How are you preparing for autumn/winter?

[magicalkitty]

With mortgage rates going up, and gas/electric costa, I wondered how people are preparing for another long winter.

The gas and electric rates may have dropped marginally, but with no £400 this year the costs will likely be more than last year.

I have built up around £300 credit with energy company for winter in prep. Last year we had the heating at 15c for 3ish hours a day, but not sure if we can manage at that temp again. The combined bill was still £230 per month in the coldest months though.

I have oodies, electric blankets, fleece bedding etc. I wear thermals for about 6 months and fingerless gloves inside.

No major plans but I'm going to pick up an electric blanket for my bed. I got one for DD's bed last year. I had a problem with my heating a few years back so I got an oil filled radiator for the sitting room as a temporary measure. I used it a lot last winter - it meant I was just heating my sitting room and not using home heating oil to heat the whole house.

I'd love to get solar panels but it would be a huge outlay and I simply haven't got the money for that.

We are going to put a new boiler in this year, the old one is 23.
I've been doing an extra shift a week for the last month and hope to continue for as long as we're busy (hotel).
I need to fill up the oil tank soon, will probably phone around for quotes on my next days off.
We do need new windows but can't afford that particular loan payment at the moment.
We have the oodies, thermals etc, just need to get them out of the cupboard and give them a refresh.

Good idea for a thread!

I don't think I've done that much yet, need to be more organised!

Have booked boiler service and fixing of a radiator that either blasts out boiling or refuses to work and nothing in between 🙄

Found charger for window vac , checked dehumidifiers still work we have 2.

Washed throws and winter coats while it's still warm so they dry easier.

Need to do a freezer and pantry inventory to try to get food bill down.

Need to find everyone's hats scarves gloves slippers oodies etc, check if any need replacing.

We also need windows replacing but no money! The wind whistles through them 🙄

Would love a door curtain but not sure if we have space, will look into it more

Need to get gutters cleaned of leaves etc, our window cleaner does it but I need to actually book it 😂

Following for ideas!

Also we recently got our credit back from our energy company as we were £1000 in credit and we needed the cash.

So need to work hard to stick to our direct debit and try to cut down on heating and tumble dryer etc

I got a silent night one for mine and for my ds bed last year, cheap to run. Had them on overnight during the colder nights (regularly checked smart meter and were genuine pence to run) cheaper than putting heating on upstairs for sure.

I spent half of last winter in bed with the electric blanket on. If I was going to spend the evening reading / watching TV, I figured I might as well turn the heating to the overnight temperature and be warm in bed rather than heating the house at vast expense and still not being warm enough. Obviously easier for me since I live on my own.

We have got a nest which we are hoping will mean we need the heating on less.

We will also have a roof all winter now the loft conversions is finished. I am hopeful we will be able to put some proper flooring down downstairs, which should insulate a lot and fill in gaps etc.

In some ways it was ok adt winter as we knew we were doing the renovation so we knew it would be cold. This year we will be hoping to be warmer.

Although we can manage the bills (They're extortionate even in summer), we live rurally and last year had a lot of power cuts and extreme snow and ice. Prepping some canned food (safely, if anyone is worried), plenty of wood stored in the basement which doesn't get damp, water bottles and canned water, torches, backup heater and generator, instant noodles and non-perishable foods.

Also labour and medical items as I will be 7 months pregnant with 5th DD in December and my babies come early!

@Selfraisings - I got some long sleeved thermal base layer tops from mountain warehouse last year - think when they had one of their sales on, so not too expensive. Just wore under normal top with a card on top. And practically lived in thermal /fleece lined tights - sort of an in between tights and leggings. Wore them as tights or under harem/yoga style trousers. All seem to be ok to wear again this year. Also saw other people rave about the m & s thermal underwear on the posts last year about keeping warm.

We have oodies and plenty of blankets ready. We have a door curtain on front door as it’s got gaps and cat flap blows open. I have a few year old electric blanket, dd loves using it. We have no plinths in kitchen so I have stuffed gaps under cupboards with big rolls of filter floss kind of stuff to plug up.

Bathroom radiator leaks and needs replacing. It’s a towel rail one but going to suggest to dh to get proper one. The window in there doesnt close properly, I’m going to look at that tomorrow.

Today I bought dd teddy bear bedding. Really cosy and she loves having it on during winters. Also her bedroom wall has an insulation layer on it as she has a very cold outside wall.

