the ice man cometh! (merged with keeping warm)

mrsthrifty_2

Sassamac wrote: »

Ive never heard this tip before, I will give it a go. how does it work? does the towel absorb the moisture from the clothes? confused!

yes, the large dry towel and the larger the beter absorbs moisture from the wet clothes and the drier making drying times much quicker

Nutty_Tart

Going back to the timer thing - I picked up a couple of 24 hour timers from Wilkos before Christmas reduced from £4 to £2. However, I did notice that B&Q had loads in their £1 bins the other day - doh! (They also have in them in Mr T's, but I think they were more than £4 :eek: ). I have one on my washer as I wasn't using the economy 7 properly and one on the dryer in the garage (but that only gets 1x 60min cycle per week for undies & socks!). I also made a 'sausage' for the front door from a curtain sample stuffed with shredded paper. Sometimes you can pick up the samples for next to nothing when the shops change their displays. I also put that foam stuff around the window 'seals' which I found really works - this was free as I 'borrowed' it from a friend :rolleyes: . I can't think of anything else which may help at the moment, but its early and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet...

Primrose

We once lived in a flat without central heating and I installed a Tidy Dry retractable washing line in the bathroom which attached to the walls at each end of the bath which rolled out over the bath as a washing line. If a bathroom window was kept slightly open,especially on a mild day, this was a good way of drying bulky objective like sheets and towels.

grreatsite2

I'd probably also add it's worth standing and checking where draughts are coming from and blocking them. Our hall was absolutely freezing and then I realised it was due to cold air rushing through the keyhole of the door from the garage! This was despite us having draught excluders round the actual door. It took me just a couple of minutes to bung up the keyhole and hey presto, if not a warm hall certainly not a bitterly cold, semi-arctic one like before!
Should just add, if you do bung up keyholes make sure you can get the bung out easily afterwards (tissue etc is fine).

buxtonrabbitgreen

My DS has an airvent in his bedroom level with the matress of his high sleeper. We do have central heating and it is on. Set at 18 degrees as I think there is nothing more miserable than being cold. But what I was going to say was that in the winter he takes the cover off and stuffs it full of old clothes. At the moment (thick walls big hole) it is stuffed with 2 pairs of jeans and a coat. I don't blame him as his room is always coldest, 2 outside walls and above the unheated kitchen.

chrissie55

my mate's house had gas fires but 'twas never properly warm & dry till she opened & used the fireplaces behind the gas fires, & got the concrete off her damp course. Coal is dear now but she collected lots of free wood. Insulate all u can as cheaply as poss; for an attic bedroom, can u put some old blankets over walls/rafters?

MadCad

Using candles definately does work - we've turned our heating down FOUR degrees by using candles in the lounge in the evening. It helps that we don't have a whopping great house - but we all stay in the lounge in the evening & close the doors, light a few candles & within a short time the room is toasty. When it's time for bed, I bring our airer into the lounge & hang the damp clothes out to dry overnight.

Not something you could consider for the bedrooms though. Do you all have hot water bottles?

Pink_Fairy_2

Sassamac wrote: »

Thanks for all your tips, some useful nuggest of info in there. I will try to answer a few comments.

We're skint so any savings will make a real difference. Our gas bill is £42 and elec £59 per month. we have just changed supplier who claim we will get a 20 - 25% saving.

The house is ours so we cant pass the buck on unfortunately. We moved in 18 months ago (was roasting hot in 'Flaming June', especially as I was 7 months pregnant so we never realised the heating problem).

Dont have an airing cupboard so that rules that out.
Not sure what happens with loft insulation because we have an attic bedroom. it gets very hot in summer and very cold in winter. will check out the link.
Dont have a slow cooker (would love one) but on really cold days I do cook just for the sake of it so the oven warms the house (usually rice pudding as thats very warming to eat to.)
I had thought about drying clothes in the kitchen but worried abouit food smells.
We have a huge thick blanket under our bed sheet on top of the matress. Cant do the same for the kids unfortunately as if they were sick etc in the night it would.
Love the 'its my own ming Im sleeping in' comment. The thing is its not warm enough to get sweaty so I guess it solves its own problem.
might look into a rad timer. Just thought actually we have a wall mounted elec rad in the hall with a timer. weve never used it because I consider it a waste of money heating a hallway / stairway. but it comes off the wall so may be able to use this in the kids room.
thicker curtains and draft excluder is something I am looking into. were yet to replace the curtains from when we moved in here. My Mum has promised to make some as she is good at things like that. unfortunately organisation isnt her strong point so it might be next winter before we get them.

will follow all the links in a mo.
Thanks again guys.

Hi Sassamac

I'm very new on here, so hope I'm not speaking out of turn.
I can remember Mum topping and tailing sheets when we were at home. She always used a clotheshorse or ceiling airer and Dad used to put foil behind radiators. We always had tape like wide sellotape around windows to reduce the draft.

Also, I don't know whether you can get a GP's note to support it, but with an asthmatic child you may be eligible to have loft and wall insulation upgrades for free. We were able to get this as my son has CFS/ME and is registered disabled, so you might need the leverage of the GP. You may be eligible for other benefits as you have school age children. The worst they can say is "No". Check Npower free home insulation offer to see if you can claim!

I see others have advised heaviest possible curtains and that your Mum may be able to help. I have mentioned Freecycle to someone else who has not had much luck in her area, although I have been very lucky so far. There may be someone who is getting rid of suitable curtains. The adverts work both ways, so you can post a "Wanted" ad. Door sausages from old tights stuffed with tights or newspapers were always in use. I had an Asian friend who made me a quilt. You can use a "whatever" size cover. This was laid inside out on the floor and old clothing of similar weights was laid on top of it. She then tacked this firmly into place and turned the cover right side out. This made a very heavy quilt which was wonderfully warm when I lived out in Germany. The cover she used was like a heavy nylon mix, but I would think anything would work! You've already said about building up clothing in layers, which is what they recommended for Germany and Norway, but think of the inside as well, by eating foods that promote warmth. (Soups, stews etc can be filling, warming and economical to produce - make enough for a couple of meals at a time to utilise the cooking fuel well.) Hope some of this helps.

Pink Fairy

poppett

Thinking back to when I was a child (pre central heating in our house) my dad found it much easier to keep us all warm using the one room method. Many a night we would lug mattresses downstairs and throw as many blankets (didn't have duvets then either....I'm not that old honest!) over us 4 kids. It worked!

Last year we moved into this rented place which only has night storage heaters and this winter has reminded me of those times as a kid. Luckily before we moved we decided to buy some oil filled heaters and they have been a god-send. They son't cost as much as electric heaters to use and like someone else said, they throw out some heat for quite a while after switching off.

I have a clothes airer that is, at the moment, a permanant fixture in our bedroom. Placed near the night storage heater, it drys the washing overnight.

I hate the cold, can't wait to move somewhere warmer. :rotfl:

radio_hack

When I was a student I shared a house with another girl and three blokes in which there was only one source of heat apart from the oven - an antiquated gas fire in the living room. I remember how shocked the boys were when they found out that us girls actually got undressed to wash in the bathroom!
But one way of keeping warm was to keep moving. If we sat watching TV in the evening, we'd take it in turns to suggest silly exercises: ten star jumps followed by six press ups and twenty bunny hops etc etc. Doing that several times an evening kept us warm and had the added advantage of staying fit. It's not as practical as all the other suggestions but it's fun.

Good luck Sassamac - I'm impressed by your stoicism.