Prepping for the energy rise

[Moaningturtle]

I prepped for brexit and thank god I did because it meant I was unwittingly prepping for covid. I had weeks and weeks of dried food and household goods (although not loo roll…!) already stored in what is affectionately still known as “The Brexit Cupboard”. It’s important to note (before someone says) I did not panic buy, over several months I added a few items weekly to my shop to store up incase there were supply problems. It’s a habit I’ve gotten into and now almost always have a few spare bags of rice and pasta and tinned food.

I’m think I need to do some serious prepping now for the energy crisis. We can cut our usage but not by enough to offset the rises, so I need to do what I can now to make sure we stay fed in the coming year. Buying anything now makes sense because the prices of EVERYTHING will rise as manufacturers and retailers are paying more for the energy they use.

I’m thinking of upping my larder stores, particularly focusing on things that are high energy to manufacture (no idea what this is yet, I need to research). Making sure I have ample supplies of household goods.

Also finding new energy efficient ways of living. Hand washing lightly soiled clothes in cool water for example and just using the machine to spin before line drying? I don’t know, I’m just thinking out loud here.

Anyone want to share if they have any plans?

Worth knowing. Thank you.

That was to @OffCycling

I don't know about the economics of this but something I'm going to check out.....
I have just heard of people buying the batteries that go with solar panels to charge them on economy 7 when electric cheaper, then using them during the day when they have to.

When it was just DH & I, we did car shop a month, then the other 3(ish) weeks we did bike shopping 4 panniers and a rucksack

I have bought a trailer for my bike I just need ro get it fitted

I do a long journey (60 miles) once a week and when I wasn't so poorly I was doing that but train & bike which really saved on petrol

Looking at adding thick curtains to windows with blinds and adding interlining to existing curtains (helps that I sew)

Trying to decide what to do in the kitchen as I hate curtains in a kitchen but need to insulate a patio door and a window

Also have a brevity cupboard but the children are trying to 'save money' by only buying essentials for the house - it will be easier when they move out! Plus my water/electric/gas bills will go down dramatically!

I may also move furniture about to reduce it blocking heat from radiators

I'm going to be putting a lot more effort into collecting wood for the stove. Normally forage every time I take the dog out but I think I'll be chainsawing windfall and wheel barrowing it home.

I'm also going to start showering at work to save on hot water.

I’m going to time showers so we get 5 minutes each, I tried it last night and managed to get soaped up and rinsed within the 5 minutes. We may have to switch to showers every other day and a strip wash instead on the other days. I hope not, but if the gas bill gets too high it will have to be done. As a kid I used to have one bath a week (Sunday night, of course!) and a sink wash the rest of the week. I was never dirty or smelly.

Google 'Navy shower'.

I'm buying a new slow cooker & Halogen Oven, cheaper than turning on my big oven. Using the dishwasher instead of washing up each day. Taking showers instead of baths, LED light bulbs, trying to housetrain ds to turn lights & his monitors off instead of leaving on standby.

@SC215

I’m going to time showers so we get 5 minutes each, I tried it last night and managed to get soaped up and rinsed within the 5 minutes. We may have to switch to showers every other day and a strip wash instead on the other days. I hope not, but if the gas bill gets too high it will have to be done. As a kid I used to have one bath a week (Sunday night, of course!) and a sink wash the rest of the week. I was never dirty or smelly.

Google 'Navy shower'.

If having a Navy Shower - it's imperative that you shout 'Turning on' 'Turning off' as you go. Makes it more authentic!

I'm not sure how to feal with the bath situation

I'm supposed to have 2 or 3 x 20 mins baths each day which is quite inconvenient as well as expensive

I generally have 1 longer bath and top it up several times - I wonder if insulating the under bath cavity would reduce the hot water used?

@BiddyPop could you tell me what solar charger and power bank you have please? I tried to look for one for DH's Christmas present but there were so many varying reviews I gave up!

I'm trying to only use my oven if I can fill it. Eg if I'm doing a roast then I can fit 2 casseroles in at the same time and slip the potatoes in on the same shelf as the meat by putting them in a loaf baking tin rather than a wide roasting tin.

At the same time I'll get 3 or 4 batches of cakes baked in the top oven over the 2 hours because the heat from below will reduce the energy needed to heat the top. I make all cakes in loaf tins as you can slot more into the oven than using cupcake tins or round tins.

I’ve got a kelly kettle and every time I walk the dog I fill my pockets with stuff I can burn. Dog also very good for heating the bed. replacing all worn out and “next size up” with 100% wool jumpers secondhand from eBay. Mens are cheap as chips, women’s are either acrylic blends or £££.

As I have 3 people working from home and one disabled person at home almost all the time I have decided to;
Turn all the radiators down to 2
Change the timings so rather than having it warmer in the morning/evening and cooler daytime and off at night I'll have it maybe 5 at night, and the same temp the rest of the time maybe 17?

We use blankets in the evening anyway so hopefully that will help

The thermostat is in a cool dark hall so it will come on soo er that I expect I think so maybe I should turn that radiator down to 1 - what do people think?

