Preparing for Winter

Charis

I could hardly believe my eyes today. Homebase are selling packs of five eleven watt (60 watt equivalent) light bulbs for £1.50 the sales assistant said lots of people have queried the price but it seems to be an incentive to get us to change over. They only have the ordinary bayonet fitting bulbs but they are fine for table lamps and standard pendant fittings.

I was feeling really pleased with myself for saving money and keeping the fuel bill down. I bought a few more bits and went back to the car. Realising that I had forgotten something for the garden, I went back into the store and the lady in the garden section suggested I come back in tomorrow or Saturday as it's 10% off then for everything :rolleyes: (not sure if it applies to all stores and there's not a single sign outside ours to let us know.)

So if you've got a Homebase nearby and you need some ES lightbulbs, now's the time to stock up.

FairyElephant_2

gillaman wrote: »

FairyElephant - the opaque cotton tights I bought in Mr A are 78% cotton, 20% nylon and 2% Lycra. Would this be OK or is it still too much synthetic?

Thanks a lot for this - that sounds like a good combination. I will have to get some to try when I get back from my hols. Could I ask how much they are?

Tx again,

FE

gillaman

FairyElephant- the tights are £3 per pair. Primark can also be good for socks/tights etc, though sometimes they don't last that long. Didn't see any warm ones today in town other than their microfibre ones, which would be no good for you.

PJs - whilst in Primark today I saw some warm ladies' pjs. So I bought one pair of cosy fleecey ones at £5 and one pair which are like wincyette (flannel) which seemed quite good quality at £4. Considering I was looking at buying one pair of wincyette for £15.00 on-line I was quite pleased. Again sometimes I find Primark stuff not that good quality but these seemed OK.The wynciette ones need washing before first wear so I'll be able tell then if they're any good.

Charis - thanks for the tip about the light bulbs at Home Base. Just bought one for 50p at Tescos today. Only bought one to try - it worked when I switched on!!

thriftmonster

Sorry - should have said it was Primark I got mine from - the kids' were £3 a pair, even the 13yo ones for ds1.

Quasar

As I have just posted on the Green board, all my lightbulbs are energy saving ones. I was going to go to my local Ikea to get a couple to keep as spare, a few months ago, then my electricity supplier sent me two Philips energy saver bulbs as a gift to encourage me tho save energy - - Last week, my gas supplier sent me a pack with four such lightbulbs, also Philips. So I suddenly have SIX spare bulbs.

I have also the following from last year:

four pairs of thick fleecy Primark socks, were £2.50 for two pairs, wonderfully warm to wear in the home

five fleecy blankets from Ikea and Primak, really snug and wonderful to put in the bed under the quilt so that they feel warm and snug on my skin.

Fleecy dressingown

six fleece jackets for outdoors or even indoors if need be.

Double glazing installed 2 years ago keeps the place warm with less energy.

Lots of candles which I bought when mystery shopping. They give a warm glow instead of lighting on cold winter nights and increase the feeling of warmth.

My slowcooker will stand me in good stead.

Lots of others little adjustments made last year, such as foil behind wall heater etc etc. I'm well kitted out, so bring it on.

bertiebots

Lidl have energy saving bulbs for 39p for anyone who needs them!!

moneysavingfamilycomp

MATALAN have flannelette sheets in only seemed to have cream i bought fitted double £6 and fittted single £5 also had flat sheets and pillowcases. not sure what quality they will be at that price but thought id try them and if we like them buy better quality ones in the sales for next year.

Pink_Fairy_2

Hi all

Another great thread, but sadly never enough hours in the day to read it all!

Don't know if it's already been mentioned elsewhere, but door sausages are a great way to cut little draughts creeping in. I tend to wear two pairs of socks (a thin pair then a fleecy pair - bought in packs of 2 from Peacocks last year). I also love waistcoats as you can have an extra layer on your back but still leave yourself enough room to manoeuvre.

But don't forget while we're making our homes warmer to check your carbon monoxide detectors!!! We don't won't to eliminate fresh air to be overcome. :eek:

I definitely need to do the radiator foil and door curtains jobs asap. Thanks for the reminder.

In winter, I know it's sort of common sense but we eat more stodgy foods, so usually have "proper" porridge for breakfast, none of your instant stuff here, although DH takes that in to work as he starts early, so makes it after he's done his paperwork and before he leaves the depot. Big pots of home made soups that last a few days are a good bet too. It's amazing how well the effects of such food last and help to keep you warm for longer than things like cornflakes and sandwiches.

Anyway, thanks again for the tips I've picked up from you all, just sorry I don;t have time to thank you each but consider it done. I'm planning a quick trip to Homebase tomorrow for some more lightbulbs. Thanks for that tip.

shaz_mum_of__2

gemma86 wrote: »

Hi is anyone else thinking about getting their car booked in to be serviced before winter? ....

Hubby does this but i must remember to get de icer and a scraper etc for the car ,i prefer the trigger type deicer goes further than the can type and less cold to the touch and going to put a blanket in the boot along with a few drinks and cereal bars etc in case of breakdown etc..............any other car ideas?


Shaz

bellybabe_2

Hi everyone,
We spent a lot of Monday's (local) holiday preparing the house for winter. We got the kids to put the foil behind the radiators as an "exciting challenge" , while we put up a new curtain rail in the living room as we recently changed the colour scheme and I bought new lined curtains but forgt to get tab top. So we then had to buy a curtain rail, which took us three hours to put up :rolleyes:. But then we put up a pole in the kitchen over the back door (door is double glazed but doesn't really fit properly in its frame anymore so is very draughty) for the old lr lined curtain - I wanted to do that all last winter but couldn't find long enough curtains at a price I could afford!

Probably going to call into Au Naturale for some cheap but thin fleece blankets and still need to get more hot water bottles - none in the local area as far as I can tell! And I've been inspired to start knitting (I'm hopeless at it but don't care) as i've followed the progress of blankets and socks on here and will make my own blanket. Will probably take me the next five years :rolleyes:.

Been cold in bed last couple of nights (poss cos I have a cold) but we had two blankets on top of duvet last night and I slept better and woke up so toasty that I really struggled to get out of bed - could have stayed there all day!

Thinking about buying some Thermilate as DSs' room has a dormer and no loft space above it so gets really cold, but have read mixed reviews - anyone think it's worth it?

BB