Preparing for Winter V

sammy_kaye18

@Primrose I do enjoy hearing about the USA on here as well. Like you said its nice to know what is happening overseas and how their issues are affecting them because it gets lost here in the UK because the British TV dont really let us know unless its a presidency race or some sort of scandal it seems. We didnt even hear much about the horrible cold snap that his the US last year and the things my US friends were telling me was just shocking! 

Chances are I should really get a new duvet before Christmas anyway - mines a bit old now and deflated. I do leave it open to air though or make the bottom and fold the duvet back if that makes sense. 

cuddlymarm

Hi Sammy_Kaye18
I found out I had cancer in May but it’s all removed now and I don’t need chemo luckily but I’m still healing and am gradually moving back on to a normal diet. Just to add to our woes OH has blood clots in his lungs so he’s off work too.
So life has totally changed for us at the moment, both of us are contemplating giving up work at some stage( we’re both 62) 
However after you’ve had a few days in hospital you count your blessings cos there’s a lot of people so much worse off than us. The family and friends are fantastic and although the NHS is on its knees have been wonderful to both of us.
I always keep plenty of food and supplies in and luckily OH didn’t get ill until I was well enough to potter about a bit. So we manage.
The only thing I need to do is the find some more of my warmer clothes as it’s getting a bit chillier now. Our flat is as well insulated as it can be and we just pop an extra knitted throw on top of the bed if it gets really cold.
Anyway I better get on, hugs to everyone 

catz4m8z

Im currently prepping for winter by leaving my windows open throughout the day! Sounds abit weird but I like to try and get myself used to lower temperatures and normalize them so I need less heating later on!
As for duvets I make do with a summer one all year round and sometimes add a blanket for winter. A childhood with no heating (and every coat in the house thrown on the bed so you cant move!) has made me hate layers....Id rather chuck a jumper on in bed then add another layer.
Looking forward to diggin out my Oodies, fleece pj's and big cardies though. I tend to layer up rather then heat the room (and give the dogs lots of blankets to burrow into!).

sammy_kaye18

@catz4m8z I think that's a good idea and Im slowly trying to do that with the family and husband. I have the bedroom window open still - even if just cracked to let some fresh air in, and during the day I have the back door open to let air through, air the house from any potential lurgies that get brought in and to try and acclimatize to cooler weather. Touch wood he hasn't complained so far but I did see on the weather next week that some places could hit -4 and I think that's when I will likely to start hearing about it.

Well last night I had managed to get a late night Asda shop delivered and was shocked to see that my £75 shop was barely anything. Granted I brought a few things of meat and washing powder but there use to be a time when it filled more than 3 boxes! and Im not buying brands Im meal planning and thinking ahead but it was shocking. Thankfully it was a small top up shop for the freezer and we have plenty in as we learnt over lockdown to keep a storecupboard (not a giant stockpile but enough to do us a few weeks) but crumbs - I think if we are entitled to the next cost of living payment then I might bulk it out again because no doubt I will be wishing I had it over Xmas!

Also was trying to find a basket or a box that I can put blankets in in the living room so they are kept tidy because when they arent in use and just on the sofa it annoys me so I have dug out a collapsible box that I can hide next to the sofa to put them in so they are to hand 

SuzeQStan

@sammy_kaye18 - have always found proper grocery stores expensive for washing powder. We find cheapest place to buy is at h@me b@rgians, l!dl or ald!

Laura_Elsewhere

We did an interesting experiment when I first moved in, reducing the measured dose of laundry detergent gradually, until it reached the point where we felt it wasn't quite enough; so we upped it a fraction, and marked that amount. For almost a decade now we've used that amount, and it's worked really well, and we're in a hard water area, very hard, where they recommend using more!

The amount we settled on? About one-third of the recommended dose...!!!

I think it's well worth experimenting, just so you can find what works for you and your clothes, and make the stuff go further. We also kept a note once to find out how much further it went, and when the label said, "up to 54 washes!" we got over one hundred and twenty washes... (because the one-third was for routine washing but sometimes we used more eg for bedlinen and towels if someone had been ill, etc.). 

Primrose

I've always thought the amount of laundry liquid recommended was a bit of a con.  After all the business of detergent manufacturers is to sell as mush of the stuff as possible.
if you know you have extra grubby items to wash just soak them in a bowl of warm liquid overnight which usually releases much of the dirt and then use about  a third of the recommended liquids recommended for a wash.
i work on the basis that if the machine is still producing soap bubbles during the washing process there,s enough soap concentrate in there to do the job.

it,s a bit like the toothpaste adverts which show a ribbon of about an inch of toothpaste on your toothbrush.  You get conditioned to thinking this is the amount you need to use whereas an amount the size of a dried pea will do the job  perfectly adequately!

Laura_Elsewhere

Even just soaking things overnight in plain cold tapwater will make a big difference to stain removal, ime! 

I think "portion size" is worth checking in all these things!

For washing-up, I now keep a little dish by the sink, pour a small squirt of washing-up liquid in, and add a sploosh of tapwater and a sploosh of white vinegar and stir it with a finger, and it does the job really well, and uses much less than squirting it directly onto the sponge or brush or into the water! 

sammy_kaye18

@Laura_Elsewhere I do exactly that. So I brought a Family pack of washing powder - I do look in HB and BM but use a specific branded one due to daughter having eczema and this one doesn't give her a flare up - but like you I don't use the recommended amount. I have a small plastic bowl I brought as a mistake (I didn't read the size guide) and its literally like something you'd see on a snack board but it scoops a half dose perfectly so I use that. If things aren't dirty I just use a quick squirt of washing liquid on a rinse setting and a nice smelling fabric softener and then spin them! 

Exactly the same with washing up liquid. I have a jar next to the sink, I will dunk my sponge in that jar so it gets the last bit, lather it up and make sure the plugs in the bowl. No need to put huge squirts in the sink, then if I have something Ive cooked with or that needs soaking I put it in the sink once everything else is done. 

I hate waste but I wont use excess unless I have to. 

Primrose

How the liquid soap manufacturers must hate us sharing all our tight fisted money saving soap tips!  They're never going to hit their sales targets are they?