Indirectly related but we’ve just bought a house with a large garden and greenhouse and DH is also going to put a poly tunnel up so we are going to try to be self sufficient fruit and veg wise once this year really gets going

We have loads of strawberry plants from last year so will plant those, raspberries, cherries, apples and figs already at the house plus blackberries we think. DH planted loads of asparagus in pots last year so will plant in ground and we may get a crop this year but def next. Potatoes, squash, onions, garlic, lettuce, toms and poss watermelons. Not sure what other planned veg he has but those are used most often here.

Also getting chickens for eggs and poss some for meat

We converted our understairs cupboard into a Brexit larder and we now try to keep it topped up for incidents of Covid etc
Again not to stockpile just to be prepared really
I think a lot of people are doing this certainly lots of people I work with and are friends with

I must admit tho I do like to have a couple of packs of toilet paper stashed!!! And pasta (as my kids love it!) just for emergencies!!

I generally have 1 longer bath and top it up several times - I wonder if insulating the under bath cavity would reduce the hot water used?

I sometimes wonder this. Swaddling it with bubblewrap or similar insulation and filling out the rest of the under bath cavity this way. Maybe with a horizontal shower curtain over the top of the bath when you're in to retain the heat.

Draught excluders everywhere
Bought a couple of sets of hiking thermal base layers on sale and am toasty warm
Wrist warmers (you can make them out of the sleeves of old jumpers. They make a huge difference to keeping your hands warm
same with neck warmers.
Going to check loft insulation is adequate before next winter
Wash external layers less.
Reduce tumble dryer use. got ceiling pulley maid instead
Batch cook and only use over if I can fill it. Instead using slow cooker to make stews and one pot meals to put in freezer.
I only ever boil enough to make a drink

We have an instant pot and use it much more than the oven these days.

I've bought a stovetop pressure cooker for chilli, bolognaise and similar that I would normally leave on low heat for a while. I don't know how long it would take to make my money back but it will make weeknight cooking quicker too. I batch cook for three or four nights but this still involves cooking at least once midweek.

Bought a couple of second hand merino jumpers from ebay too. Paid £7 and £1.50 plus delivery on each. They are toasty warm!

I managed to get 3 loads of laundry dry on the line at the weekend (usually use the dryer) and I used the 30 min setting on the washing machine. I need to check through the manual as it does tell you the energy consumption for each cycle. I have an eco cycle, but it is nearly 4 hours long!
Bought a clothes airer from Lidl for £14.99, so if weather is bad I can dry on that or it it's changeable then it can be moved to the patio and back in as needed.
Put a curtain across the downstairs stairs (townhouse) as the bottom floor is cold because of the garage, so hopefully keep some heat in.
We have big old French doors in the living room, with really thin curtains, so I need to look for some thicker ones or linings for them. Annoyingly there is another window on the same wall so they ideally need to match.
I'm not too bothered about lights being left on, as most are LED or low energy, but things like consoles and stuff definitely use quite a bit.

I am currently using the eco cycles on the washing machine a lot. They take longer but use less power overall and particularly important for us, less power at a point in time. So we can run it using solar power (pv panels on roof) on sunny days without using any electricity from the grid. Or just a few watts at a couple of points when heating or getting the spin cycle going.

Part of eco cycles is using less electricity at any one time causing less pressure in the grid. And part of it is allowing clothes to soak longer and not needing as much heat, so you still need to tumble them but not use as much energy to heat the water.

So where possible, I am trying to do a few loads on sunny days, and get lost of them line dried as well.

This thread is really good and helpful.

I’ve definitely started monitoring my laundry basket - the kids are terrible at just chucking everything in.I now get stuff out and do a stain and sniff check and if they pass then I just hang them up either on the line or at a window to air and they go back in wardrobe. Have started spot cleaning stains instead of washing the item.
Instead of making the beds when we get up , everyone pulls their covers back and opens the window and the beds get a good air for an hour in the morning - is this particularly gross? Then I change them every 2 weeks instead of weekly.

Do want to utilise my oven better - I have a slow cooker and halogen - are they better than a main oven e.g if I wanted to make a casserole is a slow cooker on low for 8 hours better than 2 hours main oven?
I don’t have a smart meter - it would be obsessed over in our house

I have a slow cooker and halogen - are they better than a main oven e.g if I wanted to make a casserole is a slow cooker on low for 8 hours better than 2 hours main oven?

I use a version on a wonder bag/hay box. These are easy to construct. I put a casserole/lidded pan in a foil bag and then put that in a polystyrene box with additional insulation. I'm confident about doing this because I've tried it with probe and wireless thermometers and they hold their temperature well.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haybox

These are the sorts of foil bags and poly boxes used for deliveries of frozen food or chilled items so they're known to be good at maintaining temperatures.

I just had my first Navy Shower. I'm completely converted. Thanks SC215 I know it was tongue in cheek, but it was great and something I can do every day. I piss around with exfoliating gloves every day due to bacne and I was thinking it's a luxury to run the water extra for that every single day. My shower was just as long, I feel just as clean and I don't think the water actually ran for more than a couple of minutes in total.