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.

[CosyTeaBags]

I second the advice to invest in a good Duvet - I shivered under my crap one for years, used to put extra blankets over me, sleep in a fleece and hat, and put my oil filled radiator on.

I eventually splashed out on one of these Duvet and it was the best investment I ever made. I ummed and aaahed about the cost for ages, but I'm so glad I bought it.

I literally haven't used the heating in my bedroom since I bought it 2 years ago, so I think it has paid for itself - and I no longer sleep in a fleece!! It's so cosy, and I'm the coldest sleeper.

[Damnautocorrect]

Now I know getting up and doing stuff warms you up but how on earth do you motivate yourself when it's so cold to get off your blanketed sofa?!?

[YoucancallmeQueenBee]

I struggle with that too Damnauto in the evenings. I think it means I'm not wearing enough!

[KungFuBustle]

Maybe get yourself a biscuit while you're up Damn

[PissesGlitter]

Home Bargains do thermals for 2.99 each

Great thread and some very handy tips
Thank you

[Damnautocorrect]

Brilliant pisses I was just thinking I could do with some thermals today.

LOVING the biscuit idea, might manage that. I try rewarding myself with a brew if I do something and I obviously warm up once I'm busy it's just the motivating I struggle with when all I want to do is be warm!

[KungFuBustle]

Terracotta heater is going. Very warming.

[SlatternismyMiddlename]

Sorry I haven't read all the thread yet but wanted to jump in with a warning - do not wear a scarf in bed. My DF attended at a house once where the child died from strangulation caused by a scarf they had worn to bed. Obviously devastating for everyone involved.

I'm off to read the rest of the thread with interest.

[Damnautocorrect]

Oh another one, how on earth do you shave your legs in a cold house?! It's like I've done it with a kitchen knife!!

[CosyTeaBags]

Oh god I used to have that problem in my old house Damnauto

I would do everything else first, so I was as warm as I could be, but then something would make me shiver, like touching the freezing cold wall or something, the goosebumps would appear and I'd have no choice.

I would regularly appear from the bathroom with blood streaming from multiple wounds. Hideous.

[SpookyRestingFace]

I shave in a hot bath (when I bother to shave at all). Don't know if it's just me (?) but I retain heat from a bath for a good while afterwards - can even stand in my cold bedroom doing the whole body cream / oil thing for 10 minutes before getting dressed.

[ManicMinor]

Eating a lot of carbohydrates - really makes a difference. I first realised this when I was camping at high altitude in South America as a student, where it got seriously cold at night, and the locals just plied us with multiple carbs.

[alexpolistigers]

Sock wrist warmers: Get a pair of warm old socks, cut the toes off and make a slightly diagonal slit in one side part way up - this is for your thumb. Scroll through the pictures here and you will see what I mean!

[elskovs]

Im still a bit over this.

Im in the Midlands and haven't switched our heating on yet. Not because we are incredibly frugal but because its not that cold. The children are sat next to me with pjs on and no dressing gown or slippers.

Maybe all the cold people are in Scotland.

[Giddypants]

Does anyone know if we are eligible for the winter fuel allowance?
My DS 5years is disabled he gets higher rate DLA care component.
I have looked on the government web site but can't find anything about disabled children, I've tried phoning CAB but never managed to get through. Any ideas?

[Fluffycloudland77]

M&S has an outlet site on their website, they are doing thermals buy one get one half price.

I'm very pleased with mine, delivery is via amazon & is next day.

[PiratePanda]

Nothing like a hot cup of coffee for warming up cold hands. If I'm working from home all day, I often leave having my shower until I've been up for a while and I'm feeling cold. The warm water heats me right up for a good while.

I also sit at a desk with a large merino wool rug wrapped all the way around me from calves to armpits (a bit like wrapping a towel round yourself after a shower IYSWIM), and I wear tracksuit pants tucked into old army surplus wool socks. Toastie.

Laptop on the knees also very warming. As are small children and cats.

[SlatternismyMiddlename]

It may sound obvious but when you do have any radiators on, make sure nothing is blocking them.

My DS has a very big bedroom, but the bed only fits along one wall. When he was little we had his bed against the one wall that had the radiator on it to reduce the chances of him falling out of bed. The room was always cold. Now he is a bit bigger we have moved the bed out from that wall thus 'freeing' the wall. (He has only fallen out of bed once). The room is now a decent temperature. I can't believe the difference it has made.

In my own bedroom the only place the head of the bed can go covers the entire radiator. The room is always freezing.

[KungFuBustle]

I'm in Scotland Elsk.

Who are you with Giddy I'll try and link criteria.

[BarfaStewart]

Elsk, we are in the midlands too, on the Shropshire/Welsh border, and tbh it's bloody freezing today. That said, all of the HA houses in our street still have wooden frame windows, which are riddled with damp and rot, so we may as well be in the back garden. That said, DH has emailed the HA about them.

[GivesYouHell]

Can anyone recommend any really warm decent quality, and sensibly priced onesies? Or those sleeping bag style onesies - not sure what they're called?

[ThornSayre]

MrsDeVere's advice about blankets under not on top of duvets is excellent. We put our lightweight summer one under the base sheet in winter and it is very cosy