Preparing for Winter V

Working_Mum

hello everyone, 
Happy New Year to you all.

I picked up a couple of stone hot water bottles from Fr33cycle in November and they've been brilliant! I work from home and cold feet were my biggest issue (despite sheepskin slippers).

I have my thermostat set to 18' and find that keeps the house for cooling right down and cold getting into my bones.

I love reading this thread so thank you everyone for sharing your tips - I find it really inspiring.

((WM))

Nelliegrace

Duvets keep you warm by being fluffy and holding warmth close to you, giving the feather and down quilt a good shake every day makes a difference.  My hot water bottle is still warm in the morning. 
If it is really cold I put a blanket under the duvet, so the insulating layer isn’t squashed. 
Very old fashioned and unglamorous, but bed socks are wonderful. I can have my vest, warm pyjamas, and a jumper and woolly hat, but if my feet are cold, I am cold. My bed socks are old wool walking boot socks. 

-9°C on the garden thermometer. I have let the Women’s Institute secretary know that I am staying at home, though it is a pity to miss the meeting. Just going out into the cold can cause angina, and getting too cold often makes you feel unwell the next day. Extra fluids help. 

cuddlymarm

I’ve found wearing socks and an old cardigan in bed has made such a difference. I strained my arm and the cold was making it ache and waking me and this has helped with this too.

Laura_Elsewhere

I know someone who was a student at Oxford in the 1950s and he vividly remembers wearing two pairs of thick flannellette pyjamas, two pairs of socks, gloves and a woolly hat in bed at night as the stone buildings they slept in had no heating of any kind whatsoever…! 

So if you’re layering up in bed, you’re following an ancient tradition!  

Wednesday2000

I think I'm going to put the sleeping bag on top of the mattress tonight instead as it is quite light and keeps sliding off the top of the duvet! It was on the floor this morning. I think I read that on here that it keeps you warm even if you lie on top of an extra layer.

I have the heating on now as I need to dry my laundry. I miss my tumble dryer from my old house, but it used so much energy that I left it there.

Siebrie

cuddlymarm said:

I’ve found wearing socks and an old cardigan in bed has made such a difference. I strained my arm and the cold was making it ache and waking me and this has helped with this too.

Word of warning: make sure they are clean socks, otherwise you run the risk of athlete's foot!

Cherryfudge

It was minus 5 when I went out this morning but I had warm clothing and the sky was clear so it was an absolute treat to be able to be active. By lunch time there was real warmth in the sun so I thought the forecast had been wrong, but to my surprise, it was one degree above zero! I'm very grateful that I treated myself to a big quilted coat a few years ago, as it makes all the difference. However, the best news is that warmth in the sun, meaning days are getting longer.

SuzeQStan

Wednesday2000 said:

I think I'm going to put the sleeping bag on top of the mattress tonight instead as it is quite light and keeps sliding off the top of the duvet! It was on the floor this morning. I think I read that on here that it keeps you warm even if you lie on top of an extra layer.

I have the heating on now as I need to dry my laundry. I miss my tumble dryer from my old house, but it used so much energy that I left it there.

Sleeping bag underneath is a really good idea.

We have a fitted electric blanket that goes under the fitted sheet on our bed. Use it to warm the bed before we get in.  We only have it on a very low setting once we are in bed on extra cold nights as we don’t want to develop Erythema ab igne (toasted skin syndrome)

SuzeQStan

Working_Mum said:

I picked up a couple of stone hot water bottles from Fr33cycle in November and they've been brilliant! I work from home and cold feet were my biggest issue (despite sheepskin slippers).

You lucky thing- stone hot water bottles are hard to find in our area - ended up with one from a charity shop for £5 because I didn’t want to pay a tenner like sellers were asking on auction website

Duchess2

All this talk about layering up in bed reminds me of when we first got married (in the year dot) and bought our first house. It was a doer upper and, because of finances, we had to do it gradually, whilst living there. For the five years that we lived there we had no central heating (normal in those days) and just one fire in the living room. It was an ice-box of a house and even leaving the gas fire on all night with the door propped open had very little effect on the cold. It was the first time since 5 years old that I contemplated wearing a vest. My mother used to make me wear a liberty bodice!!!  I wore a vest, pj’s, bed socks, a woolly hat and even my dressing gown on occasion. All this was underneath two duvets pinned together and an electric blanket.  My husband used to joke that I wore more to go to bed than I did to go to work😂