the ice man cometh! (merged with keeping warm)

Smiley_Mum

No-one has mentioned silk thermals, it is cool in summer and warm in winter.

Here is a link for silk thermals. So long as I'm warm, I couldn't care less. There is a silk thermal glove liner which may be of use to a previous poster who said they wore two pairs of gloves when cycling to work.

http://www.gear-zone.co.uk/eshop/Base-Layer.html

culpepper

The first sign for me that its getting colder is ,I have to put away my shorts and wear jeans.My legs ache at night otherwise.
When we were out today,my neighbour but 2 was coming the other way in his short sleeved shirt and shorts and said 'its cold isn't it?' :rolleyes:
We dont have summer and winter duvets but we do all have sleeping bags,so We just open them out and put them on top of the duvet.
A spare pair of socks to wear on top is good if you dont have slippers,careful if you have wooden stairs or floors though as it can get slippery.
Those padded winter shirts made of brushed cotton are very warm.
Woollen hats are good indoors if you have no heating.
We lived in a council flat back in the 70's with no heating,it was bitter in the bedrooms at night (no duvets then either as they were only for posh people) and the bathroom was freezing too.
If you have a microwave you can heat up a rice/wheat bag and put it in your bed before you get in.As good as a hot water bottle and you dont wake up with a bottle of cold water in the morning.

competitionscafe

Wiggle is good for winter cycling gloves:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/

Otherwise try an outdoor shop - I have some stretchy polartec gloves for winter hillwalking - only cost about £5 they are meant to go under thicker gloves (I have some good leather palmed ones from Outdoor Designs) but they are surprisingly warm on their own (and much more dexterous)

Warmest I have is Buffalo Mitts - about £18, no good for cycling but great for those who want warm hands - you can even wear one (smaller) size underneath a bigger one if you are in extreme conditions.
http://www.shop.edirectory.co.uk/penrith_survival/pages/moreinfoa.asp?recordid=7549&cid=55&afid=88888

Dachstein Mitts are really good too:
http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Mail_Order_Hands_107.html

This site also has some good bargains (got my fleecy blankets from there last year): http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/

eg: Mens fleece jumper £5 with free delivery (RRP £17.95):
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=96591

headchef

Even reading these posts makes me cold. We lived in an ancient farmhouse in the middle of nowwhere. Flagstone floors and heavy old doors and drafty chimneys. I realise now that mum would get up to a freezing house. We didn't. She used to light the wood burner to get the living room warm before calling us downstairs to get dressed.
She's since told me it wasn't as bad as when she was a girl and the water used to freeze in the pitcher. She would have to break the ice before pouring it out to have a wash! She never understood the fashion in the 80s when bowls and pitchers were sold as ornemants.
I'm afraid I will sacrifice most things in the cause of money saving, but gas central heating being on isn't one of them. Will take on some of the tips though - don't want anyone to think I'm being a blazen wasetful hussy. :rolleyes:

savingpennies

As a child I remember clearly the frost on the inside of the windows. I also have clear memories of helping my mum stuff fabric sausages with her old laddered tights to keep out the drafts and every door had a curtain.

pavlovs_dog

ooh thank you everyone, i've enjoyed your responses.

well today was slightly warmer, even at uni (which is a coastal wind tunnel) :eek:

the library has been refurbished, and is looking very nice too, so i think thats where i'll hide out between lectures, thermos of soup in hand (yes, i finally bought one from asdas).


my one tip that helps me keep warm ( i have arthritis, so getting cold isnt an option, cos the side effects are grisly) is to wear a scarf under my hooded jumped. i suppose it forms a seal and keeps the chilly air out, but it really seems to help.

also - keeping moving about, rather than staying still in one place and getting cold.


i find it quite cosy , the dark nights drawing in. i dont know whether it just the stupidly long summer i've had this year (finished uni last year in april and have been off for 4months :eek: ), but im secretly looking forward to winter/christmas

sockospice

I always put next day's clothes over the radiator the night before, time it to come on half an hour before I get up, so they are lovely and warm when I put them on!

kaznelson

We live a old house and up stairs is always warmer, so its lots of early nights!! Luckily we have wireless connection so we can be reading all these money saving tips while tucked up under the duvet.

The kitchen is the coldest room as it has a quarry tiled floor and a dog flap. Now the children are older after I have finished cooking or baking I leave the oven door open and it warms up nicely.

culpepper

we had radiator valves added to the upstairs radiators,the thermostat is downstairs ,as it used to be only just warm downstairs and saharan upstairs.It has really made a difference.Now we have the upstairs rads on very low and downstairs gets warm too.

Ticklemouse

I really feel the cold, but I've found that if you keep your ankles and neck warm, followed by your hands, this helps keep the rest of you warm. (Remember the early 80's when the fashion was for skirts, court shoes and a pair of legwarmers? No tights, but even I didn't feel cold with my trusty legwarmers ) So, thick sock, scarves and gloves, even indoors.

I remember the first house I lived in - no heating but an open fire in each room. I remember one Xmas worrying that Santa wouldn't be able to get down the chimney cos I had had a fire in my room I used to be amazed by the ice patterns on the inside of the windows too.

I remember the first house Mr TM and I lived in. It had no insulation to speak of in the loft, no carpets upstairs, the thinnest curtains and the 2 inch vent in our bedroom window was stuck open :eek: His mattress felt about 2 inches thick (like a board actually) and the duvet was like sleeping under a teatowel Sheesh, we were cold and I used to get split ends from where his breath had condensed on my hair overnight and I'd turned over and over on the pillow all night. Now - insulated, double glazed house, thick curtains, thick comfy mattress, goose down duvet (and I've reached the age where I am able to wear fleecy jimjams every night ) he still moans about the socks if I am REALLY cold though