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

[ClementineKelandra]

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.

[Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme]

peachypips absolutely!

Am actually loving this thread. There are some really clever people about! Hopefully Clementine you'll be lovely and warm all winter.

[EachAndEveryHighway]

I'm in a similar position OP. Live rurally in house that needs lots of renovation that I can't afford at the moment. Downstairs just has open fires, one with a back boiler which runs three radiators not very effectively I pile fallen down branches into my car all year round, to use in winter, and buy in some coal as a top-up for when it's extra cold.

Despite these economies with the heating, my electricity bill is £90 per month, winter and summer. I'm really trying hard to keep the immersion switched off apart from half an hour before one of us has a bath (there's no shower!) I think I'm going to have to somehow clear my backlog bill with NPower bunch of bastards and shop around for a better tariff ... maybe one with a two or three year tie-in - I need to look into it.

So you're not on your own - I wish you luck with your endeavour.

Last year I had an electric heater to blast out some heat for the DCs when they got dressed if we were all out for the day and there didn't seem much point in lighting a fire. I worry about how much electric that uses though. My friend has given me a calor gas heater but I'm a bit paranoid about using that because of the fumes.

I second what people say about electric blankets - dcs had these last year, and I've treated myself to one as well. And hot water bottles are our friends! And yay to warm fluffy slippers.

[starsandunicorns]

Fluffy fleece socks for all here my dp has them as his feet are like ice hes has stripy pink and white ones you get two in a pack from primark fir a couple of pounds

[AGnu]

Has anyone mentioned microwave heat bags? You can make them yourself just using old tights & value rice. I find the rice smell really comforting but you could put some dried lavender in too if you can get hold of some. The feeling of the tights material doesn't bother me but you could put them inside a bed sock if you wanted them to be soft. I was just telling my DH I love them so much that I want to go buy several pairs of tights & the biggest bag of rice I can find & make myself a giant rice-bag nest to sleep in!

[didireallysaythat]

Lined curtains are great but check the curtain tab top - you maybe able just to get another set if curtains on hook the on (like you do with some lined curtains). You maybe able to hook up a thick but not to anyone's taste set of curtains from charity shops (no need to match) and you won't be able to see them once drawn if you get the lengths right. Curtains to the floor are good over front doors, door draft excluders made from tights, tin foil behind radiators to reflect heat back into rooms. I'm always amazed how much warmer I feel wearing two pairs of socks. And doubley amazed that I don't remember this until march every year. Pound shop shoe insoles equally good.

Good luck

[MrsCakesPremonition]

AGnu - that is a brilliant idea for making your own wheat bags. Thanks.

[TheYamiOfYawn]

Flannel sheets are good, if you can get them cheaply.

[goodasitgets]

I have some brushed flannel pillowcases which are amazingly soft and somehow warmer. Flannel is kind of out of fashion now so if you beg/borrow/charity shop and find some duvet covers or even sheets of it it's great. I got mine from Dunelm Mill and they weren't expensive. eBay often has them too
Tuck everything in. Pj bottoms tucked into socks, and tops tucked into pj bottoms. It really helps
Keep your chest/neck warm, for some reason makes a huge difference
Gilet/body warmer type things are great for in the house as you can move about in them but they're warm

[Ehhn]

This thread makes me so angry at the rank profiteering of the energy companies. I don't understand why the government can't cap profits at 10% - a healthy return for investors. This year all the main energy companies increased profits by 150-300%. Oh wait... Part of it is EU competition laws. Quite frankly, the whole lot should be nationalised again. With the union legislation in place, we wouldn't be in hoc to the strikes of the 70s and we could bloody well regulate the prices. Either that or the government lives by what it says - that any company can set up and challenge the big 6 and so drive down prices and improve service. So why doesn't the government set up its own company to compete against the private ones and a) prove how "easy" it is to do so and b) if it succeeds- actually drive down prices

I'm very impressed by th resourcefulness of everyone here, but it saddens me that these were issues my mum dealt with growing up in the 40s and 50s.

Army surplus is good as they have heavy duty blankets. second hand tin baths are a good idea as you can wash your kids up to age 12 or so (depending how big they are!) by boiling pans of water on the hob and putting it in the tin bath. Can get them cheaply on eBay but they are hard to come by these days.also newspaper stuffing/insulation works a treat.

[mumblecrumble]

Hi there, not sure how relevant this is but our energy bills have gone down a lot recently [I check three times as I didn;t believe it...] and I think the way I now cook helps massively.

• I basically microwave everything I would usually boil - I don;t mean like ready meals, I mean as in rice, pasta, veg, steaming fish, poaching meats etc. So if I make pasta for example - pasta, veg goes in pot [pirex or a good plastic tub] with lid on. Rice gets 8 minutes on full... then I leave another 10 mins or so to continue steaming etc. I still use gas if I fry but I barely use pans anymore.

• Batch cooking - this is a personal obsession I think, Tricky with out good storage, fridge, freezer, containers but I have built up a collection. e.g. Sunday I cooked 24 sausages in one shelf [some with batter on mmmmmmm using up pancake mix and about to go off milk....] 2 meals of sausages with veg and two meals of sausage pasta/rice/casserole etd. Also loads of potato for Sunday lunch AND for packed lunches, a massive crumble - some for lunch, some for emergency puds (you know, like when work is crap, its cold... any excuse really] also popped in some bread rolls etc. Hubby thinks I might be bonkers but I just can;t bare an empty oven shelf...

• Using food for inside central heating is efficient too.... and delicious.

In terms of the house heating, things we do are similar to above. We have tried to collect loads of blankets, cushions and have one big sofa [my best ebay pruchase]. We have hot water bottle each, indoor comfy clothes, thick curtains in lounge etc. We give up eating at our kitche table by the back door and just live in the lounge. In many ways lovely... just hard when you need the loo or to actual do some housework....

