NO MORE COLD MUMSNETTERS!

Oh sorry dunno what I am doing!

Mrsmarples, am in ireland so that won't apply. But thanks! Ive tried them akl but no joy. Its all the one in this cold damp house! I promised myself last year I wouldn't be here at Christmas but still here. Ive gotten baxk on to all my housing contacts so if anyone knows anyone high up in the councils here!

I was just looking online for other properties to rent so heres hoping. I really can't stay.

I often wear a vest top under my pyjamas. Our bedroom is freezing, but that makes all the difference.

Tights under trousers. Primark have some fab tights atm. As well as their fleece lined ones, they've got wooly ones and velvet lined leggings for £6 a pair.

I wear fake Uggs as slippers. Mine are from Next kids range (adult size 5). Because they are leather and have a hard sole they are really warm.

We've all got fleeces for the sofas. Primark have some lovely Christmas/Wintry ones atm.

The kids have got fleecy throws on the end of the beds they can pull up in the night if it gets chilly.

Make stews and soups for dinners, they warm you up.

I collapsed al the boxes I had the delivered yesterday to put out for recycling. I am going to cover them with foil and put them behind the radiators.

Make sure you air your house. If the air is dry it is easier to warm up than if it is damp.

Mrsmarples, am in ireland so that won't apply. But thanks! Ive tried them akl but no joy. Its all the one in this cold damp house! I promised myself last year I wouldn't be here at Christmas but still here. Ive gotten baxk on to all my housing contacts so if anyone knows anyone high up in the councils here!

I was just looking online for other properties to rent so heres hoping. I really can't stay.

Good thread

I agree with those heated pads you heat in the microwave, and then wrap up in a blanket. Also thick socks and a scarf seem to help keep me warm when it's really cold.

I have been buying hats whenever I see them cheap in shops and charity shops.

I do need to get new hot water bottles though as we don't have enough now the family is huge

Trying to get my 2 year old to keep his clothes on annoys me. It's cold, his skin feels cold but he strips off all the time. It's not warm in here as heating has been off since kids left for school. It's not freezing but its not warm. And he is just in a t shirt and vest, after removing his shoes, socks, legwarmers, trousers and jumper and coat after going for a walk earlier.

Dh has just bought a thick jumper from the charity shop. £2.99. I wear my dressing gown and I have fleecy pj bottoms which are warmer than normal pjs. This thread has made me feel sad for everyone who's cold this winter. It's lovely to have all the ideas to keep warm but I got a email from our energy company saying they were putting their prices up and we've just moved into an old house with an inefficient crap heating system that throws money out the window before the radiators have even heated up.
I'm worried cos my baby is due on the 2nd dec and I don't know how I'm gonna keep the house warm enough for her. Will follow these its for a start.

Worth asking around oil suppliers Marcelline. Mine (Watsons) runs a budget account tou pay a set amount each month (I pay £40 pcm) & they do regular top-ups. Never run out of oil & if you have a good tankful in the spring I just ring up & put the top up on hold till I use up the reserve.

As others have said, layer up, starting with thermals and finishing with a fleece and scarf.

I can only afford to use the woodburner in one room on an evening, I've bought a fan that sits on top of it (about £50 from Amazon) so rather than the heat rising up and sitting at the ceiling it pushes the hot air out to you where you're sitting and I find pushes it further around the house. My house is normally freezing and even with the fire on I can feel cool, since I've had this fan I've been very hot. I have the living room door closed when we're in it, but then open it when I go to bed and the hot air then goes through the house.

I don't live in the UK, but anybody living in France and need new windows, insulation, etc apply to your local commune for a Pact grant. I've just been given a grant to insulate the walls and ceiling of my kitchen and garage, new kitchen windows and doors and a new wood burning boiler. As long as it increases the environmental efficiency of your house by more than 25% you should be good to go (and I think you may need to be on a low income, I'm not sure I just automatically fell into that part). My grant is very large and it's going to be sorting out the two areas of my house that make the rest of it cold. The thought of not having a gale blowing through the back door (when it's shut) makes me so happy.

Big rugs on my tiled floors have made a big difference as well.

I have the heated over blanked from Lidl that sometimes I use rather than lighting the fire.

I also bought the slippers that had the wheat heat pads in them, so I wore them last year and the DCs had some as well, but I'm liking the look of the croc ones very much - I might try them this year.

I am sensitive to wool sadly, and end up an itchy mess.

Fingerless gloves are also good when at home. I don't like gloves with fingers as constantly dealing with small children, so find fingerless long gloves ideal. Keep the chill off hands and lower arms.

We are lucky to be able to afford heating but don't want it to be like last winter with massive bills which were hard to clear after the cold weather had gone. Made harder by dh not being able to regulate his temperature easily.

