Getting ready for winter

[Chillypetal]

I’ve been having a read on other threads about the cost of gas and electricity going up in Winter.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get prepared?

My shopping list consists of:

1. heated throw (I wanted one anyway but now I actually need one!!)
2. lined exterior door curtain (local Dunelm have a sale)
3. Collating slow cooker recipes, microwave recipes and air fryer recipes.
4. Book chimney sweep for disused fire and start buying fire wood while it’s cheap in the summer

I started the same type of thread (different name!) back in 2013ish. And I can’t believe I’m asking again.

Air fryers and heated throws weren’t readily accessible back then (not in the same way they are today!) so I’m hoping to learn some more new tips.

Good for you! At that price you really can't go too far wrong

Much the same as me.

I've added an extra layer of loft insulation over the old.

Had the chimney swept & boiler serviced.
Repointed the patch of the sitting room wall that I suspect was letting in damp.
Cleared the gullies.
Built up a huge pile of fire wood, currently head height in a shed, so dry
Put aside groceries when on offer - cooking oil, pasta, tinned tomatoes,
Had Slow-cooker recipe book for birthday.
I've just bottled 40 jars of blackberries in syrup - free winter fruit to eat with pancakes, and very cheap/easy to do. Hazelnuts in syrup too.
Bought ds two heavy winter fleeces in the summer sales.
Had boots reheeled.
Blanched and frozen french beans from the garden. Sliced and frozen apples.
Onions and garlic planted this month.
I'll buy 25kilo sacks of carrots & potatoes from local farm & keep in the garage. Much cheaper.
Have moved to catering tubs of coffee, which halves the £/kilo

I sound like my mother 🙄

We're very lucky it's been a good fruit year this year (for some things).

Our little damson tree in the garden came up with 6kg of damsons so we froze half and have jammed half - making around 15 jars of jam + spare, for the cost of 3kg of sugar and a gas hob for about an hour.

The hedges are stuffed with blackberries so we've been brambling and have another 5kg of blackberries stashed in the freezer.

Our bramley apple tree has done brilliantly also and when they are ready, I think we'll have about 50 bramleys off it. It's also small and only about 4 years old so chuffed with that.

I spotted the loft hatch is not insulted (it's just a plastic flap) so I need to save the next polystyrene that comes as packaging and knock up a block to attach to the loft door to stop heat escaping up there. Have been debating whether it's worth doing the garage door also (garage is integral) but as we keep the freezers out there I suppose that needs to be as cold as possible.

I refurbished the dining chairs ealrier in the year and got too much material so the spare needs to be used to make some DIY draft excluders.

Am still looking for some nice but cheap thermal underwear if anyone has any suggestions?

I've been trying to put as much money as I can away each month so that I can hopefully survive the winter.

@MintJulia how do you store your potatoes? Whenever we buy them they start sprouting.

Any advice would be fab as I'm sick of wasting them!!

Potatoes need to be cold and dark - especially dark. Pitch black is ideal. It's the light that triggers the sprouting

Try Damart thermolactyl, or Uniqlo Heattech

Thanks @RoseAndRose - I will!

If you are using the slow cooker, plug it in in the room you are sitting in to enjoy the residual heat.

Close curtains the minute it is dark outside to retain heat.

Be fierce about keeping heat inside, eg don't mess about entering the house. Door open, in, shut, very promptly.

Hang something over the door handle or use a fridge magnet to stop draughts through keyholes.

Use thermal curtain linings. Alternatively pin fleeces into your curtain linings, or throw a fleece over your curtain pole.

Check how many fridges and freeezers you are running and how much electricity they use. This was an eye opener for us - over 28% of our hefty bills was down to this. See if you can use more food that doesn't need freezing..

If you are desperate, stick bubble wrap to the inside of windows with water.

Wise to buy wood now, it'll get more expensive later, or might not even be available (been warned where I am that wood might sell out by winter as demand has increased so much). We were going to put in a heat storage stove that would kill two birds with one stone - heat the house and cook in it, but there's a problem with our chimney so trying to find out if that can be sorted.

