work better in side-on rain.

Tardis4

This one is £30: Buy Argos Home 2.7m x 2.7m Garden Gazebo - Green | Gazebos, marquees and awnings | Argos

Siebrie

The houses on my parents' street have bay windows, and not all of them have central heating. If they have a stove or woodfire, they often have the curtain straight across the bay, rather than following the windows. This cuts off about a fifth of the room, which makes it easier to heat.

sammy_kaye18

sarahlouise1972 said:

Good morning and happy Tuesday everyone.

I'm a newbie and want to start preparing for winter. I live in a mid terrace council house, being in the middle the house warms up quickly. We only have gas central heating and no fire. 

What should I start doing ? 

Thinking of getting a door curtain for the front door but that’s all I can think of. 

Any suggestions would be grateful received.

Have a wonderful day xxxx 

Welcome to the group @Sarahlouise1972

I agree with Primrose and Fionaandphil. 

I think a lot of people follow the mantra of 'heat the person, not the space' so I would suggest
- make sure you have a stock of warm drinks in - tea, coffee, hot chocolate, cup of soups etc
- maybe some extra blankets on the sofa for snuggling under in the evening, 
- draught excluders - either brought or homemade by rolling up blankets
- extra source of lighting - candles, solar lights, solar fairy lights etc 
- blankets on bed for an extra layer
- door curtains can keep in a surprising amount of heat
- maybe turn down radiators if possible but be mindful of damp rooms etc. 
- open curtains in the morning to let in sun and warmth and close them at dusk to keep it in. 

skye_blue

Just a quick note bought 2 battery lights £3.99 for both in a pack - they look like light bulbs and you pull a cord to light them.  They are so bright if you hung them up they would almost light up the room - really pleased with them.  They take 3 batteries but seems a good deal

Oh it was home bargains, that would help

otb666

visiting my FIL i noticed that on bedroom curtains they had 2 sets up in stead of one. and nets i am going to try this out this year in lounge as bay window can be chilly.

otb666

Also the radiators are below windows mostly in house, i usually go round tucking curtains onto sill But will have a think about fixing some magnets/Velcro  or something to make it more permanent and to stay in place

Jellytotts

Large fleece blankets can be safety pinned to the back of curtains to create an extra lining and as they are lightweight they're not putting too much pressure on your pole/track and don't add too much bulk when pulled back.

Ive started saving my loo roll innards and am stuffing them with ripped up scrap paper/card/wool ends from crochet projects and folding them to make firefighters, I used to fill them with tumble drier fluff but we don't have a drier anymore.

Ive got 3 washing lines that span half the length of the garage (drilled some holes in the rafters and threaded through some washing line.  It's a draughty old garage so as long as it's not too damp stuff dries out there nicely.  I managed to get a 2nd hand greenhouse this year which I can empty in the winter (everything can be crammed into the other greenhouse) and I can pop an airer in there, with the window and door ajar I'm hoping it will do the job better than the garage as any sunlight will help.  I will see if I can string up a line in there to make use of more space.

sarahlouise1972

Thank you all, will start stocking up and batch cooking. 

Any more suggestions please keep them coming. Xx