Oh, thought of another one re: high cost of wool clothing. If you are smallish, look at children's clothing. I bought myself two Mini Boden lambswool jumpers recently, which with various offers and codes came to £15 and £17 respectively. The largest size, 11-12, easily fits size 10.

Sainsburys do lovely thermals. £7 for leggings, £6 for a camisole, £7 for a long sleeved top. I use them for layering in winter and they also get used when we go camping in the summer.

Any cheap rug on a tiled/wooden floor makes a lot of difference.

Sorry about half message, dd5 pressed send

I want to try the flower pots but i don't have any pots and im worried about the stupid cats knocking them over. Its freezing here, i don't normally put the heating on much anyway as am on a prepayment meter and cant afford it, so its only ever on for a hour a day, but this week we have a broken boiler so not been on at all.

Bubble Wrap your windows. Bubble wrap is your friend. You can order a 50 m roll on ebay for around £17. You need the large air bubbles, not the tiny small bubbles.

You spray some water on your windows to make them sticky. Cut the bubble wrap to size, and stick it on. From the outside it just look like you have sort of tudor style wonky glass window.

It means you have no view, but it really really helps insulating. The good thing is, you can just peal off in spring and reuse the next year.

Did anyone mention thick rugs on the floor?

Sainsburys do lovely thermals. £7 for leggings, £6 for a camisole, £7 for a long sleeved top. I use them for layering in winter and they also get used when we go xalp

KungFu I also have those clickable gel pads. If you Google 'Gel Hand warmers' you'll find loads.

They're brilliant - good for pre-warming slippers, putting in your pockets when you go out - anything that a hot water bottle is too big for.

I am trying the candle heater right now, have just got back from the garden centre with pots. It's not doing much yet but the pots are a bit damp as they were kept outside at the GC, would that be impeding it I wonder?

Things I swear by:

Layers - pure wool and cashmere. I am by no means well-off but have amassed a large collection of pure knits via Ebay, end of season sales and Woolovers. You can't overstate the amazingness of wool.

Scarves (again, wool or cashmere) are essential. I am using a snood this year as no trailing ends. I bought it at the beginning of September and it's barely been off me since.

Wristwarmers / fingerless gloves.

Flannelette bed sheets - I got us all full bedding sets on BOGOF from Woolworths (online) last autumn. Don't use anything else now until spring. It feels cosy even when you first get in. The downside is it makes getting up in the morning incredibly difficult.
Also got fleecy mattress protectors.

Slanket for evening once DC are away in bed and I'm ensconced on the sofa. They are amazing - I never ever have the heat on in the evening. They wrap you head to toe and are so voluminous it's easy to tuck hands in.

Slippers, always. Again, sheepskin or wool are many times better than synthetic, but they are expensive; however you can buy sheepskin insoles very cheaply on Ebay. I think I paid £3-4 for the ones I bought for my Converse and my outdoor boots. Makes a huge difference.

Uri that is genius

There's no brand - they are gel pads with a little metal bit in them that you click to start a chemical reaction. You can get them all over (Tescos had them). Often sold as hand warmers. You have to boil them to rest the chemicals [technical]

We did this when our boiler broke a few years back. The children had some thing warm to go to bed with and they still have the chance to warm them up again with the "click"

I do that with the oven. If the washing machine is going as well and I shut the kitchen door I stay quite warm in there.

Have just applied for the warm front grant OP.

Be safe though with the oven door and little ones.
And just wondering won't the heat dissipate anyway over the evening and warm house a little anyway?
But, yes, I'm sure opening door would facilitate this and perhaps create more useful amount of warming in shorter period.
I also leave a bath in until the water has given off it's heat to the room/house rather than run it out straight away - but again not something to do if you have under 5's around (just in case - I know, I worry too much)

Old woollen jumper that can't be worn but you haven't yet thrown? Hot wash so the wool felts, then cut the arms off and make a hole just under the cuff. Get your needle and thread and sew up and over around the hole. Hey presto - wrist warmers.

I had just got really cold before reading this thread - I'm a naturally cold person, especially when sitting still before a computer screen.

Things I find that help:

Make sure your jumper covers the small of your back - I'm tall, and a lot of my jumpers ride up when I'm sitting down, so my lower back gets exposed. It really makes me cold.

I've just put on an extra fleece layer with a hood, with hood up (who cares, no one can see me!) and made up a small hot water bottle which is now on my lap, tucked my under layer in so it's properly covering my lower back, and made (another) cup of tea. I'm lovely and warm now, even my hands.

Also I have these: Croc slippers and they really are the warmest slippers I've ever had. They're tough, hardwearing and good as new after at least 2 years of non-stop wear. They're expensive, but Christmas is coming up!