the ice man cometh! (merged with keeping warm)

squeaky

I've always found leather gloves to be the coldest of the lot. Try a sports shop and see about skiers mittens - they should be just the thing, though I doubt that they'll be cheap.

MATH

I don't find leather gloves very warm either. I have a number of pairs of knit gloves and some fleecy 'thinsulate' gloves. If it is really cold I wear two pairs together. Yesterday I spotted the first pair of gloves in the playground:eek:

greenlogo

I know my boss has special cycler's gloves that cut the wind completely and are therefore quite warm, but I'm not sure what they're called (and he's off this week, sorry!).

I can remember as a small child running from the bedroom to the kitchen where mum had (hopefully) managed to light the fire (smokeless fuel appeared to be the bane of her life at that point!) and getting dressed in front of said fire as quickly as possible! We got central heating when I was nine, but my parents (as products of un-central-heated draughty old houses) never had it turned up very warm or on for long - Putting on a jumper was (and still is) the preferred way of being. Along with a warm (shared!) bath, getting dressed quickly and running to a bed with a fleecy underblanket

I've only just got central heating myself when I moved in May, having not had any since I left home 12 years ago - including a year-long stint in a TOTALLY unheated flat... huddling round the cooker for warmth! :eek: - and I find it nice in the evenings, but too warm to sleep so unless I have guests (who breath and warm the place up anyway!) I just put on more jumpers and cardies and lovely little fleecy slippers instead - and if I'm REALLY cold I make soup as the cooking warms the kitchen and the soup warms my insides

squeaky

Cheap heating? A person usually gives off 1/8th of a kilowatt of heat - so if you invite 24 people round you'll get the same amount of free heat as a three bar electric fire.

Just thought I'd tell you that

r.mac_2

sitting in my flat and I am frozen. Got lots of extra layers on and i am snuggling up with a hotwater bottle too.

Realised that I am very tired - I'm always colder when I havn't slept well the night before - so my tip is get some sleep!!!

competitionscafe

Mmmmm porridge, I forgot about that. Grew up in South Africa, so when I get bored with porridge oats with honey, I have maize porridge, wheat porridge and sorghum porridge - the last one is brown like mud and needs lots of sugar - everyone I have given it to to try has said that it is disgusting!

Last winter I got a pair of toasties and they are the best £12.95 I have ever spent - toasty, cozy, warm, merino wool lined slipper sock thingies:
http://www.elmhouseproducts.co.uk/acatalog/Toastie__click_here_.html

They also do a more hard core Kiwi Slipper Boot, but that's three times the price.

greenlogo

Cheap heating? A person usually gives off 1/8th of a kilowatt of heat - so if you invite 24 people round you'll get the same amount of free heat as a three bar electric fire.

Yup - that's what we used to do in my unheated flat... nothing to do with being party-mad students, we were just really really cold!

Keeping curtains closed (unless it's really sunny out) keeps in an amazing amount of heat (even thin curtains do) and keeping internal doors closed as much as possible is a good idea (as it'll get warmer in the room you're in because you're in it) too

caffeinehit

I usually keep the curtains open so that my plants don't wither and die, so I'm probably wasting a lot of heat. The windowsills aren't wide enough for pots. How much light do plants need? Would an hour a day do them?

johanne

ive had my heating on for at least 3 weeks! This house is huge (big old 3 up/3 down terrace) and theres only me so it gets cold!

Sitting here now with a HUGE thick jumper, 2 pairs of socks (+ big boots) and thick levi jeans on and the heating on low.. will be switching it off in a min though cos im going to close all the doors and hopefully keep some the heat in so wont have to put it back on till bedtime! :rolleyes:

There is loads of drafty windows and doors in this house and the landlord obviously doesnt care! The windows are double glazed UPVC aswell but theres gaps under the window sills and dont think they are fitted properly.

squeaky

caffeinehit wrote:

I usually keep the curtains open so that my plants don't wither and die, so I'm probably wasting a lot of heat. The windowsills aren't wide enough for pots. How much light do plants need? Would an hour a day do them?

This site has some tips that might help.