Preparing for winter 2022/23

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How is best to prepare for the next winter? I imagine energy prices will be huge, I can afford a bit of an increase but I'm worried it will reach my limit.

I'm trying to forward think and plan ahead. I've bought some hot water bottles (in the sales) to put away and I will try and get a good stock of cupboard type foods to ease the food shopping bills over the winter when the energy will be used more. Ideally I want to try and have less other outgoings in November, December and January to cover the increase in my energy bills for that time.

I may also start overpaying a little each month on my energy account, or into a savings account so I have a bit of a buffer.

Any other ideas please?

Thank you@Winnipeg23. I had saved for a new sofa but am feeling quite strongly that this may well be the better option.
I am also fortunate in that there is a gate in my back garden that goes strontium a wood. I am unlikely to be short of kindling!

Wow! Strontium was supposed to be straight into !

I am not in Europe but do have a wood burner. Our insulation is not to European standards. I specifically bought one with a flat top. We light it morning and evening in winter. However, I have an extremely large stock pot that goes on and boils. We have used it for baths in power cuts but normally it is a gentle heat source after the fire goes out so it’s bit like a radiator as the day goes along. If I don’t do it, my fairly open plan house can get quite cold within a few hours.

Winnipeg our wood stove sits into the original fireplace so can't have anything on top, but I have thought about baking potatoes or doing foil packet cooking inside it if necessary.

DMIL has a free standing stove in her kitchen - she used to do slow cooked stews on the top (but had to move the chimney from the back to the top so there isn't enough space for her casserole dish anymore). But she has a large old aluminium kettle that she wedges on top all the time and which does give her a decent extra amount of hot water for washing dishes, filling HWB etc.

Generally, as winter is coming to an end now, the end of season sales would be great to pick up extra hats, gloves, warm socks, thermals, coats to fit next winter etc.

Apologies if already mentioned but if you have gas heating and no fireplace, if you can afford it buy an oil radiator for emergencies, or for when electricity is cheaper than gas. The prices for winter good may be lower over the summer , and will rocket with the first frost, possibly a supply chain issue added to the mix in the autumn.
Petrol prices will affect the cost of every single thing. It now costs 2000 eur to tank up a lorry, who knows what it will be in a few months. Those prices will be for consumers to pay.

Grow your own.

Windowsil winter: spring onions from the bottom of supermarket ones they grow about three foot long leaves and live a long time. (In my flat, died at ex's: he grows coriander instead, I can't)

We are making compost in a plastic portable bin that was a quid or two in the charity shop. Can get them from Wilco's too. It takes a while though. We are up grading to a plastic bin this year as we have found it works (worried we would get a sludgy mmess)

Free cycle, trash nothing and freegle are great for stuff. We got a compost bin and water butt last year. They often have furniture on too. Local auctions are usually cheaper for white goods and furniture.
People throw away perfectly good stuff too-I'm often to be found in a skip.
I was very fond of the wombles as a child and I seem to have taken on their rubbish picking ethos...

We have a bedspread, adding that over the duvet it’s really warm. I have warm pyjamas too. The house is cool now, DH and dogs are uncomfortable if it’s about 18 degrees so I’m accustomed to using my dressing gown like an old fashioned house coat, and fleece blanket when it’s cold. Also, thick or fleece socks, scarf during the day/evening but never wear a scarf in bed- risk of strangulation while sleeping.

We have a camping stove, gas bottle. Need to top of the gas bottle.

🤣 rumred Womble rubbish picking ethos I loved the Wombles 😁

@AdoraBell I also loved them and I do wonder if they left a deep imprint in my brain as I hate waste, always have.
I still have the wombles singles too...

Reading on another thread about the possibility of electric cuts this winter (AIBU Do you think we will have electricity/gas rationing this winter?) and wondering how this would affect freezer storage? I have a fair bit of food in my freezer, if there are rolling power cuts etc, will I have to throw it all out? I've been eating my way through it and was planning to start re-filling with some batches over the summer. Not sure if I should bother?

@RustyRazor I think the general consensus is that the rationing of electricity will be limited to a few hours a night, so I'm presuming as long as the freezer stays closed it should be alright? Wiser heads here will have better advice I'm sure!

I've just been reading a thread on potential rationing and wondering how I'm going to manage to heat a house whose heating is entirely powered by electricity. I don't mind so much for myself but my DD is still small. That'll teach me for being smug about buying electric blankets!

