NO MORE COLD MUMSNETTERS!

Small idea but works wonders for us. We put a heavy cloth/carpet/rug at the foot of the main door (ie rolled up to seem bulky) to plug the floor level leaks & this makes a huge difference to the overall home temperature.

Same works on window sills & patio doors - if you feel the draft it indicates small leaks..

Those who can't wear wool, have you tried merino?

I cannod stand wool, leaves me crawling with itchy. But when i was backpacking in my more affluent youth (!) I bought a couple of merino woollies.

Cost similar to a Helley Hansen thermal, but is STILL going 10 years of constant use later. Omg they are warm. I have whitefinger and it is important to keep my core temperature up so I don't get 'attacks'.

Haven't checked, but you should be able to get secondhand on eBay, they can go a bit bobbly, so I can imagine people will replace perfectly serviceable garments and pass the old ones to charity shops or sell them.

Some ace tips here thanks. I really struggle to keep warm. Even when it isn't actually cold. :(

barbarossa - that is an interesting post, my DP and myself fit log burners (although not as a main part of our business) and have recommended AGA wenlocks due to the defra thing, but that has made me think twice, that is appalling customer service :(

Alternative source of heat.
I installed an AGA Little Wenlock SE wood-burning stove in Feb. 2011.
I more or less HAD to buy this particular stove because of where I live. It's a smokeless zone and any multi-fuel stove suitable for my area cost twice the price of the AGA ( £550 ).
16 days ago, the flue blanking plate broke in two and fell off the back of the stove, meaning the stove was unusable.
I contacted the supplying dealer who phoned AGA for me and he duly reported that a replacement part was on it's way to me FOC as the stove had a 5-yr parts guarantee.
I foolishly presumed that the spare part would be with me within a couple of days so when it didn't arrive I contacted the dealer again and he told me this time that it would take 7-10 working days. And if I wanted AGA to fit it for me, it would cost £115 + VAT !!!!
AND this was if it was just a matter of unscrewing the old plate and fitting the new one. £115 + VAT to remove and refit TWO screws.
They have got to be joking !!!
BUT - as some idiot at the AGA factory decided it would be A Good Idea to use ordinary steel screws, rather than the stainless type neccessary in such an installation ( cast iron, massive amounts of heat, moisture from wood and various chemical by-products of the combustion process ), the screws were corroded into the cast iron and could not be removed.
The AGA engineer would have to take the stove away, send it back to the factory, the seized screws would have to be ground-off, fresh holes drilled and tapped before the replacement part could be fitted.
The estimated labour costs were so great, it would have been cheaper to buy a new stove !!!!
So much for burning wood as a cheap source of heat !!!
Needless to say, I fixed it myself.
I removed the stove, used my angle-grinder to get rid of the seized screws, drilled fresh holes and fitted the two halves of the old blanking plate using stainless bolts and SIKA heat-setting thermal sealant. Large washers ensured the two pieces of late stayed in place.
I thought this would be a short-term fix, but two weeks after my initial contact with the AGA dealer, the replacement plate had still not arrived.
So once again I contacted Mr. Dealer - who should really carry spare parts for all models - and e said he would phone AGA and find out what was happening.
Yesterday I got a phone call from AGA informing me that my initial request for a spare part hadn't been actioned and it would be Jan 17th 2014 before the part was available.
So it will be 7 weeks minimum before I get the new part !!!
Thankfully, I was able to cobble together the old bits and ensure they were gas tight ( I'm an engineer by trade and have much experience of such things ) but suppose I was not so qualified ? What would an elderly person do, or someone with no tools or skills who had had an AGA installed in order to save money on heating and/or use an alternative heat source ????? They would be stuck with no heat-source during one of the coldest times of the year.
So beware of AGA - Jilly Cooper's AGA-Sagas may paint a pretty picture of such things, but the reality is piss-poor service and bits that break and fall off in less than three years.

OK. still got some available foc to anyone between Chichester and Portsmouth. Seems a shame to bin them.

From an old, cold house in Scotland:

We have heating on 1 hr in morning and 1.5hrs in evening. The rest of the time we heat the room we're in with electric heaters on low.

YY to draught excluders. Don't go for fancy ones, either make your own or the bog-standard brush or weather-shield door trims are really good.

If you are rural, on oil and have friendly neighbours, it is really worthwhile organising an oil-buying ring. DH has done this with about 15 households, and we can negotiate a much better price because we're ordering so much, and at the same time can order whatever amount we can afford at the time without missing out on the better deal.

Electric blankets - I couldn't live here without them.

Thermal tops, cashmere and fleece gilet are my daily uniform. I see ccashmere as investment, and cheaper than heating oil!

Also thermal knee-high socks.

