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.

I've bought a solar panels power bank that can charge multiple devices . You can also plug it in to charge so I can charge it up at work 😄

I’m not buying anything extra but I’m so thankful for triple lined curtains

Initially I thought they were too thick but they’ve really come up trumps with the extreme heat and next the cold

Ive today purchased two oil filled portable radiators to spot heat individual rooms during wfh or the teen gaming/doing coursework in his mancave rather than heating the whole house. They've been in my Amazon basket for about 4 weeks while I debated and then they went up £8 each overnight so I brought them before they went up more. Kicking myself now for not doing sooner. A quick search confirmed all of them have gone up in price.

Also purchased two off brand oodies that were on offer under £20.

Probably the last month I'm going to have anything remotely close to 'spare' money so was worth the outlay I think.

Next purchase soon will be 15 tog duvet for the teen and a winter coat before the prices rocket :(

Do you mind me asking which heated throws you have please ? I've been looking for some for the dc but there are mixed reviews online, so looking for recommendations.

You could add a double curtain pole and have both curtains and voiles.

I have thick eyelet voiles which still let in plenty of light but takes the edge off during the cold days and pull the thicker curtains at night. Looks good too.

I’ve just ordered a heated throw.

got 2 cubic meters of logs delivered whereas I’d normally only have one cubic meter. Logs same price as last year and we plan to use the log burner more.

also managed to snaffle about another 1.5 cubic meters of fresh logs for free yesterday. So will be splitting and storing those for next year.

Place marker

I'm bubble wrapping the windows
We have a slow cooker
I'm not sure if an air fryer would save as much as it costs?

We have an air fryer and it's great - ours is a bit too small for a chicken but very quick for a meal for the DC (fish fingers & chips, etc!). It's not just the heating up time, it cooks everything in half the time of the oven. I'm a convert

I'm trying to persuade the DC that come the winter, we'll be making dens indoors and wearing lots of layers because it's fun! DP is already moaning that we might have to have the heating on less often. It's the bane of my life that he's so flipping lazy, I'm already planning stuff to get us out of the house and doing cheap activities to keep warm...

I'm not sure how much a cheap air fryer would cost from somewhere like Aldi, but I imagine it could pay for itself if you use an electric oven a lot for small amounts. I have a. gas oven which is much cheaper to run than electric, but it takes a while to heat up, so an air fryer is cheaper for warming some croissants or reheating left over pizza, but I'm going to use my oven for batch cooking and meals where I can fill up the oven with some bread rolls, cakes etc.

I've invested because it'll be more convenient for other people (not cooks) to reheat what I've cooked at the weekend, and it'll be quick and easy for one person dinners when someone misses dinner.

I've also bought a heated throw and some thermal base layers - our gas usage is almost twice the average. I know some of it is because of cooking, but most of it is in the winter, so I figure these are long term investments.

My microwave also has a convection oven setting. I don't know why, but I had completely disregarded this until recently, and was warming small or single things up in the main oven. At a cost of about 3 times more! Check your microwaves, people 🙂

I’ve ordered a little fan which sits on top of the log burner. The rising heat makes the blades go round and they’re meant to be very effective at pushing the warm air round the room.

@QuebecBagnet we have one and they are brilliant! Well worth the money.

@Hellocatshome air fryers are often included in Amazon sales (if you can wait till Black Friday) or there's 20% off Tower air fryers at the moment with code LORNA - it's from the Feed your family for £20 a week website, which is well worth signing up to and following on Facebook - they're doing air fryer week at the moment, full of info about using them.

@QuebecBagnet and @PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister my friend has one of those fans, her dogs love it as it keeps them toasty but not too near the fire

@QuebecBagnet is it just an ordinary fan or one for a log burner? Sounds like a good idea

@Greenstar22 its a special log burner fan

this

Do you have a link to that, please?

@QuebecBagnet thanks I'll order one!