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.

I just came back to say if you have a spare / summer duvet to put it under your bed sheet. Great minds there Thorn! A blanket underneath you, but over the sheet works well, much warmer. Also, brushed cotton bedding is warmer than ordinary cotton.

Ironing is a good activity to do if you're especially cold. It gets you up and moving and of you shut the door, it's surprising how warm a room can get. I also do the ironing of uniform just before the kids put it on. It's so nice to get into fresh, warm clothes.

Look out for running/cycling special events at your local Aldi or Lidl. They will usually have cheap fleecey or insulated running tops and trousers and the tops will generally be the style with longer sleeves with thumb holes which will keep you lovely and warm. They're usually designed to wick sweat away from your body while trapping heat. I picked up a cheap 'base layer' in Aldi a few weeks ago too which is basically a vest and cycling-type shorts and they are amazingly warm and yet tight/thin enough to wear under other clothes.

Just ordered 2 of these thermal all in ones from M and S Outlet (£17.30 for both inc delivery). I signed up for outlet emails and got an extra 15% off. Thanks fluffycloud for the tip.

Delilahlilah

I haven't had brushed cotton since I used to stay with my grandparents as a child. It was lovely!

You are welcome! If anyone's going to buy them it needs to be chilly mumsnetters.

I'm watching cheap cashmere on eBay.

Just picked up the Aldi magazine and from Thursday next week (21st) they are selling womens thermals. Lots of types in black or white sizes 10-20 for £4.29 per piece.

Measures we took in our old rented flat (rotten windowframes and ridiculous amounts of condensation meant we had to keep our bedroom window open all year round - ending up with a snowdrift on our windowsill on more than one occasion!) included:

Lots and lots of hot drinks, even if it was just hot water

Sleep with a hat, socks and gloves on - I had one of those with ear flaps. Ridiculous, but very warm!

Slippers that cover the ankles, eg ugg style bootee type ones, were invented by an angel.

Fingerless gloves - knitting them kept me warm, and wearing them kept me even warmer!

Knit/crochet a blanket

Put two fleeces underneath the duvet. When you get into bed, get in between the two so you are lying on one and have the other over you. Instant warmth without a heated blanket.

Curtains, the thicker the better. If you can't afford curtain lining (like we couldn't at the time), buy two cheap pairs of curtains from a charity shop and hang one inside the other in place of a liner.

Curtains behind doors, even internal ones, and keep the doors closed! DP has lived with me for 13 years but still walked into a closed door behind a shut curtain this evening

Long, hot showers.

Layer up (a lot of pps have already said this, and it's true)

Jeans are cold! Took me a long time to realise this. Tights and leggings are your friends. Also, boots are warmer than shoes.

An indoor heated airer like a dri-buddy dries your clothes at the same time as warming your house.

Draught excluders, including sidney the sausage dog, are brilliant and can be made in many ways as other pps have mentioned.

If you are in the house during the day, try to have a hot meal at lunch time rather than a sandwich. Even something small, like a toasted sandwich, will make you feel warmer than having a cold meal.

Rugs on floors, even carpeted ones, make you feel warmer even if they don't actually increase the temperature.

Exercise really does make you feel warmer, but motivation can be hard to find when you are that cold. Try wrapping up and going for a walk outside. You will feel warmer to start with because of the extra layers, then your house/flat will feel warmer when you go back inside.

I really wish I had known about the bubble wrap when I lived in that flat. That could have seriously improved our living conditions. I'm even tempted to try it here in our new (1950's ex council) house.

Oops sorry for the epic post

For thermals, I know its too late now, but next year keep your eyes out in the Summer. I bought Pringle thermal long johns and t-shirts from Matalan for 99p each in August for DH. He won't ever need anymore so long as he doesn't put on weight!

I always wear socks in bed when I am cold.

I've got fleecy blankets in the airing cupboard that I don't use, they are going under the sheets next time I change the beds!

Electric blanket. Costs pence to run for a night.

Wrong time of year now, but last summer got one in Tesco that was reduced to half price and then halved again. A King Size is actually better than a double as it reaches the edges of the bed as well as the feet. The budget brands are rather sparing on size, but should show it on the box.

We might not be the same size kung

I'm with npower kungfu

I'm loving the throws and pash stuff. Think I'll try charity shop as the postage puts them out of budget for me.

You seen anything you liked?

Looks like a yes from what you said Giddy. Details here

I've got to tell you all at out my new socks!

I bought some slipper socks from Primark at the weekend, pushed the boat out and spent £4 on a pair. I've just got them out and they are fur lined!

Guess where I'm going again this weekend? They'd make ideal Christmas Pressies for older girls/teens/women.

Excellent, thank you x

Mattress toppers make your bed warmer, but they are expensive and an old duvet under the bottom sheet works just as well. Flannelette sheets are really cosy, or a cheapie fleecy blanket on acold sheet can make all the difference and as someone else said a hotwater bottle is lovely. Put hotty in bed with pjs wrapped round it, then they are warm to put on and bed will be too, and hotty not scalding hot by then. Possibly cheaper than using hairdryer

slipper socks sound good, anyone know where you can get cheap second hand curtains from, we have massive bay window with no curtains, the charity shops are empty wish i had not thrown away moldy blinds in the spring thinking i would have a job by now.

Welcome. Better you have £135 than them!

I use the gas fire in the lounge and one if the hob burners to heat the kitchen.
The heating only goes on for a couple if hrs at night for kids bath and bed.

Not much to add - but I agree that tights and leggings are ridiculously warm when you're outside, and in general.

Another issue is condensation - I think because it can be so damp here, it makes it feel colder. There's all sorts of dehumidifiers (including "eggs" that you can reset in your microwave) on amazon, which aren't too expensive and can help dry the air out a bit.

My house has really bad condensation. I wizz round with the Karcher window vac in the morning. Takes about 2 minutes. Then I open the windows for about an hour. Bbbrrrr!

No oil this year for me either - but things I know are:

Forget heating the house - heat you. So in the morning I run a small electric heater in the bathroom for five minutes while I have a shower. When I'm warm I dress in as many merino/wool/cashmere things as appropriate (all old or from charity shops) and keep drinking hot drinks (one herbal tea bag lasts me all day, but by about 5 p.m. it doesn't really taste of anything anymore... ).

In the evening I'm fortunate enough to have a woodburner in the sitting room and have that going for a couple of hours - scrumped wood on the way to and from work is a great contribution, and I spend maybe £5 a week on coal to supplement it. I have curtains over every downstairs doorway so it's quite comfortable just sitting for the evening as long as you're right in front of the fire.

I've never had a heated bedroom so that's not an issue, but last year I bought a small electric blanket and it's a revelation! 1/2 hour before bedtime and it's just gorgeous.

If I tried to heat this leaky 300 year old house I'd have to spend a stupid amount of money (that I don't have). So I don't bother, I just heat me.

I don't have any draught excluders and no sewing machine. What do you all use to make them? I have an old sheet to stuff it with