Preparing for Winter V

SpikyHedgehog

kittie wrote: »

Time to review all my emergency lighting and cooking this morning. I am getting rid of old torches with normal old inefficient bulbs and I mean they are old.

I bought cree torches from amazon last year for under £2 each. The grandchildren got one each in their christmas present and they liked the torches most of all. I still have a few here but have only put a battery in one, it is a great size for putting into a handbag. I opened one this morning to find that the duracell battery had leaked but the torch is still great with a new battery, no more duracell for me in future as leakage isn`t uncommon with that make. The cree torches are extremely robust and bright....

Re extreme cold and keeping warm, have a plan ready just in case. In my home it will just be a candle or two in my tiny snug, candle heat will keep it warm as it is very insulated. If you have only a large open plan room, then think small inside the open plan something like a tent, no candles in there but it might be a life saver, just the body heat will help. My house depends on electricity, I have no gas and my stove will not work without electricity, gas ch will not work without electricity.

I couldn`t go out for 6 weeks in 2010, the roads here were that bad, I saw cars spinning on the lane so decided that this older body wasn`t going to risk an accident. So I am preparing for that sort of scenario but am including a prolonged power cut. I am not bothered about freezer stuff as it will be packed, so there will be only a little air. I will fill plastic containers and bottles and when frozen, they will keep the freezer cold for longer. If it all fails and I get ruined food then so be it, I am insured

Hobby stuff is high on the list as it can get very boring

I got some amaz on vouchers for my birthday, so will get some of the cree torches, thank you Kittie for the reminder about them! I've ordered 5 - 1 for each of our bedrooms, 1 to hang by just inside the front door and 1 for the car. Which used my birthday present from my sister very nicely

We had a power cut earlier this summer for a few hours - only DS2 and me at home, and we realised there was a power cut when he asked why I'd turned the internet off... Then grumbled at me when I refused to break out the emergency candles to heat baked beans over. We played board games and as soon as the electricity came back on I boiled the kettle & filled a flask & whipped a tub of marge out of the fridge in case it went off again.

The T3sco express on the corner and M0rrisons about half a mile away both had to close as their tills wouldn't work, but we had plenty of food in, and a phone book and corded phone so I could check the number for notifying the outage and phoning up to report it.

fuddle wrote: »

We have two small torches in the drawer and that is it. A bit shameful actually. When I was caring seeing a torch by the bedside was a frequent occurance. I think I should do the same. Although I have pretty LED flickering candles up there I doubt they would be any use in concerns of nightly stopcock or fuse box visits.

Tealights are plentiful as are small candles. I have two ikea tealight holders that are enclosed and can be carried if needed. I would like pillar candles and didn't realise some candles give off unpleasantries so will educate myself about that.

I think my winter preps could be summed up as modest but I am happy with what we have. Youngest needs wellies and kiddies vests need replacing but winter coats are all still usable.

food is still high on lost and gather I continue to do.

I always think my winter preps are modest as well, but think that each year we are adding more to the existing supplies and preparedness. Also, everyone's situations are different - we live in town and our heating is only the gas boiler firing the radiators, which relies on electricty to power the boiler. Living in a new housing association rented house, we don't have any other heating or anywhere to add it, other than electric powered free standing heaters which would do nothing in a power cut except get in our way.

I will get a gas cooker when the old electric one needs replacing, but I'm not going to get much by selling a 12 year old electric cooker, and the cost of a new gas cooker plus the installation costs currently outweighs the benefit. So I'll keep saving up till the electric cooker breaks and then have the money ready to buy a gas cooker and have it installed.

So I concentrate on making sure we're keeping the bills down by insulating the house and ourselves, making sure we've warm and waterproof clothes, keeping the food stores high and hidden from DS2...

I got the cat a new cat bed reduced earlier in the year from Dun3lm (maybe after Christmas?) which is a fleecy igloo for indoors - she used it over the winter especially while we were all out and the heating off, so she's ready for this winter. And not having the hamsters anymore means I can keep the heating lower than when we had them. Any potential new pets will have to be able to live in a colder house to come to Casa Spiky!

Sally_A

smeeth wrote: »

Do you have any links I could take a look at please Sally?

This is my most recent purchase...
http://www.matalan.co.uk/homeware/bedroom/new-arrivals/s2605752/large-check-duvet-set

FairyPrincessk

I've just been prompted to look for damp traps this years. In the past I've always just gotten them for £1 each from the local pound shop but then wondered if I could get them all cheaper--have found them for 5/£3 or 8 for £5.10 on @mazon.

Muser1

https://www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/thur-3-sept/product-detail/ps/p/brushed-cotton-duvet-set-single/

Sally_A

Ooh thanks Muser1, £14.99 for a king size - brilliant value; no Aldi in Bath, may have to do a detour on way back from my Bristol appointment on Thursday.

I do like the look of the checked one.

smeeth

Thanks for all the links! Will definitely keep my eye out.. Sally your new check set looks lovely!
Unfortunately no Aldi nearby, but maybe a trip to stock up on few other things is needed.

RE: damp traps I bought these and they work great:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005MZ1EJE

Mojoworking

My natural habitat on the forums is over on the walking in a winter wonderland where some of us plan for the following Xmas day from.boxing day!!! So I have no qualms at all of having snowflakes etc on the bed - in fact it gives me a warm glow inside. Sorry for any offence caused but felt the need to confess. On this note I bought some fleece material nighties in primark a couple of January's back and they have been my winter or camping wear only this year they never got put away away if that makes sense. There have only been a couple of hot nights and this year I have no tan at all and we usually get a few good weekends but no consistently good weather. I would recommend the nighties they are warm.

nicki_2

I saw the brushed cotton sheets near the clearance section of the local Aldi today. If it wasn't for a stack of other things I need to buy I'd have bought them there and then as I shrank my last lot! I know Asda usually have them in as a "bed in a bag" type thing, or that could just be my local one as its students-ville around here and it seems to be if its in a bag then they like it :rotfl:

I need hotwater bottles. I must remember to look in town for them tomorrow. Some strange winter prep will be done tomorrow, I'm buying DD a new mobile. :mad: Her current one keeps switching itself off and she's getting teased about it as its a flip phone. I'm going to get her a cheap smartphone, and set it up so I can see exactly where it is on my phone (its some g00gle app thing, a friend set it up for me a couple of years back) and I'll feel much happier about her going to and from school without having to text me at each stage of her journey. Earlier in the year there were 3 deaths (a heartattack leading to a car crash, a man run over by a bus and a shooting!), a stabbing, and a couple of minor crashes which caused buses to be diverted in 1 week on her route to school so I think I'm entitled to be a little concerned ;)

davidsdesire

last year we got approx 35 meters of snow here and the Farmer's Almanac is predicting a colder, snowier winter! we have all of last year's prep in place still. I think the thing i need to prepare most is my MIND!!

****ok, you KNEW that wasn't right, didn't you??? 3 meters...only 3. 108 inches or so... oh,i don't know how many meters that is. It's late. But it's a lot of snow! LOL.

Linz4383

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

I've just been prompted to look for damp traps this years. In the past I've always just gotten them for £1 each from the local pound shop but then wondered if I could get them all cheaper--have found them for 5/£3 or 8 for £5.10 on @mazon.

I always lurk on this page and tty and get ideas. Thanks for this i have just ordered 8 i have these everywhere in the house.. am debating whether to order another 8!