NO MORE COLD MUMSNETTERS!

[KungFuBustle]

Right, don't really know how to start this but I'm raging. I see over and over on here people struggling with heating, sitting cold after kids have gone to bed, waking up in cold houses and it makes me want to stamp my feet and scream. Apologies if I'm not articulate or organised. I just want to do something.

No judging, please share anything you feel may help, no matter how small. Also feel free to have a whinge. DS is at school and I'm cold now, and I'm fucking miserable. I don't mean to patronise, some of this may seem so obvious to some, but if one person is a wee bit warmer I'm a happy bunny.

Here goes.

U Switch We might as well be getting the cheapest deal.

Warm Home Discount You may be surprised by who can apply for this. A lot of providers have their own criteria and it's broader than you think.

Which Guide to Free Insulation Self explanatory but also has some information about DIY.

Draught Excluders - I have these on every door now. If you're turning down radiators or trying to save by only heating one room they are brilliant. You don't have to buy them. I cut up old trousers up the crotch. Stuffed with old sheets and sewed up. You can use newspaper at a pinch.

Curtains - Thick lined curtains on windows are great. They are also expensive. If you can forgo colour scheme charity shops have AMAZING deals. They might not fit in with the room but lord they keep the heat in. I've also fixed them over front and back doors. Our kitchen has no heat source but since covering the back door I can no longer see my own breath when I walk in.

Tinfoil - Wrap in round cardboard and whack it behind your radiators. You can buy special stuff for this, but if like me what wasn't an option this is better than nothing. We noticed a real difference. I did downstairs, doing upstairs today.

Builders Plastic - Not cheap but cheaper than double glazing. Tape it over windows and it can keep the heat in and the cold out. I haven't been able to do this but another MNer mentioned it and it seemed a very clever idea on a budget.

Cashmere - I wanted to laugh when someone said this, like I can afford cashmere. Keep an eye out in the right charity shops and you will. I've not been so lucky yet but I know other MNrs have. Real wool jumpers and throws are a great find too. Doesn't matter if it's not our colour (Don't tell the S&B board!) warm's warm.

Candles Heater Instructions in the link. Building mine today. Candles in a room can also give an impression of warmth. I pay £1 for 100 tea lights at ikea.

Slow Cookers - I made porridge in my slow cooker last night. Soon as we got up I had a bowl of porridge in DS's hands and some hot squash. He also gets a hot squash as soon as he comes in from school. Cheap and warming.

Hats - I'm not much of a knitter. But if you want a hat making PM me. They're usually wonky, not stylish, but if you're cold and want one for wearing around the house I'll make you one. I can also make little ones for children.

Crikey, this was longer than I expected. Please share any warm tips you may have. I'm sorry so many of us are cold, and I'm sorry I can't just pay all of our heating bills and we all have warm Winters.

Does turning off radiators make a difference to bills and the efficiency of the other radiators?

I know there are many things that stay with us for ever MrsD and I don't doubt being cold is one of them The wheat bags sound good, I warm DS's bed with the water bottle before he gets in then take it out. Wheat and gel packs could be left in, couldn't they?

I'm going to try approaching local school and church, maybe see if we can make a load of trendy draught excluders for those locally who are vulnerable to the cold.

I've found it makes a difference Solid, even when I was in a position to afford heat with wild abandon I used to turn off the hall ones.

DH and iI are now enjoying our mid day hour of heating. Went for a small walk before it came on. Got the blood pumping and we felt the difference more coming in from the cold. The walk will only do my health good, I'm usually in a warm office all day.

Thanks KungFu. Also do you think it saves more fuel to turn the heating off periodically or have it on low all the time, so that at least you're not having to heat up from scratch time and time again?

This thread makes me so angry. What the actual fuck went wrong for so many people in one of the worlds richest countries not be able to afford to heat their homes? It really beggars belief

Good thread though OP.

dontlookbehindyou

Have you tried ankle warmers over the top of your normal socks, but underneath your trousers, jeans etc? I'm talking about the ones that were the craze in the 80's and were worn with leotard and leggings when keep fitting/Flash dancing!
If you can't get hold of any, get some extra thick socks, cut the foot off, and use the leg part.

I do this as I live in a house with no carpets, just a few rugs. They really work.

My Dad used to rave about thermostats. I'm sure he said picking a decent temp and letting it click on if it dropped was best. I could be wrong. I'd have a Google tbh. I'm no expert.

Our is on for 3 hours a day. Thermostat too so if it's already 18 or it reaches 18 during the hour it turn off.

We have 7-8 for DS getting ready for school
1-2 to warm for when he comes home 2-3 didn't work as the temp dropped too far.
And then 7-8 for showers and bed.
We drop the 1-2 when we can.

My furry onesie and slippers keep me so warm I have to turn the heating off or risk roasting alive. Guess what the DH and DSs are having for Christmas? . Joking aside, we'll only need heating before work/school.

Thanks.