If doors are kept shut, I think food is OK in fridge for four hours, and definitely OK in freezer for twelve hours, if no power.

Also expecting even higher inflation this winter, an additional 10% on average even, not only of energy prices but of some foodstuffs that the world is in short supply of. So if you have specific food needs, try and keep enough supply of that particular food, as there won’t necessarily be a steady supply when you need it.
where I am, sunflower oil used to cost 1,29 last year and has gone up to 3,99 but that is a specific, war related case. Most other items are ‘just’ up by 20%, like butter and pasta.

I have purchased some solar lights and candles. Candles are a concern due to air quality and being a fire hazard so will be used with care.

Someone has just commented on another thread that the DM are alleging if there are periods of shutdown they'll be between 7am and 10am every morning, and 4pm and 7pm every evening. I guess those are peak times but that seems like a right bloody pain in the arse.

Have bought thermal underwear in the next sale for both me & Dh, went onto the regatta sale and bought a few cosy fleece’s. Going to try and keep heating at 18 and wear more cosy cloths and slippers.

I have bought 25 kg of bread flour and vacuum sealed it into 2 litre jars. I have done the same with 3kg bags of chick peas, lentils and kidney beans. We invested in a dehydrator a few years ago and I have been drying carrots, onions and mushrooms when they are on special offer. It looks like we could live off bean stews and bread for a year or so now 😂

SkirridHill I was hoping someone would say that! I'm also wondering the effects of constantly cutting off power to the freezer and turning it on again.

wondering how I'm going to manage to heat a house whose heating is entirely powered by electricity
I'm also a bit concerned about this. Also annoyed I couldn't find any thermals in DS's next size in the sales.

Your fridge/freezer will be ok if you don’t open it.

If you know that you will have power cuts (or there is bad weather coming that could impact power supplies), stick an ice block in the freezer and get out your summer coolbox/picnic bag.

When the power actually goes out, throw the iceblock into the cookbox/bag and quickly shut freezer door. Then put in the essentials you use a lot during the day from the fridge - bottle of milk, butter, juice, cheese, .....etc - into the bag/box as well. Tell DCs NOT to open fridge - what they need is in the bag/box instead.

This will radically reduce opening of fridge (and freezer) door and keep it a lot more cold. (Also the fuller each thing is, the colder things will stay - air is harder to keep cold than denser things). If you do have to open doors, only open them as wide as necessary (full if you need to open a drawer, but only partially if just reaching for a packet at the front of a shelf), and for the least amount of time possible - both are to try and prevent the cold air falling out the front while the door is open.

If you will be getting anything out of the freezer to defrost for dinner anyway, take it out early and put it into the coolbox to defrost a bit more slowly as that will help cool the box down before it's needed (a good thing). Or if you know you will be using frozen veg in dinner, put that into the coolbox when the power goes out.

If there are shutdowns at peak hours - do things like cooking things in slow cookers or in the oven set on timers to be cooked by 4, there will be residual heat to keep them hot for a while and at least they'll be cooked and still warm an hour or 2 later when you get home and need dinner (especially in the oven as the door will have stayed closed so heat stays in). Stews, slow cooked joints, big baked potatoes, lasagna, etc are all good for the oven on timers.

Plan some cold meals like sandwiches, salads or summer picnics. Buy a cooked chicken from the deli on the way home and it should still be hot.

Boil a kettle and fill a flask before going to bed - it won't be boiling water but hot enough for the porridge and a starter cup of tea in the morning. Do it again mid-afternoon for that teatime period - it would be hot enough to cook things like quick-cook noodles, defrosted petits pois peas (the small ones which need barely any cooking), couscous etc without needing extra heat. Even a pack of "microwave rice" (or pasta) can be "cooked" by adding a small amount of hot water and letting it sit for a few minutes (camping hack!).

Thanks @BiddyPop, some great ideas there - I'll be employing some of them for sure!

a wonder bag or home made hay box can help cook stuff. There were some threads on it on here at one point a while back.

some flasks are better than others. I wrap mine in blankets to keep them warmer. use in order of going cold first. the water oin one of mine was still warm enouugh for a warm wash about three days after it went in the flask. (beacuse I was lazy and did not get round to emptying it. )

milk will keep out the fridge for quite a while. especially if you have somewhere cool to keep it. (outdoors in winter or on the window sill behind the curtains, or in a bucket of water in summer with a wet cloth over it.) if you are lucky you may have an old fashioned larder with a stone. (marble shelf)