Winter is coming: Frugaleers keeping warm

[Myturnnow4]

Shall we share our tactics for a toasty, frugal winter?

Anyone can have the insulation, it has to be 4inhes or less lagging in 2/3 of the loft but you could take some out to make it compliant with their rules.

I've been making a list of things for saving money which mainly relate to using less gas this winter. Our outgoings aren't high already so it's one of the main things we can do to keep costs down.

1. We are changing energy supplier when we get round to it, for gas and electric we will save around £150 a year, assuming we use the same as last year, which hopefully we won't.

1. We got some free water saving supplies from our water company, like one of those bags you put in the cistern so less water is used to flush.

1. We are lining the curtains we already have and buying more for around the house, for example, getting one for the front door, it's half glass so we lose a lot of heat.

1. We are getting a flask each so we can make lots of tea in one go, meaning boiling the kettle less and having lots of hot drinks all day which will be good for generally keeping warm.

1. Turning radiators off in certain rooms, the bathroom is always warm because the ventilation is bad, and DH's office is warm when he is in there as it's a very small room with a big desktop.

1. We are going to get some soap nuts when our current batch of laundry detergent runs out, they are on amazon but heard about them on here and they seem very cost effective.

1. I'm cutting the dogs hair myself. He doesn't look amazing, but he doesn't care and if I can't get my haircut regularly, I loathe paying £30 for his. He is also the ultimate 'loser' of a dog so everyone thinks its hilarious that he now looks awful to boot.

1. Of course, lots of layers and blankets around.

1. Stay out and don't use the heating, though we can't do this too much due to the dog. (Who gets put in a jumper after a short haircut, DHs Mum knits them for him - loser dog).

Electric over blanket for sitting downstairs and elec blankets on bed.

I used to tinfoil windows (mainly to keep DS1 from waking early but also kept room warm).

If you own your own home - solar panels? Some companies fit for free but you get benefit of free elec - we only use elec heating now not gas. You can also get a diverter so if you are generating more than you use it heats water via immersion.

Boil kettle on induction hob and fill thermos flask = lots of herbal tea :)

Blinds on windows & curtains. Got thermal blinds from dunelm bargain bin for £7 each (£50+ normally). They're hung outside window under curtain rails so width doesn't matter. They tuck behind radiator.

Great thread with lots of fab ideas.
Already have door curtains at the front and the back of the house. We currently only use the back door because the front door needs a new lock. Found them at Trago last winter, already lined, only had to shortened them by couple inches.
We have oil instead of gas but luckily also have a multi-fuel burner in the living room and the open fire in the dining room so don't always have heating on.
We use blankets upstairs and downstairs. Dds also like their hot water bottles and onesies. I even got a fluffy teddy bear one for myself since I work from home.

I've tried safety-pinning a couple of those small fleeces to a curtain. Definitely need more safety pins and I'm not sure the curtain rail will handle the weight. Might need to think about alternative hanging mechanism.

I would love a wood/multi fuel burner. Dh says no though.

He wont let me have solar panels either.

collie I think the uniqlo ones come in diff sizes, but they do run small imo.

Have just suggested to DH that he go in the loft to see if there is insulation and he won't because there are "spiders the size of dogs" in there

I leave the oven/grill door open to heat the room while they cool down after use.
Running round the house with the vacuum cleaner always gets me warm and gets a job done at the same time!
I'm going to try the fleece blankets on the living room curtains as we have 2 big windows. We already have fleece blankets for camping - can I just pin them with safety pins?
I think I'll try the foil behind the radiators too in the bedrooms and I'm going to stop drying washing on them since I read that it cools the radiators and makes the boiler work harder.

Maybe you can find a cheaper rug at the market if you have one nearby or have a look in B&M or Poundstrecher

You could try to make one out of old jeans or T-shirts like this one I made a multicoloured one for our bathrooms until we decide if we want tiles or lino

Last winter I bought a few sets of thermal long sleeved tops and leggings. I actually wore them as pj's to bed. It's not a very glamorous look but I was warm and slept soundly. I even wore them under my onesie on really cold occasions.

chop-cloc.com/

You can buy these and get them fitted, OR you can program the alarm on your phone to go off for every 45 minutes, turn the heating off for 15 mins and switch it back on at the stat (if you need it, it might take half an hour before you need to switch it back on again).

Has anyone bought thermal vests for dc? I have 2 long sleeve vests in my Amazon basket for £8 with postage too, anyone know a better price before I purchase?

M&S do them too but you'd get cashback on them either way if you register with Kidstart.co.uk. Usually amazon doesnt do cashback.

Other than that there's always ebay, it depends how you feel about second hand clothes.

Blatant place marking and saying Hi.

I always buy M and S thermals for DS to wear as jammies during winter. I think they're quite cheap, and good quality.

Thanks £9 for 3 in M&S
I've never heard of that Kidstart thanks for that, I will def sign up and send link to ds's dad who has a serious spending problem ds will have better savings than me by xmas.

I need to put foil behind the rads. I got a cheap fleece blanket and safety pinned it to my door curtains. I need a third to line the bottom but ikea is miles away.

We (dh) last year bought special foil-foamy stuff (looked like a shiny silver yoga mat....) to go behind the rads.

We also bought film stuff for our one non double glazed window. It traps air between it and window.
And bought a draft brush for bottom of front door.

in winter I make the bed like this: mattress, skinny double duvet, brushed cotton sheet, then think winter duvet in duvet cover then throw over the top.

I also wear socks to bed if it gets uber chilly.

I have a list on my reminders on my I pad. Any idea on how to post it?