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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Not going to put the heating on this winter. How to keep warm

322 replies

ClementineKelandra · 16/09/2013 00:04

I will have the heating on for one hour a day in the evening so the kids can shower but then after that the heating and hit water will be completely off.

I just need to get some ideas for keeping the house warmer once the weather turns.

OP posts:
Gracie990 · 16/09/2013 20:32

Oh yes to primark fleece pj's and onesies. Love them.

Original poster
ClementineKelandra · 16/09/2013 20:43

So many really good ideas.

My windows must have loads of gaps because the wind makes a real noise blowing through it. They're upvc so you'd expect them to be really good but they must be badly fitted. Could I go round the edges with some clear silicone sealer? Not on the opening parts but where the frame meets the wall.

Are electric blankets cheap to run? I'm going to try and get hold of some. I might get one for the couch too. The couches are leather and really cold to sit on even now and it's only September!

I'm definately making draft excluders this weekend. Teenage dd will love doing that.

I bought a long string of solar powder fairy lights. I've put the solar panel just outside the kitchen window, the window still shuts over the wire. They work well enough to give me a little light in the kitchen at night to save me putting the big light on. They wouldn't be good enough for cooking but are fine when I'm just nipping in to make a brew etc.

OP posts:
Original poster
ClementineKelandra · 16/09/2013 20:47

I meant to say I do have a gas fire in the living room which I will put on at night if it gets very cold so we will all have to sit in there.

OP posts:
Original poster
ClementineKelandra · 16/09/2013 20:50

Do you know this thread has really given me a boost. It doesn't change anything but it makes me feel less alone. Also, I was half expecting somebody to call me a crap Mum because I can't heat the house for my dc but you're all so supportive and full if really good idea. Thank you.

OP posts:
pmgkt · 16/09/2013 20:51

Assuming you have a fan oven, once you have finished cooking, switch it off at the mains and open the door so rather than paying to heat the oven up, the paying for the fan to cool it down, you can let all that heat out into the room.

Original poster
ClementineKelandra · 16/09/2013 21:01

I don't have a fan oven :( I have one of those really old gas cooker with a high level grill. I'll still leave the oven door open though after using. It's a shame to waste all that heat.

OP posts:
mameulah · 16/09/2013 21:03

I absolutely do not think you are a crap Mum. I am very, very impressed. I hope it isn't too cold this year.

Oceansurf · 16/09/2013 21:09

Cupcakes Unfortunately, live in a third floor flat or else would definitely rip them out and put in gas!

Our bills are £150 a month Shock it's shocking. Seriously. 2 bedroom flat. My mum also pays far less in a 4 bed detached with central heating. So depressing! Cannot wait for this housing market to recover so we can sell up and move out into a house.

We've been doing daily meter reads, because we can't quite believe how much we seem to use. Currently looking at 6 night units and 7 day units each 24 hrs. That's before we use any heating. The night units are simply for the hot water which comes on at night just for 2 hours. So just for 2 people and a baby in a flat, normal electricity (ie. kettle, toaster, tv, internet, no tumble dryer, nothing extreme) Scottish Power were working it out at £20 a week. That's £80 a month!!! In the summer!!

Original poster
ClementineKelandra · 16/09/2013 21:15

I don't even know how to read my meters! I'm going to have to learn.

Mameulah thank you :)

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 16/09/2013 21:22

what do you pay per kwh?

yegodsandlittlefishes · 16/09/2013 21:23

Soft fleece blankets are good. Wool is warmer if you're not allergic to it.

What about small electric blankets for the children's beds? They could be set to warm the bed up before they get into it, for just an hour or so.

Thermals, skins, silk or merino wool PJs.

The soft toys that you can heat in the microwave.

Cuddling

Run up and down the stairs.

Borrow neighborhood (cuddly) cats.

close doors.

Hot drink before bed.

Go out at weekends for a walk to warm up. Go to the pub or cheap Saturday Cinema or leisure centre (you can get the showers there too and do without the heating altogether!)

yegodsandlittlefishes · 16/09/2013 21:30

We used to live in a village where there was no piped in gas, just LPG fuel or expensive gas canisters, or wood burners or coal fires. NOBODY had their heat on for more than an hour a day there (not even us nesh southerners) it would be like throwing money on the fire. Many houses there don't have any other heat than the fireplace. There's lots of places like this in rural parts of the country, and some wonderful people live there, and are great parents!

Sweetsweep · 16/09/2013 21:32

Are you sure you are claiming all you are entitled to?

yegodsandlittlefishes · 16/09/2013 21:38

For the leather couch, tuck a blanket in to sit on. An electric blanket would probably damage it, and could be a fire risk as they're not designed to go on couches.
They're not too costly if they are on a low setting for just an hour a night. Mine can go up far too high, and be left on all night, so I got ones for the children which automatically cut off after a so long and only have 2 heat settings. I am guessing they probably work out at around 5p - 15p per hour, but I don't know for sure (and they must vary).

duchesse · 16/09/2013 21:40

Ocean, that is a shocking amount to be paying! Are you on normal metered electricity or on a pay as you go system?

