Preparing for Winter

turfy6

Not too cold yet here in Southern Ireland, but Im starting to get organised.

Have the fleece underblankets on and closing the curtains as soon as it gets dusk. Ive begun boiling the kettle and transferring what I dont use to the flask, as there is only little old me here in the day, so that should save on some elecy. Have dug out the scarfes and gloves for the children ready for a sort out. Any more tips ? Rainy today and dark so definitely feels more wintery. Im going to look in the charity shops to see if I can find some old fashioned eiderdowns, they used to be so cosy.

angelkissingdevil

Well I live in France and it's just started to get cold here, and like many others I'm holding off putting on the heating. Unfortunately the temperature tends to drop here a lot more than when I lived in the UK (close to other houses), we live out in the open now (fields everywhere), so the wind wizzes around here. Even though all French houses have shutters (insurance purposes) it's still rather cold.

things I've done for the run up to winter.....

bought a brickette machine - mulch up old papers etc for fire
remoska - is always being used
pressure cooker - ready for stews etc - also just learnt how to make the best rice pudding in it - good winter comfort food
fleeces ordered and coming over in November to line the kids curtains x3
New duvet (feathers) - lovely and warm
Bed topper is already on

Holding off lighting the fire

During the day it's lovely warm and if I get cold in the evenings I take my laptop to bed and watch tv from there. (unfortunately no man to snuggle up to).

And if I'm still cold I'll put socks on for bed.....

If I find myself getting cold during the day time (baby permitting - 18months)(not so much baby any more) will either get the wii fit out or the step aerobics could be making a comeback - exercise will keep me warm....

And if all else fails - drink lots and lots of hot chilli or ginger drinking chocolate - it's the best

Princess_kate

I've just had my new matress delivered, not very MS, BUT I have just put my matress protector in it which I got free by asking & being a bit cheeky! & it worked! Its not very thick but I was just wondering if that would work the same as the fleeces people have been putting under their sheets to make the bed warmer?
Last night was much colder & I think its set to get worse!

poorbabe

Hi Princess kate.

The mattress protector will help a little, but a fleece or blanket will improve it even more. I've had a waterproof m.p. for years (night sweats at 'that' time of the month) and a few weeks ago have had a blanket on top rather than a sheet and it's made a lot of difference. I'm sure that's why I'm still using my summer duvet rather than the winter one :j right now.

oystercatcher

Princess Kate,

I use a matress protector with a waterproof matress protector underneath, one with terry towelling attached to it.
I like a waterproof layer as I like to drink coffee in bed at weekends and can be a bit clumsy. (Never mind the dribble, 'floods', leaky/ill children etc etc that can happen in beds ...I can't imagine why everybody doesn't have a waterproof on their beds !!)

Anyway what I wanted to say is they both look very grubby after a few weeks and require a good wash. So I always think that would have been on the mattress, well worth protecting a nice new one !
I'm considering adding another warm fleecy/blankety layer for warmth as well. I think it's to do with having something soft and fluffy underneath to insulate so the more the better basically. (But also more to wash )

Oystercatcher

Princess_kate

Thanks Oystercatcher, I will make sure I wash it reguarly then, will let me air the bed while its in the machine. Whatever airing the bed means, just something my mum tells me to do! hehe

Princess_kate

And once it gets colder il probably add a fleece blanket aswell!

HairyHandofDartmoor

It's still really warm here . We haven't needed the heating on yet (just as well as we are having work done on the back of the house and the boiler is completely inacessible when the builders have left! :eek: )

Also there is nothing beyond the kitchen door but air and a few breeze block walls! :eek: There is a bit of a draught comes through first thing in the morning or last thing at night, but when I'm in the kitchen I just put my fleece on.

It feels really warm in the rest of the house. Our neighbours must have their heating on really high (hee hee) :rotfl:

mardatha

We are wondering if this winter will like this summer .... think if all that rain was snow !!! I'd still be tunnelling oot !

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

mardatha wrote: »

We are wondering if this winter will like this summer .... think if all that rain was snow !!! I'd still be tunnelling oot !

Oh,my goodness mardatha.Can you imagine,actually they had a weather man talking on radio 2 and he more or less said it's going to be a more cold traditional autumn and winter with frosts and snow.
I remember days when we had lots of snow,I once woke up and the snow had fallen so heavily over night that it had covered the front door we had to be dug out.That was in the 60s.
Do you remember the heavy frosts that we don't seem to get now,you'd get your milk in and it would have risen out of the bottle by a couple of inches with the foil resting gently on the top.
At school you had to put your little bottle of milk on the radiator to thaw out as it was always frozen solid.
If the rain we had over summer does turn to snow then we better keep our shovels handy.