How do other plan on making it through winter?!

[FTMFML]

Just venting really but also looking for any tips!

Cannot believe the price we are going to be paying.. or are even paying just now for gas/electric. We have gone from a £150 tariff a month the start of the year to now looking at paying £500+ a month in Jan2023 according to Martin Lewis. If we didn’t have a little one I would be happy to bloody freeze but our LO turns one in winter, it’s not fair to thermal her upto the max… but jeez it really worries me where we are plucking this extra cash from. I return to work just before winter but my return will literally just be paying for our heating/electric! When does this end!

God I know in the same boat here as I'm sure many others are. I have no kids so that helps but I'm not a very practical person, I sort of take each day as it comes and hope for the best 😂
I have some savings for emergencies but I will mostly wrap up. I have a really fluffy dressing gown it's really thick so I will be living in that no doubt and just trying to get by.
Can't imagine how families feel with children though, that's something else entirely. Must be really stressful.
Will definitely be making cut backs at Christmas, will buy for nieces and nephews (there's 4) but nothing for the adults this year and will tell them not to get me anything.

Am squirreling away lots of wood for the stove to reduce heating costs. It's awful though. Suspect we'll all be in loads of debt come spring.

It barely even got cold last winter

Our house is so cold and our heating so ineffective we probably won't bother using it. Duvets, warm clothes, hot water bottles is our usual winter situation so probably just more of the same.

Stock up on some thermal underwear and sock.
Thick blankets, extra warm duvet cover.

Aim to heat one room and sleep in there if necessary. Heating on for bath time.

I rarely have the heating in as grew up without it, and we didn’t have any a couple of winters ago when in snowed as the boiler packed in!

It’s an absolute disgrace.

I’m planning on using lots of oodies and layering. An electric throw for when really cold and staying at work. So job hunting for a warm place/a to work. Two or more jobs for me.

We will cope because we can, but it still hurts. I am really worried for society and where things are heading. I saw Martin Lewis on twitter earlier talk of warmth banks, places ppl go just to get warm. Awful times ahead. And it shouldn't be like this.

What are others doing with there LO’s ?
OH and me would happily layer but should we layer her to save money? We have such a cold house, going to get some thicker thermal curtains for her bedroom for winter to try and keep some heat in during the night and hopefully turn the heating off then.

God that’s terrible. Warmth banks!?
What kind for a country is this turning into 😢 it really saddens me.

I’m going to screenshot how hot it is today and save it to use in December. 🤣
Seriously though I’m already knitting little ponchos to keep my children warm. I finished one this week for the baby and am part way through one for the toddler.

I dunno where you live, but we had spells of - 7 or below in the NE.

Wow this is so helpful to know. As long as all Mumsnetters live exactly where you do, in houses just as insulated as yours, we’re all sorted! Hooray! Thank you so much for pointing this out.

We have a wood burner and are collecting any wood we can find (sorry environment 😩). We’re also using all our savings to have solar panels and a battery fitted - DP works from home so we would be using electricity as it’s produced which I think is the most cost effective use of them. Not sure how much they will actually generate in winter though. We’re in the midlands. So going to switch to an electricity tariff that is cheaper for a few hours at night (like the old economy 7 I think) and use that to fill the battery for use next day.
Really hoping this will help. It’ll probably get us through this winter but leave us nothing to fall back on in future.

One thing I did buy last year was a fleece teddy duvet set from dunelm. Absolute game changer and really snug even without heating on.

We used to put an electric, oil filled radiator on low in LOs bedroom, on a timer plug. It used to get so cold in there. You can get them in argos and are quite cheap to run. We just kept it on low for a few hours overnight.

Also, look at winter weight gro bags on ebay, the ones with arms are great (tog 3 maybe??) As are socks over their hands.

We’re also going to aim for the ‘heat the person not the house’ theory so layering, blankets, etc. I’m worried about the long term implications of cold and damp and it’s effect on our property though but that is something to deal with after we’ve got through this I guess.

OP could you heat one room and mainly keep your little one there if it gets very cold?

Getting a log burner/ multi fuel stove installed

Electric blankets. I am worried as am a single parent and we don't have much leeway with only one wage coming in.

I’m worried about my DDs, both in University. Just finishing the second year. One was in private Uni halls, even though it was private still utilities included in the rent. Her new accommodation is a standard, rent plus utilities.

Also concerned about our bills. We fixed with our supplier but when that expires we’re likely to be stuffed.

Also a single parent here with my oldest going to uni this year. I was expecting my most expensive year ever and now I'm absolutely panicking. I have money saved for a new kitchen but I think I'll need to use that to heat the place. At least it's not debt, but I can't bare that money that took so long to save just evaporating to keep us from freezing.

we have checked all the local skips and now have a mountain of wood for the log burner....also not getting a new car,,,current one is 23 years old micra, getting solar panels fitted instead...putting rugs down over the wooden floors...have been buying them up cheap at car boots etc so can layer 2 or 3 in each room..extra curtains for garden door etc...we are fixed tariff until next feb but then bills will rocket...4 bed semi and its never been a warm house...

For your lo, vest, onesie and a grobag, cellular blanket on top if needed. I found the gro temperature gauges really useful- tells you what the temp of the room is and the recommended amount of layers for lo to be wearing in that temp.

We are working on saving as much off our electricity bill as possible, it's a case of every little helps. So microwave/t.v/kettle- everything really is all off at the wall unless actually using it.

Also doing things like watering the plants with the washing up water to keep the water bill down. Only putting the hot water on as and when needed, rather than having it programmed to click on twice a day.

I was a young child in the '70's & I had a poncho that I LOVED! So cute to think you're knitting them for your kids.

you could indulge me us & add some photos!!

my plan had been to get some knitting done for winter stuff, but I can't bear to get anywhere near my knitting/crochet or to think about winter things.

@FTMFML im sorry you're stressing about this, try not to ruin your maternity leave with worries about the winter. You won't get this time back, nor will worrying change the winter.

it's better for us all, even little ones, to have more appropriate clothing & cooler homes. We sleep better in cool rooms too. Base layers are not some form of torture! You can get lovely thin, colourful ones for kids. Thin layers is better than one heavy layer. Cotton socks with wool over slippers, base layer/leggings, cute wee leg warmers. Knitted mittens with fleece lining for outside little wrist warmers for inside & outside. Cowl neck thingy (not sure what they're called, but they sit on your shoulders and can go over a coat for an extra layer & instead of a scarf. Hats.

blankets for the sofa. Growbags are great.

maybe buy an oil radiator for when you want to take the chill off a room but not put all the heating on.

get her used to going in the shower with you then baths can be an occasional treat to 'swim'/play.

but you're not wrong, it's utterly fucking unbelievable that in the U.K. in 2022, we are facing this.

I didn’t have any central heating or hot water in the house for my oldest child’s first winter, and she didn’t seem to mind being bundled up for warmth at night. I guess they don’t know any different? Fleecey onesies with hands and feet and a sleeping bag over, often more blankets too but I don’t know if that’s advised. Baths were in front of the gas fire in the kitchen in the baby bath, heated with the kettle. Sometimes on really cold nights i would drag my double mattress downstairs and we’d both sleep on that as there was residual heat from having had the fire on for a boost. And we’d keep each other warm.

I'm planning to have the heating on for an hour in the morning and a couple in the evening and that's it. Oil radiator in lounge to keep it from cooling down too much in between. Am hoping I can afford that! We have great blankets, hot water bottles, cosy brushed cotton pjs and bed linen.