Preparing for Winter

Princess_kate

Thank you so much for suggesting a boiler service! Wouldn't have thought of that! The company who supply my gas & electric have a protection scheme, £16.90 a month, unlimited call out & parts & labour if anything goes wrong and currently £40 off your gas bill if you sign up and you get an annual service worth £60, will have a think but seem like a good idea really.

jcr16

i love the cold winters. bring on the snow. however on the isle of wight it not that common to get much. this jan/feb was an exception. def will need to buy a 4X4 if house move goes through. i realy love winter.

although i do worry about my nan as she finds it really tough. has probs walking and if icy she looses alot of confidance. but my mum lives opposite from her so thats great. but extreme winters do make you worry about ut loved one's.

katholicos

I haven't really made any preparations other than food prep. My second hand chest freezer (small, not huge) is full to the brim with sauces that i bought or made cheaply and have decanted into meal size portions, these are for winter so i know i will always have a meal in to feed us. I've been buying some extra packs of loo rolls, but need to have a serious think about what i need to stock up on. We have wheat bags to heat up and hot water bottles ...oh yeah, and i'm halfway through crocheting a large blanket LOL! Might be ready for winter, might not! I taught myself to crochet in a straight line and then managed to turn it and build it up....mind you, i do only know the one stitch and i did start off with the width of the blanket being 300 chains/stitches and now i am half way through it i counted them the other night and i'm down to 262 LOL!!! Oh well, i'll have to affix some kind of border to it all to disguise that little fact ;-)

mcjordi

notjustlaura wrote: »

Don't feel like a berk, Hippeechiq - I can't sew either and really admire people who do.

now i can sew.. ill sit all day and sew to be honest but i hate laying laminate floor with a passion so ill swap you

lil_me

My partner has proved it's all in his mind, same with the kids. They keep 'turning the heating up because it's cold' well it's actually switched off at the boiler :rotfl: I win!

Still got a cold so using as much cold stuff as I am stashing

I'm thinking about keeping 2 duvets out for the winter instead of storing my other one, it means more washing but one on the bottom will stop Mr Cold Bum moaning!

jcr16 we have a Land Rover, best 4x4. We've had others but it beats any hands down. I need to think car prep too, we ended up helping a lot of people last year get out of ditches, drifts etc but could do with being a bit more prepared instead of scrambling round for ropes on a snowy boxing day morning to drag a car out so someone could visit their Mum. I need to also keep a pad and pen for getting shopping lists from local elderly people as the carers failed to provide for them last snowfall grrrr! If I was a carer I'd have bloomin walked to the clients near me, like my friend did in the dales, some people just want a day off.

I've bought some 'bubba kegs' cups which keep hot drinks hot, I got them to use in the caravan but they have been so useful at home and will use them in the car. You can fit two average size coffees in and they do me until lunch time having boiled the kettle once. Does anyone use a flask in the house?

Oh Mr Cold Bum needs more THERMAL SOCKS any ideas where I can get ones that work which won't break the bank? He says £1 shop ones were naff!

Oh I need to find a 4ft fish tank so I can bring my turtles in too, they've been pond folk all summer, well since late spring but if it's going to be a cold one they will need to come in.

Butterfly_Brain

Princess_kate wrote: »

Thank you so much for suggesting a boiler service! Wouldn't have thought of that! The company who supply my gas & electric have a protection scheme, £16.90 a month, unlimited call out & parts & labour if anything goes wrong and currently £40 off your gas bill if you sign up and you get an annual service worth £60, will have a think but seem like a good idea really.

Careful on that one because you pay an awful lot for it try getting a local gas safe man to quote it only will cost me £70 for my heating engineer to service the boiler

Princess_kate

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Careful on that one because you pay an awful lot for it try getting a local gas safe man to quote it only will cost me £70 for my heating engineer to service the boiler

I know, think I got drawn in & worried if anything happened to the heating. I'll have a think about it & a ring around to get quotes from alternatives for a service.

missychrissy

Yes lil-me

I use a thermos flask in the house. When I make a hot drink I save any boiled water in the flask and then use it later for another hot cuppa.

Autumn is definitely in the air and I'm feeling chilly. I had a £10 off voucher for Argos that expired yesterday so I bought an electric blanket. I work nights and when I come in from a night shift I don't want to put the heating on as I am going almost straight to bed and I have been heating up my bed with a couple of wheat bags. This electric blanket will be luxury as there will be no 'cold spots' in the bed anymore. I thought it would pay for itself very quickly by saving on heating costs. I'm sure it's much cheaper to warm up my bed with an electric blanket that to turn the heating on.

I also bought a juicer so that I can use up all of the apples overhanging my garden and turn them into wine and a new slow cooker.

JenniO

Just wanted to add re: what to put in the 'car box'. I am always worried about chocolate melting or turning that whitish colour so I always put a bag of cheap peanuts and a box of crackers (like Ritz or similar) in mine just in case. And a cheap fleece blanket in case my little one is in the car at the time we ever may get stuck.

Also, just keep an eye out for cheap de-icer - don't let that FIRST frosty morning catch you off guard.

knithappens

my boiler is on the blink, i have no hot water, and no heating - poo, good job i checked now. lots of gurling water sounds and like it is trying to start but cant. have rang my usual plumber/heating guy.

anyone in the Manchester area know of a boiler man they can recommend