Sick of being cold

[dreammattemousse]

I just need a rant!
Me and my children left an abusive relationship, I left with nothing,
Not even a phone.
Ive worked incredibly hard and stayed with family and have just managed to buy a house by myself. (I'm grateful every day for this)
But I'm bloody cold
I can't afford to put the heating on, and my son asked me why there is smoke coming out of his mouth.
I grew up in a freezing cold house and I swore I'd never let my kids suffer like I did.
Im so grateful we are safe and free,
And I used to love this time of year but it's affecting me quite badly, physically and emotionally!
Does anyone else feel the same?
I'm doing absolutely everything I can and it's helping (hot water bottles, layers etc) but the reality is..
I have a pretty constant headache and shoulder ache from being so bloody cold.
Roll on next summer 😅

@dreammattemousse do you mean the whole plastic bit goes round and round?

Youtube is your friend. I had one of ours do the same. Tried to turn it then it came off in my hand.

Push it back on, there should be a section of it that turns clamping it onto the end of the metal pipe. Tighten it up.

I've taken it back off to show you. Push it on, then tighten the bit where my fingers are.

@dreammattemousse if that doesn't help. Go onto the Property/Diy pages under House and Home, and see if someone on there can help. "Pigletjohn" is super if they still use the forum.

Ooooooh Thankyou so much
I'll have a look and see if I can fix it :)

Second all the suggestions to check the humidity.

one of these
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B093PT1NL1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A3OQHHR0H3SMZM&th=1

is really useful for pinpointing the problem (cold, damp or both)

If you have high humidity this will also make it feel colder ( and also breeding ground for mould)

How do you pay for energy? Bills or meter?

Honestly ( and I know this will sound flippant) if was in this position I would just run the heating as normal and deal with the fall out later ( if there is any) pay it off in instalments, whatever is needed but you have to keep your actual house warm

There was a lot of advice floating around last year to heat your body not your house but houses need to be kept warm and dry. You risk all having bad health

We live in the South East(ish) and it's currently 12.5C in my home office. I just don't understand PPs who say it's not cold where they are...

I use my dressing gown over my clothes when I’m sitting down and put a fleece blanket on the bed, under the duvet.

Hope the oil heater helps for your DC’s room.

Obviously you’ll need to be careful with children around but if you eat toast then putting the toaster in the living room can help heat the room up in the mornings.

@dreammattemousse

Check with your electric company,some offer things like heated blankets cheap/free

I think the thought of potentially getting into debt terrifies me! But realistically I'm
Not sure they can cut off my gas and electric ?
I work so hard I should be able to heat my home!

Oodies OP, Oodies.
I could have written your post.
I'm hot all day, at work - in and out of uncomfortably heated homes, and my car (care work).
But the temperature just dips, around now (4pm-ish), which is when I'm at home.
I cannot afford to put the heating on - it simply isn't an option. My house is open plan, so the upstairs is warmer than downstairs - which works out well in summer. And, in winter, I just go to bed early.
We can see our breath, but our bodies are warm. Ours are cheapie Amazon versions.
Also, menopause helps! I don't feel the cold as much as I used to.

Also, I have a small tumble dryer (£30 from FB marketplace, 7 years ago!) DS puts his school uniform in it for 5 minutes, sprayed with watered down softener, to warm it up (also saves ironing), so he goes to school, warm and smelling clean. He stands in front if it, in his Oodie, and eats breakfast.

Someone mentioned ensuring that you have sufficient loft insulation. I had builders in earlier this year and had more insulation installed and noticeably feel the temperature difference to previous years and my heating is mainly off. I switch on for 30-90 mins very early or very late and it's currently fine. Daytime temps I've been warm enough to think the heating is on when it isn't.

I've also layered up from the skin out. I love my fake oodies - I have several in different thickness ending at my knees and a couple of very thick "shearling" ones ending at my ankles. I also wear thick brushed fleece heat holder socks (2.3 tog) over my regular or wool mix socks and last year, when I had no central heating, I bought a pair of men's very thick slipper boots with a proper sole, so I could go outside to the front garden putting the bins out etc, and they kept my feet and ankles toasty. I bought them oversized to accommodate the thick socks plus the lambswool shoe liners I put inside them. Add a thin woolly hat and a soft wool scarf inside the oodie.

I must look a sight when I open the front door but don't care as I'm saving money and staying warm. 🌹

I went on Amazon and typed something like men's very thick fleece slipper boots and loads of examples came up. Also type in heat holder very thick socks, which are a blessing if you suffer from icy ankles. 🌹

I grew up in a Fifties pre central heating house/ frost patterned single glazing etc etc.my mother made quilts from worn out clothes cut to lie flat and layered with old sheet bottom and top. Weighed a ton( to me as a skinny frozen child) but kept me warm. Very similar idea to Australian Wagga quilts but my mothers family came from the Shetlands so I don’t know how she thought this up. Then electric blankets came on the market and my father bought them. They are cheap to run and I’ve been known to keep it on for hours low. Do hope things improve for youOP

Electric blankets for the beds make all the difference if you can manage it and they don't cost much to run.
Then a hot water bottle tucked into your jeans or under the top when you're not in bed. Put socks inside the cover before you put them on. A hoodie, or hat and scarf as well. Always have a hot meal or drink if you can. The objective is to warm the individual person if the whole house can't be.
You'd need to be careful with kids around but I've found that a few big church candles or the ones in pots can help to take the cold edge off a room and they feel cosy.
However a bit of chill is nothing compared to a safe home; well done op.

I recently read about insulating wallpaper that you can use on the inside of the external walls. Haven’t tried it myself yet, but if you’re planning on redecorating at any point it might be worth looking into. You can buy it in Screwfix.

Your house must be very cold. I am in South West on the coast and the temperature is 16 with no heating at present. Bordering on a bit nippy but nothing my blanket and bedtime hot bottle can't handle. Will start to heat for a couple of hours a night if it drops more.

@dreammattemousse

If you're near a Lidl, from 19th November they'll have Silentnight heated throws for £24.99.
You could all cuddle under it watching TV.

I'm also in the SW and I'm finding it cold as DH and I lived abroad for a few years and I bloody hate winter and the cold.
Top tips from me..wool socks, oodie or a oodie rip off and definitely a scarf, when we lived abroad if the temp went below 18 everyone put a scarf on to stop getting cold. I scoffed at it when we first moved and now I do it!
No new tips for the house, it's shit, people shouldn't have to live like this.

It may be worth applying to the https://www.fuelbankfoundation.org/ fuelbank to see if they can help.

I shop in Lidl so will keep an eye out :) thanks for the heads up!

And thank you for that link!
It says on there if you are in debt they can help support setting up payment plans etc
Which I guess makes me feel better because worse case scenario is that I go into debit with my gas and electric but they won't just cut it off and there will be options.
today my ex has informed me he will be doing everything he can to reduce the amount of child maintenance he pays,
His two holidays a month are getting expensive 😅
Ahwell. Could be worse, could still be apologising for existing and living in fear..

Do you have curtains? . It took time, but I have gradually found good thick curtains in charity shops for £10 a pair. Now each window in the house has curtains, it’s so much warmer. Managed to find a really thick one which goes over the front door too and that makes a big difference.

Is there one room you could heat in the house? Is your kitchen big enough to sit in too? Then it will heat from the cooking.

I have written a full list of all the things I want to get to help
Just need to measure the windows and then can either charity shop hunt or look on Facebook market place
At least I know any money I spend now will be worth it and these things will last many years.
I've shut off the conservatory, the cat seems happy and I think that will make a massive difference :) x