Already stocked up on logs for wood burner which came this week. Need to finish stacking them in garage though. Need to stock up on fire lighters and kindling too.

Also got another duvet in bank holiday sales. We have a super king size bed with 2 double duvets on so we don’t fight for the duvet during night. I’ve bought a super king duvet to put over the doubles. I found it worked really well last year as the second duvet weighed the bottom one down onto our bodies and kept us cosy.

It’ll be harder this year due to having new baby in the house so I need to make sure I keep bedroom warm enough.

We were 1k in credit with our energy supplier we got it refunded and will make £50 in interest on it. I really did not like the fact I was overpaying in advance.

I always cook big pots of soup on a Sunday so will start to do that soon when it gets cooler. We hike quite a lot so at the weekend we go off out for about three hours at least one and sometimes both days on local hikes or on our bikes. I have always had an internal thermostat that’s a bit weird as does my DS it’s incredibly rare for us to feel cold. It’s an issue in summer as we both overheat and it’s grim. So if DH is at work the heating is rarely on.

I was raised when spot cleaning was a thing as we had no washing machine and washed by hand. Far less washing of stuff now, I quite like that as I hate doing laundry. Back to spot cleaning.

We have a small playroom off the kitchen, and we more or less abandon the living room and live in the back of the house in winter. We joke about closing off the west wing.

Once the heat goes on I become the door nazi. But around 7pm I open the door between the hall and kitchen to let the heat built up move up through the house.

@Selfraisings I recommend sleeveless men’s thermals. Sleeveless because they don’t add bulk under your arm and are easier to work in, and men’s because they’re invariable thicker and longer. I’m loathe to recommend any shop/brand these days because the quality of everything since the pandemic is terrible. Also think about plugging gaps with wrist warmers, a neck scarf, kidney warmer, leg warmers, maybe even a hat.

@TheSummerITurnedChubby be careful about burning wood that hasn’t been thoroughly dried out (usually takes two years) because it can be a health hazard.

electric blanket, oodies ,electric throw (godsend)
Got quite a few sets of thermal base layers now. Picked them up the beginning of summer when there were deals on, they saved me last winter.
Fingerless gloves and neck warmers help too.
Repaired one of the double-glazed windows that was blowing a gale because the lever arms had gone and it wouldn't close. so hopefully the bathroom will be warmer.
Curtain behind the front door. The radiators in the bedrooms not used will be turned to frost setting and the doors closed and draft excluders in front of them
Feel like I,m preparing for war, but needs must.

Oh I forgot about the neck warmer! Dh had a fluffy fleeced neck warmer for when he was on his motorbike. I’ve stolen it 😂Used it all last winter whilst pregnant. Godsend.

Ive just remembered. The best thing i had last year was fingerless gloves in house that wenr all way up wrists.. made them feom old cashmere jumper . So easy.
and a neck warmer.
also made from old jumper!

I haven't done much yet, just tidied through my larder and freezer and bought some teddy bear bedding

Thermals and sheepskin slippers! I like Uniqlo for thermals and have some Celtic & Co house boots. The latter are pricey but I find they make a huge difference to how warm I feel overall, particularly when I am not moving much wfh.

Check out Uniqlo's Heat Tech range, my DH bought me a thermal top and some thermal leggings last Christmas and they really helped keep me warm when I was working from home. Also the top is a nice flattering cut, looks good on its own but because it's got a low scoop neck you can't see it if wearing below other layers.

Similarly to others I have oodies, electric blanket and a dehumidifier for drying clothes. Also had heat saving blinds fitted in the conservatory so hopefully will be able to work in there more in an evening when my daughter needs the study for homework. Also looking forward to not staring out into the darkness of the garden, should feel more cosy.

I've bought 72 rolls of toilet roll for 18 pound with free delivery on a flash sale on Tik Tok!

Where did you buy it from?

Cuddletissueshop on Tik Tok I thought it was a good deal most random thing I've bought!!! I have no car got rid just before covid to save money! So saves me carrying it back from town and hopefully we won't run out for a long while lol x

Have just had delivered a lovely thick fleece that can either be used as a blanket or worn. Once it gets a bit cooler will test the heated blanket to make sure it's still working, and plan for replacement windows before the really cold weather starts (my flat was built in the 1880s and at least one window is original).

Clear the freezer, dig out all the nice warm comforting soup recipes and have a cooking session for the freezer. Buy a new door curtain and some new slippers (bootees rather than slip ons).