So if I have the heating timer set to All Day, but the thermostats are set to turn off at 17, then I won't be using fuel? (Sorry if I'm being stupid!)

If the house reaches 17 it will turn off, if it doesn't it will run all day. I think it works if you're well insulated. I imagine in a draughty house that loses heat it would cost a fortune.

Not stupid at all, my Dad went on and on about the wonder's of thermostats but DH never had one before this house and he found it baffling, especially with the timer.

Anyone know how much it does cost to heat a 3 bed house, say per hour, in the morning and evening, or throughout the day too?
And of course each additional degree of temperature costs more too.
What sort of weekly, monthly, or quarterly bills do people get?

• just as an idea for thread if anyone wants to share ?

Our thermostat is broken so we have a thermometer and we try to be manual thermostats when we have it on

I have a thermometer somewhere too, I think I'll dig it out and see what the temperature is, our thermostat is in the hallway near the front door, so colder than the rest of the house. Each radiator has a thermostat too (is that what they're called? I turn them mostly down to two bars except the living room).

We have duel fuel and our monthly bill on direct debit for gas and electricity together is £154 for a 4 bed house. I think it's set a bit high though, so am hoping for some money back at some point.

Fleece onesies with feet - look awful but toasty warm.

definitely close off rooms you don't use and heat one room. My grandad lived in his kitchen through winter as his house was old and creaky.

I have to agree with Ken - this thread makes me so angry that people are living in fuel poverty in this day and age.

I know JADS, seriously, if anyone wants hats shout up, also if you're in the Ayrshire area and don't have sewing stuff I'm happy to help with draught excluders.

We shouldn't be living like this but we are. We need to help each other as no one else is. for everyone taking the time to share tips.

Maybe we need to think again about central heating. We've only had it for the last 60/70 years. Maybe with diminishing natural resources, we need to think about dressing better & being more clever with how we keep warm. So many UK houses are so poorly insulated, it is like heating green houses!

Thanks Solid Gold that's interesting. Don't want to de-rail lovely, helpful thread, but am not very aware of our heating costs - just that they're probably too high, and I'm (a bit) scared how much heating our home through winter will cost this year.

As an aside to the thread, I will never have British Gas again.

Many years ago I moved into a new home and hadn't set up to pay monthly direct debit. I was single, no children then.

I got the first quarter gas bill, it was for £400 odd! I was shocked as I had budgeted for around fifty quid! I did have a bit of a fright and phoned them up and they sent someone to read the outside meter again and phoned me up to tell me that the previous meter man had recorded it wrong and my actual bill was for £40 odd!

They then wrote off the forty quid bill for my distress and sent me a cheque for more money, quite a bit I seem to remember as compensation! Whilst I was pleased I did think it was a bit over the top and a simple apology would have sufficed. It made me think they had money to burn.

Then, this is what really ticked me off, another time I moved I got reminders from British gas for the previous occupier whom appeared to have never paid a bill, including his gas one and he was owing five hundred odd pounds. I had his forwarding address as he came to see me about an urgent letter he needed forwarding. I didn't mention all the debt letters I had for him as he was an arrogant unpleasant sort.

So I phoned British gas and said I had opened the letter and told them his new address. The woman said thanks but it would probably be written off as it wasn't always worth their while chasing people.

I was furious! How many people rent for six months, don't pay bills and then bugger off to the next property to do the same thing!

I realise this was a long time ago and maybe British gas are more tightly run but this obscene waste of money accounting really ticked me off and made me think that the coat of the waste was being passed on to the paying customer.

What a lovely thread. ..though equally crap that its needed

Primark have a range of blankets that are £5 and well worth the money. ..they currently have a xmassy one-its red and white with deers ob and a kind of nowergen pattern and this one seems to be slightly heavier than the other designs. ..no idwa why. ..and they are fab

If you cannot face exercising, get up and do the ironing.

(I know it costs money to heat the iron, but at least you are getting a job done as well as keeping warm!)

We had a similar experience (in old flat) with British Gas where we were chased for a previous tenant's heating debt. It resolved itself eventually but has made me choose another provider.

Invest in a really good quality set of seasonal duvets that you can join together or separate to suit different temperatures. Mine has a very thin summer duvet, a medium thick spring/autumn duvet and when combined they make a super squishy cosy thick winter wonder! I've just put it on a few weeks ago and once I'm in bed, I am toasty all night! And they last for years and years, so the initial expense is really worth it if you can afford it. Loving this thread!

I only just realised in our house if we bolt the doors top and bottom rather than just lock them it keeps the seal tighter and let's in almost no draught. Previously the draft was severe...

Feel like an idiot after freezing near the door for a few years.

I tend to sit in the back of the house in winter as that's where the sun shines in. Currently in the kitchen with the tumble dryer on and washing machine running. So it's toasty warm. Heating doesn't come on for another hour. I know some cant afford a tumble dryer, but it don't half heat the room up good and proper.

Thankyou Kungfu and everyone else! I'm going to get busy putting all this into practice