Preparing for Winter

kayjay1809

happytails wrote: »

Hi

Taken me a while to read this thread but its brilliant!

So far preparing for winter, i bought DD (6months) a fleece all in one, a new winter coat, a fleece throw and made her some fleece pants.

We just got the keys to our first house today (proper house situ, we rented before and are at my parents at the mo). WE move in in ten days and ive already informed OH that i want thick lined curtains over every window (some are single glazed!), its apparent the gas fires DONT work, not sure on the central heating system as it has been drained. Already spotted a faulty window, there is a nice big gap down the unit how i didnt notice that when i was looking around

IT does have an old immersion heater and cupboard so i know where ill be drying my things in winter :rotfl:

How id love a proper wood burning stove, one can dream :rolleyes:

WHat sort of curtains are best, obviously lined, but am i best with a heavy velvet type? Also would lining it further with fleece help any?

Sarah x

Congratulations on your first house!! We bought a very grim house that we are still currently working around to try and turn it into a home! In our first house, we had no money for curtains etc, so I made them out of blankets or throws, you can buy cheap ones from Ikea, bargain shops etc, I attached some curtain lining, hung up a pole and they worked very well at keeping out draughts. If you have a bigger budget then heavy velvet works well, and you can interline curtains with a fleecy fabric (think it's called 'bump' in soft furnishing shops) for extra warmth

cheerfulness4

missychrissy wrote: »

i thought I did quite well keeping my heating off until end of October last year. How on earth did you manage til end of November? Do you have an alternative heat source like a fire? I'm gonna get my inset gas fire in the lounge taken out, a fireplace built and a woodburning stove installed next year that I can hopefully use with the free wood I come across when I walk my dog. However, til then I don't think I can last til end of Nov.

Well done!:T

I think you did very well to manage until the end of October last year. It wasn't warm, was it?
Basically we worked out what we could afford in heating (which became the priority spend in winter) and divided it over the winter months and that determined more or less when we should have the heating on.

My children are teenagers now and well able to add layers and understand that we mustn't run up bills we can't afford.
DS1 moaned a bit so we got him an electric blanket after learning how economical they were to run. DS2 was happy to walk round like a yetti in a HUGE fleece dressing gown my parents bought him. BOY they are warm! We all have them thanks to my lovely mum and dad!! :T

The very worse part from us was getting the washing dry for those few weeks before having the heating on. A nightmare really but we got through. Two hours of Hwater am/pm warmed the boys radiators so that helped.

Tips I learnt were:

At least one fleece dressing gown each essential (and quicker to dry)
Shut all doors to keep in warmth. (sorry I scoffed mum )
Kept feet off laminate with pouffees and rugs over us (got 2 storage pouffees from a car boot and brill for storing mags, papers, wii controlers and games etc)
HM Sausage Draught excluders everywhere!
Shut curtains before it gets cold.
That candles give off a lovely glow and great heat. :rolleyes:
That thick soled slippers can't be beaten on freezing laminate.
That venetian blinds keep out masses of cold.
That 'cling film' insulation works great at keeping condensation out. (not good with a cat tho, but sadly she's now gone so at least no shredding by her this year)

Won't go on further because I've only learnt what everyone else has but it makes me feel proud I picked up the tips here and used them successfully.
Its lovely to feel in control of the situation and its worth not having that sickening fear when the bills pop through the door that we used to have when we buried our heads in the clouds.
And when I felt like giving up and just blowing the bills I remembered that others were here and understood that we're not just fanatics but just people trying to sort out our financies so that we can lead happier lives soon with our families.
Actually I'm tons happier already just because we're dealing with our debts. Finally feel we've 'grown up.' :j

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

kayjay1809 wrote: »

I am so sorry, I have a confession to make I put my heating on for an hour this morning as our house was absolutely freezing, we struggled to sleep last night due to both being so cold! I live 'up north' so I think winter has arrived earlier than anywhere else

Today I'm going to dig out the inbetween duvet, take off the summer one and add a blanket for tonight, order the coal for the wood burner and follow this thread to prepare for winter (although I can be forgiven for thinking winter doesn't usually arrive in September!)

Although we have'nt had the heating on I don't blame you.
We live right on the North East coast and it was horrendous here yesterday.
So cold and wet and last night throughout the night it was blowing a gale and the rain just lashed down.
I'm doing what I did last year and finding lots of things to do to keep moving so I keep warm.
I've managed to get through quite a few jobs I had been meaning to do.
The weather has turned so quickly this year,it feels like late Autumn already.
Still raining though.

cyclingyorkie

i have a friend who put her heating on in July and August!!!!!!!!!

this is York....not the North Pole! Put another jumper on and bare feet are not a good idea if you're cold! Put some socks on!!!!

Yet another sign that I am beginning to turn into my mother..........

cheerfulness4

I have a friend who says she hasn't turned her CH off yet this year. :eek:

L.L_2

I haven't had my heating off this year either! I am north east scotland though.

missychrissy

cyclingyorkie wrote: »

i have a friend who put her heating on in July and August!!!!!!!!!

this is York....not the North Pole! Put another jumper on and bare feet are not a good idea if you're cold! Put some socks on!!!!

Yet another sign that I am beginning to turn into my mother..........

I live near York and I managed until last week in October last year without central heating. I had one of my grandsons staying (18 months old at the time) so I didn't think it was fair to expect him to freeze. However, I have a 2/3 year old house so should be well insulated.

I added yesterday a 13.5 tog quilt to the 5 tog summer one I had on the bed. Last year I only had the 13.5 so I'm interested to see whether having my summer and winter duvet together makes any difference.

I'd love to last til end of Nov like cheerfulness but I'm a detached house and just don't think I can do it. However, I'm up for the challenge to last as long as I can.

cheerfulness4

missychrissy wrote: »

I added yesterday a 13.5 tog quilt to the 5 tog summer one I had on the bed. Last year I only had the 13.5 so I'm interested to see whether having my summer and winter duvet together makes any difference.

.

We have a summer and winter quilt combo in winter and it is seriously bliss!
Didn't think I'd like feather but we have a feather topper (topped with a lambswool thingy mum gave us ), then both feather quilts press-studded together and (in extreme weather) both fleece dressing gowns over the end of the bed to make sure we have toasty toes. :T

Forgot to add Missycrissy - we have an electric fire which doesn't really get used in winter accept to quickly warm the room occasionally when my Dad comes round if its very cold. He's in his 80's and its one step too far to offer him a fleece and a bobble hat as he walks in the door.

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I am going to try and do what I did last year and not put my heating on for as long as possible.
I managed till 2nd December last year and it did'nt bother us.
When we did put it on we only used it for an hour in the morning and an hour early evenings because we actually found it an uncomfortable heat.
We both agreed it was just like going back to our childhood days and nothing worse.
We (after I brainwashed my husband) had a good laugh in the process at going back to basics.
I did buy a heated mattress cover to warm the bed before we got in it and a heated sofa throw (for an evening) but that was all.
We found we slept better as our bedroom was'nt stuffy and actually kept busy throughout the day doing all sorts of things as we did'nt want to sit around especially during weekends.
My husband got so active he lost a bit of weight so it wasn't a negative experience,certainly did'nt hurt us and was a bit of a personal challenge.

cheerfulness4

MRSTITTLEMOUSE wrote: »

a heated sofa throw (for an evening) .

I was wondering about those and how expensive they would be to run. Are they just on a par with the normal electric blankets for beds, do you think?

I was thinking that it could be good for when my mum comes for the day in the winter to keep her snug if she gets chilly. I can cope but shes elderly and must feel the cold more.