Preparing for Winter V

SuzeQStan

Tried something new as was fed up of freezing in draughty cold bedrooms in winter 

so - we lifted the carpets and the underlay (very thin) and used duct tape on every floor board join and stuffed that draught excluder tape (the kind on a roll - best bought from a discounter as big box stores charge the earth!!)  any way stuffed that into the gap between skirting board and floor board all way round each bedroom. And put draught excluder tape on all windows/doors/loft hatch as thw old tape had perished there

proof will be in the winter whether this has helped at all - total cost approx £45 for lots of rolls of duct tape and draft excluder tape. Hope it was money well spent.

edit - granmar

boultdj

SuzeQStan said:

Tried something new as was fed up of freezing in draughty cold bedrooms in winter 

so - we lifted the carpets and the underlay (very thin) and used duct tape on every floor board join and stuffed that draught excluder tape (the kind on a roll - best bought from a discounter as big box stores charge the earth!!)  any way stuffed that into the gap between skirting board and floor board all way round each bedroom. And put draught excluder tape on all windows/doors/loft hatch as thw old tape had perished there

proof will be in the winter whether this has helped at all - total cost approx £45 for lots of rolls of duct tape and draft excluder tape. Hope it was money well spent.

edit - granmar

When we lifted our carpets to mouse proof [ big hole in the floor board the seller had put a cupboard over] we also put down the foil underlay stuff to stop the heat escaping through the floors [park home so no insulation].

Van_Girl

If anyone is North Wales based, North Wales Storm Watch on FB is fantastic for weather forecasting. And also for aurora watch.

I took my heating off frost mode this morning. Not to say that it will come on, but if the temperature dips enough it at least has the chance to. Mainly because I realised my towels are no longer drying in the bathroom after use. I'm actually quite looking forward to wearing jumpers again

Laura_Elsewhere

Think we got caught in every downpour today, but worth it to have this haul of fruit! apples to eat, crab-apples, damsons, lots of hedgerow bits, and even some hops for a sleep-pillow!

SuzeQStan

Wow what a haul @Laura_Elsewhere 😍

I’ve had something of a windfall here too - saw some free curtains and liners listed on tr@sh n@thing app so picked those up yesterday and they are the perfect size to cover my French doors and keep the winter draughts away

i have bought cheap king size fleece blankets from c@stco (£12 each inc tax) so am going to interline those between the curtains and liners and that should be v effective at keeping the draughts away

We done something similar on front door a few years back but had to pay £20 for the curtain on eb@y for that one.

so am thrilled and feeling very lucky today - especially as the curtains match my decor almost perfectly (!) I would have put up with a clash for being warmer but now I don’t have to.
photo below:

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the free sites are amazing - have filled our wood stores from them as well over the last couple years. We keep wood on rotation in multiple log stores so we season for 18 months before burning

ET22

@Laura_Elsewhere, I can’t believe how much there is. Did you get all that from your own garden? 

My cousin grows her own fruit and veg but I don’t think she’s managed as much as you have. 

What do you do with it all before it starts to go off? 

Laura_Elsewhere

@ET22 No, we just walked round the lanes and tracks of my friend’s village, and then round a bit of my town, and we could easily have picked four times as much- my friend has more than I picked
We live in a top-floor rented flat so I have become quite good at spotting useful sources of edible stuff when out and about!

I have made batches of damson jelly, crab apple jelly, and some damson and crab apple jelly. I chopped up about a pound and a half of the damsons to use in baking over the winter, in cakes and so on. I still have some crab apples to make more jelly with, probably in smaller jars to give as presents. I have picked out the best little ones to out into spiced sweet vinegar, to eat sliced with cold meat over winter. The hedgerow bits (rosehips, haws, blackberries , etc.) and a pound of particularly fat haws are in the freezer in bags; I will make some hedgerow jelly, and I may try some spiced haw-sauce to give as presents. 

The hops are in an organza drawstring-bag that Wool Warehouse sent some knitting eool in, hanging in our bedroom window in the breeze to dry- we both have slept very well albeit with unusually vivid dreams! when dried, I shall crumble them up and mix with some lavender I kept from the summer when I wove some lavender bottles, and make a little flat envelope-bag for them, to slip inside my pillowcase.

 Think that’s everything for that lot!!  

Laura_Elsewhere

I’m also a bit knackered now, and planning to do absolutely nothing tomorrow!!!

ET22

I love how the preserves look.I bet they taste amazing. 

luvchocolate

I moved my wardrobe around to bring Autumn/winter to the front and sorted all drawers. 
Checked all tinned food for dates. 

A question do you all take notice of dates on tins?   Tomatoes beans etc