Finally, small dog on lap

Ooh, I didn't think my flat had even been that bad, but today I made a draught excluder from a pair of tights and an old, shrunken wool cardigan, and foiled behind the radiator and I am definitely noticing a difference. Suddenly realised I wasn't quite as cold. I'd never have done it without this thread, so thank you

I don't mind posting them, but it would be a big parcel so look at local suppliers first, to see how much a new one costs. I think Tesco sell Silentnight and own-brand.

Oo oo piglet John, if I paid the postage would you mind sending them up to sunny Scotland.

Pretty please

Uniglo have good value cashmere jumpers, around £40-50. And they wash well. I hvae just bought another one. I also recommend their thermotech longsleeved tshirts. If you wear thermal vest, thermotech plus cashmere jumper you will feel much warmer. it's my winter uniform.

OOI I have been offering several electric blankets on Freegle (near Chichester) and had no takers. I supposed used bedding is a bit too personal.

They are quite cheap in places like Tesco, but at their cheapest in July.

I'm working from home today and really noticing the cold. Having flashbacks to my student igloo house. About to go and don another layer!

Has anyone bought the UniQlo thermals? I like the look of them but no idea if they're any good, or of the sizing.

I just want to thank both the op and whoever suggested putting bubble wrap over your windows.

I have been waiting patiently on being able to afford to buy some and remembered I hoarded some from packaging.

I can finally have my curtain open in the day! You are wonderful.

I live in an old miners cottage with super high ceilings, thick stone walls (with cavity insulation), no loft insulation and SINGLE pane windows.
This bubble wrap or GREAT

Madmomma it's this one. (Out of stock, but Amazon did them for the same price when I was looking around.) I know you can get cheaper, but my memories of the things as a kid were they were a bit crap, and the new one is blardy amazing. Given a cheap useless item is a bigger waste than a more expensive effective one, we went for it.

It's so nice not having the poor kid cough and gasp his way through the nights.

Whoever mentioned trying to keep their two year old warm - mine refuses to keep slippers on, won't wear a dressing gown and kicks the duvet off at night. He has never been able to bear blankets/covers even as a baby. I feel horribly guilty snuggling up in all my fluffy warm layers whilst he trots around bare-foot divesting himself of jumpers etc!

Thank you all. I'm havig difficulties with FIL, MIL and nan-in-law. MIL got mightily offended a few weeks ago - she was complaining about rising fuel costs and how they were struggling to pay for adequate heating, so we offered the services of my mate's husband who does loft insulation and can help arrange grants for pensioners. She said they weren't in need of handouts or benefits and would simply have to adjust their heating settings to reduce their outgoings. They won't accept help as they are too proud to admit they need it, and living abroad we can't physically do anything but I can send them things that'll help masquerading as christmas presents.

Thanks to this thread I have now bought nan-in-law and MIL some tartan wheatbag things, and some nice draught luckily I noticed I'd typed draft before it was too late excluders with matching throws for their living rooms. These are obviously for comfort and house decoration and nothing to do with us thinking they can't afford their bills, oh no.

Nan-in-law also has a nice cashmere jumper which until reading on this thread I had no idea they were supposedly that much warmer than normal jumpers, and a big thick dressing gown each for FIL and MIL. I think I'll order some nice candles too.

Good news perfect I'm thinking of one for my eldest. Which brand was it?

I have an asthmatic child where the cold triggers the asthma, and just bunging extra covers on/putting him in a sweater can't heat what goes into his lungs. In winter we've had to have the central heating on all through the nights in his room - ruinous. We can't use any plug-in electric heaters either, as they make him cough. So I bought a really good electric blanket in desperation, and it works. Heats his lungs, and the air around his bed a little too I think - no more hacking through the night, anyway.

It was £39 so NOT a cheap option, I realise, but it costs 0.5 pence a night to run. And will last years. And they are so, so much better than the ones I remember from my own childhood - lovely and fleecy underblanket, with the heat the same as sinking into a warm bath. You can set it at 28 or 36 degrees, you can set it just to your feet, you can set it for an hour or 9 hours. Brilliant thing. And no need for all night central heating any more, either.

@queen of the world.
What a lovely caring thread.
My tip is to rub like fury after your bath or shower then use talc. Just makes me feel warmer being bone dry and the furious rubbing perks the circulation.
Co-sleeping is an absolute boon in cold weather, too.

Make homemade draught excluders to reduce draughts under doors. Get old wooly tights and divide to make 2 stockings. Fill the stockings with anything insulating (old rags, socks, blankets, old clothes, wool, cuddly toys, balled up newspaper) and then sew the two open ends together, sealing the stuffing into a sausage. Jam the excluder tightly against the draughty door.

I So want one of those Japanese heated toilets!

Massively cold bum every time common sorry, no other advice to give. Other than don't sit on the toilet seat, hover!!!