There was two months last winter when we had the heating as low as we could (can't turn off completely because the pipes would freeze) because our bills went insane and what helped then was woolly socks, wearing layers (long johns, warm joggers, vest, long sleeve shirt, jumper, body warmer) and fingerless gloves - the gloves made a big difference to comfort levels.

I'm wary of heated throws, I'd be worried about them catching fire or something! I live in a wooden house so its a big worry for me. I'll just stick to warm blankets.

Wilkos have loads of throws reduced, if anyone needs some (delivery cost is a bit of a pain, but it is usually quick!). They also have 20% off some seeds and bulbs. We have a few hot water bottles already but I may get a sausage dog one to cheer myself up in the depths of winter!

Primark usually have thermal underwear too @ShesNotTheMessiah - unfortunately I don't live near enough to one to check if they have any yet, but they do have hoodies on their website and you can check local stock. Otherwise Sainsbury's often have it too, and have quite frequent 25% off sales, you just have to get in quick to order the size you need.

I WFH and am getting ready to be chilly pretty much every day

bought all wood and 40 bags 25kg each of coal bought 3 months ago for £280 now the same coal is 500 ouch,the wood was about 200

and the sweep will be here in 2weeks its a log fire but can use coal so all sorted

just a heads up if you are new to using an open fire and you plan on using it a lot you will get through a large amount,dont give away or under estimate

my fire really kicks out heat the room is approx 16ft long and 12 wide,i know some say they dont heat much but it had a good draw and over the years have got the best use and heat out of it but ive bought so much as i want it to work between Oct-April

Just got a van full of wood delivered to use in our boiler (it can be heated by oil or wood fire, I had forgotten about that as we only tried with wood a couple of times years ago). Think we'll have to make a fire in it three times a day to keep the hot water going all day so going to have to get better at lighting fires.

I'd love an open fire or wood burner @whatsthestory123 but we don't have the layout for one a shame as they seem so cosy. But blimey, the cost of coal

I'm trying to find a budgeting course to go on at the moment - CAP Money aren't running theirs in my area or I'd have done that again - and thinking of cheap activities to do with the DC in the depths of winter!

Open fires aren't very good for heating anyway, not efficient as they're only heating for as long as the fire is going. Heat storage fireplaces where the fire is fully contained inside a large stone/brick block that reserves and radiates the heat for up to 30 odd hours after the initial fire is much better.

Don’t forget simple things like checking the forecast to see if it’s going to be frosty, so you can cover your car instead of using petrol to defrost it in the morning.

We have integral garages on our street, and a neighbour has a garage door sized piece of insulation that he wedges in every winter. It keeps the garage warmer, and therefore the bedroom above it warmer too.

mine heats very well and if left by its self will still be putting heat out though the night as is toasty in the morning i turn the rad of in the lounge as dont need it with the fire
i get your point about heat storage

seriously mine heats really well must of just got lucky i guess and so glad we have it now its going to come in petty handy and can even cook on it😄

If you’re WFH and you haven’t got a heated throw (and don’t want to buy one), then you can sit in a sleeping bag if you have one. You’ll be snug!

If anyone in the family needs a new winter coat or jumpers have a look in the outlet sections now to see if any of years will suit, before the new season stuff comes in at four times the price. For example ASOS have gilets and puffa coats from about £12. I'm on there now looking for a shacket to wear indoors.

Being able to cook on it is great, killing two birds with one stone! We had planned on getting a heat storage fireplace with a warming oven above it, would have been able to cook casseroles and suchlike in it, but can't unless we can fix the chimney issue.

I am in a terraced house but the kitchen has two walls that don’t adjoin to next door. The kitchen has always been cold in winter and I’m dreading this winter. It’s single brick, so no insulation. Has anyone any good ideas? There’s French doors to the garden. They’re double glazed, but would adding curtains across those doors make a difference? DH works from home in the kitchen and he does feel the cold.

@Snowiscold yes this works well especially with thermal linings

Have bought another heated throw, that gives us 3. Bought a heated airer for my 87 year old mother. She is incontinent and puts the heating on to dry bedding and knickers on the radiators.
Lots of slow cooker meals...which we do already. Lined the sitting room curtains with fleece and will do the same with door curtain. Bought Turtledoves fingerless gloves in their sale