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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have started preparing for winter already?

52 replies

AngryFeet · 02/09/2011 16:26

It is a lovely sunny day where I am but this morning I sorted through all our coats, wellies etc to make sure they all fit and then went shopping for gloves, hats, scarves and a snow shovel. The winter tyres will be put back on mid October and we will stock up on grit soon too.

I refuse to get caught out again this year!

Anyone else doing this or am I completely off my trolley? Grin

OP posts:
Northernlurkerr · 02/09/2011 19:10

I have been buying winter trousers for dd3 on ebay, just bought a new hand blender to make soup and will be looking for my pavement crampons....

sheepgomeep · 02/09/2011 19:23

Where can you get pavement crampons from? I've not heard of those before.

Meglet · 02/09/2011 19:45

Yanbu. I've sorted all my winter clothes / hats etc into a box so I know exactl where everything is.

I've started stocking up the freezer with reduced bread + rolls and made a big veggie lasagne and portioned it off. Have tidied the veg patch as I go this year so all that will be left is the brussels.

Need to stock up on calpol, new slippers and new hats for the dc's.

Shutupanddrive · 02/09/2011 19:48

YANBU today I bought ds1 some wells and ds2 a dressing gown

Shutupanddrive · 02/09/2011 19:48

Wellies!

ChippingIn · 02/09/2011 19:51

No YANBU

I have started stocking up on tins, water, etc

I have my snow tyres.

I am going to go and order some shoe thingys & snow shovel.

It's barely September FFS - but you can feel winter coming (even on a lovely day like this, the evening is cool).

Littlemisssarcastic - fitting chains is easy enough to do yourself IF you buy a decent set and practice before it snows. You only use them on actual snow - so you put them on until you get to a main/clear/gritted road then remove them or you will shred your tyres. You don't need them on winter tyres.

sheepgomeep hello - long time no see :) x

orienteerer · 02/09/2011 19:55

YANBU
I have winter tyres....sadly they are too old to use this year (perished) so need to decide whether we are changing the car or buying a new set of tyresGrin.....sooner rather than later!

littlemisssarcastic · 02/09/2011 20:43

That's interesting Chippingin

Can I have winter tyres on all year round? Or is that not advisable? I'm assuming winter tyres are expensive??

MarkStretch · 02/09/2011 20:46

Call me thick but I have never heard of winter tyres. What are these things?

bibbitybobbityhat · 02/09/2011 20:52

Never heard of winter tyres either but then I live in Lunnun where we only get snow about once every 10 years. Would winter tyres have made any difference for us last winter, I wonder?

MarkStretch · 02/09/2011 20:55

I just googled them, sounds like a bit of a faff changing them about to be honest.

ChippingIn · 02/09/2011 21:00

LMC you can keep them on year round, but it's not especially sensible. They are softer rubber and wear out quickly in hot weather so you don't get as much out of them as you could if you change them over each winter.

You need to buy them asap as they will get more expensive and harder to source. You don't need to get them put on until snow is forecast though.

They're just a tyre that's softer, gives more 'grip' in the snow and saves you faffing about with autosocks or chains.

I got some japanese ones - they were perfectly fine, I think they were a little under £400 for the set. If you take them off when the weather is warmer (over 10 deg I think) then they should last around 5 years - obviously depending on how much mileage you do). Of course your 'summer' tyres last longer too so you save money there as well.

Oh and as they're TYRES not wheels (easy mistake to make) they're light and easy to store in the loft!!

BustersOfDoom · 02/09/2011 21:00

Get yourselves some of these! GetAGrip

They were a life broken arm/leg saver last winter. I bought some for me, DP, DS and both DMs. I never seemed to be able to find any boots or shoes that had decent grips on ice or compacted snow that didn't leave me sliding about looking like a plonker and in fear of falling and hurting myself. Seriously they are fab, like mini crampons! And for the style conscious amongst you they just stretch over your boot or shoe, they aren't obvious.

ChippingIn · 02/09/2011 21:03

MarkStretch - the initial price includes fitting, wheel alignment etc and it only costs me £30 to get them swapped over & aligned. Takes them about half an hour - no big deal.

Flisspaps · 02/09/2011 21:04

I bought my winter coat two weeks ago, it's big and lovely and cream and cost me a whopping 99p from the QVC Clearance store!

Original poster
AngryFeet · 02/09/2011 22:52

We paid £30 for each of our winter tyres. They were second hand but hardly worn - got them from second hand tyre shop. They are brilliant, we have a rear wheel drive car and it was just skidding all over the place but with these it was almost like we had a 4 wheel drive. Pretty much no skidding and we could drive at a normal speed. Great investment!

OP posts:
WynkenBlynkenandNod · 02/09/2011 23:42

DH was looking at Winter tyres earlier after I couldn't get the car round to my Mum's last year in the snow. She isn't mobile and lives on her own so I realy need to be able to get round there. We have the same car as friends in Germany and they said with winter tyres they have no problem at all.

Wood store is being sorted. Have bought Yaktrax and gloves . Am also looking at getting a delivery of salt/grit as our drive is steep. But not sure how much to get. Have never prepared before but we got caught out badly last winter.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 03/09/2011 08:40

yaktrax are ace as well. I found them worth the cost last winter. I could literally dance on the sheet ice on our road in them.

autosocks got us out of trouble a couple of times on steep hills. We bought one set last year and think they will cover us for this winter but then will need replacing.

Becaroooo · 03/09/2011 08:46

Erm...where can you buy grit from??????

wannabesybil · 03/09/2011 09:07

Becaroooo - I bought two bags of rocksalt from ebay (ebay is my friend) last month. They cost half the price they were going for last winter. That works as grit, in fact is used as grit by some councils.

I have just had my ridge tiles re-pointed and the chimney re-cemented. I don't think they would last another year.

I am also making inquiries about getting a stove fitted, just a diddy one to add extra heat to the living room. I think a good woodburner will help heat the bones of a house. Also I am waiting for the first scare story re power cuts this winter, they run every year. However if it is like last year I will be surprised if they don't happen.

It just feels like there is a bad winter in the air!

orienteerer · 03/09/2011 09:42

Wickes & Travis Perkins sell rock salt

FigsAndWine · 03/09/2011 09:43

Very useful thread this. Smile

Original poster
AngryFeet · 03/09/2011 09:47

Some very cool sledges on here!

www.splashandrelax.co.uk/products/Sledges+&+Toboggans

OP posts:
SpaghettiTwirlerAndProud · 03/09/2011 10:20

We're prepared. We can hardly get in our garage it's that full of wood, logs and coal, we have an open fire and a stove aswell as CH!
My DP is preparing in a different way however. He is taking his HGV test this month so he can go out gritting :( although on the upside, the gritter drivers last winter were earning about a thousand pound a week, after deductions. Some of them were working for days on end non-stop though.

It does piss me off though when you hear people bitching about the gritters and why aren't they doing more. They don't understand how hard those drivers work, and also that the salt they use on the roads doesn't work below -5c, it just freezes. Sorry i just had to have a rant Blush

babycham42 · 03/09/2011 10:30

YANBU.Some of us are preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse...