Preparing for Winter

Emstick14

maryb wrote: »

Emstick
Could you use a baby monitor for your 4yr old so you would know when he wakes? If he doesn't want it in his room it might still be enough to have it just outside the door

I could do but haven't used one for 3 years now and also like to think that I am saving the extra electric. Thankyou for the suggestion:-)

ChocClare

If you read the winter thread it is absolutely brillo - loads of good advice.

For my money, the top tips are:

1. THICK curtains. If you can`t sew, hang blankets or quilts behind them but make them THICK.
2. Fleece blankets. If you`re curled up on the sofa, make all the difference.
3. Thermal underwear. Sexy! Lidl and Aldi usually do some cheaply or else there`s good old Damart.
4. Blanket or old duvet under your sheet. Makes your bed much warmer.
5. Hot water bottles or rice bags you heat in the microwave.

If it`s a sitting room, you can get that cling filmy stuff you apply to windows with a hairdryer - they have it in Wilkinson`s and it`s about a tenner, but I`ve heard mixed views on how effective it is. You can also put bubble wrap at the windows but then you can`t see out...

Our next door neighbours in our last house never had central heating - they moved into the house in 1916 (you think I`m joking - the man was a baby when they moved in and he lived there his whole life) and one time when my husband was changing a washer for them on one of their taps he had to keep coming out into the wintry sunshine because it was warmer outside than in their house! Ah, Edwardian terraces...

buxtonrabbitgreen

ChocClare wrote: »

If you read the winter thread it is absolutely brillo - loads of good advice.

For my money, the top tips are:

1. THICK curtains. If you can`t sew, hang blankets or quilts behind them but make them THICK.
2. Fleece blankets. If you`re curled up on the sofa, make all the difference.
3. Thermal underwear. Sexy! Lidl and Aldi usually do some cheaply or else there`s good old Damart.
4. Blanket or old duvet under your sheet. Makes your bed much warmer.
5. Hot water bottles or rice bags you heat in the microwave.

If it`s a sitting room, you can get that cling filmy stuff you apply to windows with a hairdryer - they have it in Wilkinson`s and it`s about a tenner, but I`ve heard mixed views on how effective it is. You can also put bubble wrap at the windows but then you can`t see out...

Our next door neighbours in our last house never had central heating - they moved into the house in 1916 (you think I`m joking - the man was a baby when they moved in and he lived there his whole life) and one time when my husband was changing a washer for them on one of their taps he had to keep coming out into the wintry sunshine because it was warmer outside than in their house! Ah, Edwardian terraces...

That reminds me of my late mil. She lived in the same house all her life too. The stair carpet was crocheted by her, and had lasted 30 years.

ChocClare

buxtonrabbitgreen wrote: »

The stair carpet was crocheted by her, and had lasted 30 years.

CROCHETED stair carpet? I BOW to your late mil... (actually it sounds kind of hideous - please don't be offended, I'm sure it wasn't ) - but it must have taken FOREVER!!!!!!

PasturesNew

ChocClare wrote: »

CROCHETED stair carpet? I BOW to your late mil... (actually it sounds kind of hideous - please don't be offended, I'm sure it wasn't ) - but it must have taken FOREVER!!!!!!

Stair carpets never used to cover stairs, you'd just have a runner going up the middle, held in place by a metal bar where each step joined... so it'd have been large, but probably not as large as you're imagining.

ChocClare

No, I only imagined it going up the middle with stair rods. Isn't that enough???? :eek: It still must have taken forever!

seasideshack

What about an electric blanket, they are only a couple of pence an hour to run.

I bought a convector heater from ebay last year, it is a brand new Delongi one and was only £20. Best money i ever spent. Keeps the room lovely and warm and is only 3p per hour to run. Plus it has a thermostat to regulate the temperature.

anguk

How about some removable, magnetic double glazing?
http://www.magnetick.co.uk/gbu0-prodshow/diy-secondary-glazing-magnetic-double.html

You just stick one bit to your window frame and the other bit to some clear perspex/plastic sheet. There's some on ebay a bit cheaper, you'd just need to buy the plastic sheet from a diy shop.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=secondary+glazing&_sacat=0&_trksid=m270&_dmpt=UK_HomeGarden_CLV_Cleaning_CA&_odkw=magnetic+double+glazing&_osacat=0

Some of that on your window with some thick curtains should make a big difference.

anguk

Skintmama wrote: »

anguk

Try the following:

Draughtproof windows and door.
Curtains in a warm thick fabric.......fleece is both light and warm. You could go for a neutral colour or something brighter that looks nice with the yellow as lots of colours go with it.
Use a net rod and put up voile in between the glass and the vb. I know it is thin but it all helps!
I was once advised to shut off all the radiator valves and then starting with the furthest rad to open them enough to get the heat through. This worked for me as the rad closest to the boiler was raging hot and the farthermost one was cold. Sorry I am not technical enough to explain more!
Maybe try a heat lamp overhead.....if your ceiling height allows?

Thanks for that, I'll try that with my radiators and I think I'll stick some curtains up.

Money_maker

The Works have some lavender wheat bags on their site at £2.99 or 2 for £5. You pop them in the microwave and they're warm and smell gorgeous. Was looking for some for ages for a little old lady I look after as she has arthritis. Ebay was always quite expensive once you look at P&P. The Works website does it on weight, cost me £2.25 for one wheat bag and a childrens book I haven't read for years. Saves me a trip to the nearest store.