If you have;t do call your supplier....

Also, we went swimming twice a week - luxuary really but part of my physio and I need to lose weight but am disabled BUT it as great for a free hot shower :)

[Bunbaker]

It is becoming clear to me that far too many on here are just paying far too much for gas and electricity in the first place. I'm not sure how it works in rental properties regarding choosing energy supplier or even whether you can switch suppliers, but this is worth a read.

Also it might be worth investigating "free" solar panels - tips here

[SquidgyMummy]

We live in rural france so no central heating and no town gas. (only central heating option is oil which costs over a grand to fill the tank - no thanks!),

we have a log burner so try and get scrap wood where we can.
Big thing here is we have shutters on the doors & windows, which we shut as soon as the sun goes down. Definitely agree with poster up thread who said grab all the sunlight you can.

Other small tips, use a lower wattage kettle, or best a (gas)stove top whistling kettle. Boil only what you need and if any over; put rest in a flask for next cup of tea.

Switch all appliances off fully, not standby and do not leave any chargers plugged in.

[mummytime]

I would also investigate if there is any help you can get Campaign against fuel poverty might be a place to start. The Home heat helpline is free to call and might be able to give advice too.

[DesperatelySeekingSedatives]

been there, done that OP and really feel for you its sucks. I found that heating a couple of rooms (downstairs ones) and buying hallogen heaters for mine and DD's bedrooms, putting hotwater bottles in the beds and wearing thick toasty socks in bed helped at night. Also went to bed early with my laptop and often shared my bed with then toddler DD when it was really really cold.

DD wore leggings or tights under her other clothes to keep the heat in and we wore thick fluffy bathrobes from asda round the house (wearing a coat indoors not an option as it was often wet through from being outside and well that to me seemed too sad).

One good thing about having such a cold house was that DD went to bed at a decent hour as it was too cold to stay up and play

[zebrafinch]

twistyfeet Your post has made me cry.
My child has quadriplegia and has to be kept warm and cosy. I expect you have already tried everything to keep the heating on but it is just so expensive. Please ask the social worker if you have one if they can help you in any way to keep the heating on , if you get no joy go to your local citizens advice to see what they can come up with.
I really really hope that you can get extra financial help to keep the heat on.
It's terrible that any child has to suffer a cold house let alone one who cannot move and is at is risk of chest infections.

[NotGoodNotBad]

Tights under your trousers.

Sorry if this is obvious, but I mentioned it to a couple of fellow horse-riders last winter who were complaining of cold legs, and they thought I was a genius .

[chibi]

i think there is a culture here of putting up with things- as in people are expected to put up with things. no heating? too bad for you- it's your problem, deal with it

it is outrageous that people are going to bed in inadequately insulated houses whilst wearing all their clothes and strategically opening and closing curtains because not freezing to death is the province of the fabulously well to do.

this is utterly unacceptable and the rank profiteering by energy companies in the face of such desperation is disgusting



(we do all the above mentioned things but a dehumidifier changed our lives. if you can get one you will be blown away by what a difference cold dry air vs cold wet air makes to personal happiness and well being)

[msrisotto]

My electric blanket boasts that it costs 1p a night to run all night. I only ever run it for an hour though as (at the moment) that is more than enough.

[worldgonecrazy]

I get really angry about the different prices charged between those who have pay as you go meters, and the rest of us. My gas and electricity is £100 a month, and we have the heating on low level (19 degrees) constantly as we found this was cheaper than firing it up for 5 hours a day (YMMV so run an experiment for a couple of weeks). We have a combi boiler so have hot water on demand - immersion heaters are extremely expensive to run.

But if you are already a struggling family, finding the £1.5K - £2K to switch to a better, more efficient heating system is an impossibility, so they get stuck feeding £40+ into the meters every month.

Here's a thought. Can we Mumsnetters do something constructive? I have had a quick look on e-bay and they have fan heaters for around a tenner, with free delivery. Could we all club together and buy some for Mumsnet to distribute to those parents who are struggling to heat their homes? I'm happy to stick £20 in to the kitty.

[valiumredhead]

Ocean-my mum moved into a flat with storage heaters, bloody useless things and so expensive! She bought electric convector heaters from Argos they were about 20 quid, thermostatically controlled and she just uses them now. Much cheaper and not wasting heat like with the storage heaters. If you do this change tariffs as daytime electric is pricey on economy 7.

[valiumredhead]

World- that's a lovely thought but I imagine it's the cost of running heaters that stop people buying them rather than the initial cost x

[worldgonecrazy]

Sorry - I thought that electric fan heaters were cheap and efficient? Apologies if I'm wrong.

I just wish we could do something. I remember what it is like to live without central heating and, whilst it may have been fun for us to try and manage without it for a while when we knew we could switch it back on anytime, I can't imagine what it must be like to have to choose between heating and eating.

Why is there no legislation to say that pay as you go meters have to have the same rates as those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to pay by direct debit?

[PeterParkerSays]

I saw a link on Pinterest for lining curtains. If you're not good with sewing, use velcro strips / patches to stick the lining to the back of the curtain fabric. I guess you could also sew ribbon to the lining and just tie it onto the curtain poles in between the curtain hooks. It would help to add extra curtain layers / blankets behind the curtains.

[Gracie990]

Chiba I think lots of very rich people have cold houses. A very big house is expensive to heat and if you live in a mansion your not going to heat it all.

Our first winter in this house ( big house) was shockingly cold. We move from an average sized 3 bed which was toasty warm.

Insulation is the way to go, it's not cheap to do it well, but it pays off every year.

Interlining curtains and thermal blinds made our rooms several degrees warmer.