Preparing for Winter V

Laura_Elsewhere

@Van_Girl - hmm, well they tried threatening Dad (late 80s) with prosecution for Criminal Fraud because he uses his middle name, so his email address is middlename.surname, and they insist on using his first name, so claimed he was using an agent and should drop all claims or be prosecuted… and then six months after that one failed, they had another go at threatening him again, on the grounds that he hadn't counted a boxroom as a bedroom and therefore was deliberately underinsuring the house and should drop all claims or be prosecuted for Criminal Fraud…
He's exhausted, they both are.
The rest of the family, living at a helpless distance, is livid…

Anyway… back to preparing for winter…! :)

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82110736#Comment_82110736

@Laura_Elsewhere I am gobsmacked! That is beyond nasty!

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Laura_Elsewhere

@PipneyJane yes, we hope to put together a complaint but just now they don't want to think of it…

anyway- preparing for winter! :)

It seems likely that this autumn will be mild but wet and windy- not much chance of kicking the dry leaves on a crisp bright frosty morning! But then in the new year the chances are high for some bitter cold, with or without snow…

I'm trying to get myself better at hopping on my bicycle for short trips, so it feels like less of an effort, which makes me more likely to keep cycling- I have a bad habit of resorting to cadging lifts from my husband, and short trips use more fuel, comparatively. So cycling or walking will be better for me and for our finances- but I need to get into the habit while the weather is still better!

I am also overhauling our woollens next week: checking for any damage, mending any moth-nibbles, tumbling in our dryer's gentle setting for ten minutes to fluff and air them before folding them and putting them ready on the shelves.

TracyS66

I have used the hot sunny weather to wash all the hats,scarves,gloves,thermals,hoodies and coats so they're all fresh and ready for winter. All the dogs winter blankets have also been washed ready for use when needed. Stocked up on longlife milk, a few extras like beans etc just in case. Freezer is full of summer grown veg and fruit.

Just need to put up the front door thermal curtain I bought off vinted for £5.

Laura_Elsewhere

The British plums are still around in shops, so I am happily eating those- I put them on a plate on the windowsill and they ripen beautifully!

I'm trying to make myself tackle the huge pile (lit.) of postponed stuff accumulated over the summer when it was too hot for my brain to function… but now I want to get space cleared for being able to close internal doors, and curtains. We have a few warmer days next week, but then it is likely to become a wet and windy autumn (everything uncertain with this El Niño beyond anything we've seen, but the probability is mild and wet and windy autumn, and maybe bitter cold later, in the new year perhaps). So I want to be able to close doors and curtains easily, and for that matter be able to open curtains fully if it's likely to be darker overcast weather, get as much light in as possible!
I've also put most of my houseplants into a cheerful yellow crate so I can just lift the whole lot off the windowsill overnight and put them back next morning.

Floss

I had double glazed doors put onto my front porch in January 2025 so no longer have cold drafts in the hall. My door snake (a fleece blanket rolled up & tied with pretty ribbon!) has now been retired to become a cat blanket!

Jellytotts

I have a new house to start winter proofing - we moved during the heatwave so know how it copes with heat but not anything else. We do have a flat roof that needs replacing but that’s not doable this year - had some temporary repairs done to get us through the rainy season and then hopefully I’ll have enough saved late spring to get it replaced. Windows and doors are old but we’ve replaced the blown sealed units and have draft tape to go round the doors, again new ones will be required at some point but another savings pot is on the go. We had the gas fire and heating serviced, unfortunately the fire isnt fit for purpose but I don’t want to shell out £1k for a new one - I’d rather spend that money on a log burner but installation would mean a lot of upheaval and having the ceiling skimmed (not a job for the next few years). The heating is old but all works so that should see us through. Plenty of blankets and layers and we can visit the library/cafe/pub to warm up if needed.

Have started a new store cupboard off and have ample room to store water too so have started picking up a few bottles each shopping day. Just need some door curtains, have been scouring the charity shops but nothing doing at the moment.

Laura_Elsewhere

@Jellytotts - I have two normal-length curtains pinned to make one long door-curtain. Worth trying, if you find a pair of normal curtains you like?

I always intended to cut the lower curtain and sew it properly, but initially I just folded the second curtain to about the right length and just pinned along the join, thinking it would be easy to adjust once we'd used it a few times, if necessary. In fact, it has just worked so well and looked so inconspicuous that we've never bothered cutting it :)

Anyway tl:dr get whatever curtains you can, and be inventive with pins :)

PipneyJane

@Jellytotts good luck with your flat roof. Hope you don’t experience any leaks. Is it over the whole house, or just an extension?

Ours was over the kitchen extension and, at its worst, had a buddleia growing from it. We had a temporary roof for 3 years before replacing it with a pitched tile roof, with a sloping ceiling underneath and a wooden airer hung in the void.

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