Is there any chance someone could be pirating your electricity?

yegodsandlittlefishes · 16/09/2013 21:43

The other thing which is nice though, is if you can find a way to warm up towels to use as you get out of the shower. I never found a way. Friends have tried putting bricks (sewn into an old tea towel) into a low oven...That can be used as a bed warmer, but also a towel warmer thinking about it.

ziptoes · 16/09/2013 21:52

One word of warning about all the draft proofing - you have to be really careful about condensation. At the start of the thread people were talking about putting wall rugs on cold outside walls - be really careful you don't end up with a build up of black mould. It's really allergenic and can cause nasty coughs even in folk who aren't usually allergic to stuff. It's a battle in a cold, old house to stop drafts and keep warm, and to ventilate enough to stop condensation.

basic tips:
don't produce so much moisture - lids on boiling pans. keep showers short and use a squeedgie afterwards. don't dry clothes on radiators (they can dry a fair amount outside even on cold days.

try to keep furniture/wall coverings off cold outside walls

if you find black mould, a dilute bleach solution should get it off the wall, but ideally you avoid getting it in the first place.

this site came up at the top of a google search but there are others out there:
www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/corporate_neighbourhood/housing/environmental_and_energy_issues/household_energy_advice/avoiding_condensation_dampness.aspx

good luck!

peachypips · 16/09/2013 21:54

Rather than all the unhelpful 'oh you poor thing' posts, I love the way loads of people have given great ideas- it almost feels a bit 'stiff upper lip' and 'let's get on with it and try and make it fun'.
I love your attitude OP and that of those who have made practical suggestions. Stick it to the energy suppliers! Hurrah!

ziptoes · 16/09/2013 21:57

man, that was a badly written post!

squeedgie is for the shower/cubicle walls - don't squeedgie yourself (though it may mean less towels to dry?)! Grin

radiators are pretty useless outside, but if dry put clothes outside they don't fill your house with moisture. Also cunning physics fact - drying clothes inside actually takes heat out of your air. So get them as dry as you can outside on sunny days.

by outside walls, I mean the inside of external walls. putting rugs on the outside of your house will just get you soggy rugs and odd looks from your neighbours.

must proof read posts better!

PutThatDownNow · 16/09/2013 21:58

We have some fleece duvet covers, look weird but so lovely to snuggle in and keep us all warm. Before that I used to put fleece blankets inside the bed (under the duvet) because then DCs got more benefit from them than if the blanket had been on top. Have some fleece PJs too which are great. Beware of Velcro effect though!

Debs75 · 16/09/2013 22:00

This is so depressing that we are a) so reliant on central heating that we are pouring money into the hands of the big 6 gas companies. b) we are having to cut back on a necessity like basic heat.

I too grow up in the 80's in a wooden house with no insulation, single glazed windows, 3 coal fires. We were freezing all winter, my bedroom window froze most mornings. My dozy dad had knocked the two reception rooms together which meant we had a giant space to heat. My mum put up a thick curtain to make it smaller again and only heated one end, the end with the tv. Unfortunately that was the end you didn't need so we would snuggle to watch tv then freeze as you went to the loo or to make a cuppa.

We have just moved to a larger house which is lovely but full of holes with badly fitted double glazing. I need to stuff all the holes by the windows and then reseal all the gaps.
Thick curtain are great and thermal linings are cheap and easy to attach to curtains.
My dc's are spoilt with warmth as DS is disabled and for a long time would not tolerate clothes at home so we had to have the heating on or he would freeze. He is better now and will wear pj's at home so we can go longer without the heating. I just need to make sure everyone has some fleecy onesies

NationMcKinley · 16/09/2013 22:04

What a fab thread! I've got loads of ideas, I particularly like peachy's battle cry of stick it to the energy suppliers Grin DH and I used to live (pre DCs) in a tiny cottage miles from anywhere. We had no gas and moved in on the 23rd December one year from warm, town flats Shock. It was bloody baltic! If we took a glass of water to bed, by morning it would have a thick layer of ice. We survived and in a way it was quite fun in a "get us, blitz spirit" kind of way. BUT like I said, we didn't have children and we were not elderly or vulnerable. It makes me furious that some people are have to choose to eat or heat AngrySad. Love that this thread has become a testament to survival and support Smile

NationMcKinley · 16/09/2013 22:05

PutThatDownNow where did you get your fleece duvet covers from?

starsandunicorns · 16/09/2013 22:05

We rarely have the heating on we have a elec blanket for the bed cheap to run even just for a couple of hours so u can jump in and its very cosy my dds used to have them but I always turn them off before they jumped in socks in bed have something hot for brakie porrdige etc when I was was a child we used to have beans on toast before school cheap quick filling and warm plus get a insulted travel cup you can pop a soup or tea in close the lid the drink stays hot for longer plus we have a double duvet on the sofa to snuggle under if you have a hairdryer once dressed give yourself a quick blast under your jumper\ tshirt we so used to been chilly we sit have the luttle windows open and neither self or dp can do heat well