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?

I’ve recently bought some sensor lights which will work well in the dark in winter. I bought them ostensibly because DS back from uni was leaving landing and bathroom lights on all night. They are battery operated. A pack of 4 is about £10 from Amazon. I haven’t needed to switch the light on at all if I have a quick wee in the night…and more importantly I haven’t woken up to lights being left on!

We're told here in Australia that a freezer is good for 24 hours and you can insulate them further by covering them with blankets. If the food inside is still cold it's safe enough to just refreeze although quality might suffer a bit.

That's really useful to know.

My local lidl have started limiting the amount of flour, pasta and water you can buy.

That isn’t good. As soon as they do that people start going silly over the amounts they buy

Crikey I wonder what’s brought this on?

Part of me hopes its a sign people are starting to wake up...... But the other part of me is frustrated that i couldn't get the flour i needed!

I'm a long time prepper and poster on these boards.

I'm also a Mystery shopper for The Grocer and have been for years. So I've seen the ups and downs / Pandemic issues etc.

This week on my shop (a flagship Sainsbury's store) there was no flour and no bottled water. It tends to follow a pattern. The water issue may be because people are worried about potential water shortages. The flour could be because of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

There were a few other gaps. Obviously I shop for myself as well as The Grocer. However, I'm far more able to compare accuratley regarding issues / price rises etc with my Grocer work as I have to complete extensive paperwork on it week by week and that is recorded and reported on in the media.

I've bought a chafing dish and tea-lights. If I bring a casserole to the boil on the hob in a Le Creuset casserole (or other heavyweight pan) and then transfer it to the chafing dish with tea-light burning, it's enough to slow-cook it if I leave it all day. Then I don't even have to have a slow cooker going, and if necessary I could start it off on the camping stove.

Alternatively, bring to the boil and transfer to hay-oven and leave for 5 hours. They really do work but a wooden or metal box is best. Thermal lined cardboard will work but not as well as wood. (Use one of the thermal blankets from the emergency medical kit), and you don't have to use hay - packing peanuts, ripped up paper - anything that packs well down but leaves air spaces.

Should just mention that there's only two of us, so it isn't a huge casserole on the chafing dish.

Tea lights are ok to keep things warm, but look into gel fuel for chafing dishes. If you buy the catering packs they aren't too expensive.

For oodies the kudly brand is as good quality (have one of each) and the kudly ones from the link earlier on here are the returns ones so not sealed in the vac packs or with the branded dust jacket packing but 60 quid cheaper so🤷‍♀️

Thanks for the advice, I've just got 4 of the kuddly ones for £99. Not sure how long the offer is on but worth it if you're going to be getting some. The ones on Amazon are around £25 anyway.

It's not exactly a winter prep as such, but I am also thinking (again!) about DD sleeping in the attic and emergency exit in case of fire. So I think I am going to go ahead and buy a ladder that hooks over the velux window opening and untangles to the ground. Screwfix seem to have something suitable - so I will go in person and ask questions (and see it myself) rather than ordering online, but I think it's sensible.

Our smoke alarms are good, we have 4 throughout the house including one right outside DD's bedroom. We have a fire blanket and small extinguisher in the kitchen. DH and I can leave out our window onto the roof of the extension downstairs to the back garden, or get through the hall to the front windows and have a small jump from the bay over the sitting room window to the roof of the cycle shed (if we can't go down the stairs and out the front door). DDog will escape out her door into the back garden (cat flap type hole in the window, which we only "lock" when DDog is away).

But I worry that if DD can't make it down the stairs to the first floor, she currently needs to wait for the firebrigade and a ladder. (Unlikely to take long as their station is just the other side of the school next to us, but still).

Can I ask about lights? Specifically can anyone recommend anything (camping lantern type?) that we could use in our bathroom in the event of a power cut? It has no window, and I've just realised would be totally dark. Also, I would need a light that we could use at the table so the DC could read or do homework. What lumen range should I look for? I have candles but would not want them to have them in their room for obvious reasons.

We have some LED work lights that use rechargeable batteries, and a couple of 24 LED puck torches that are £3 each from the supermarket. They are bright enough for a small room, have a magnet on the back and a hanging hook, but I don't like them because to change the batteries you have to use a screwdriver.
I also have some small 8 LED lanterns, I don't think they would be bright enough to read or do homework by.

Good idea to use mirrors with any lights you have to maximise the effect.

Thanks @Thelnebriati and @bellinisurge Ive put a works light in my basket - to use at the table, a dynamo torch in case all batteries are out, a solar lantern in case we can't recharge the batteries and a camping lantern for the bathroom.
That should have me covered if both Dc want to be in their rooms (unlikely if we have no heating!!) and someone needs the loo! We've already got one small torch. Usually I use my phone, but if we can't charge....

I've just read an article that if the phone companies have power cut for more than an hour, then people won't be able to use their mobiles. How does that work if you need to call the emergency services then?

corded landline. It’s the only reason we’ve kept ours

We have a few of the LED pucks as well which are handy if you have somewhere for it to stick (there's a hook and magnet) or someone to hold it, they are bright enough to read or do things like chopping in the kitchen etc (DH often uses them as spotlights while working on repairs - but someone has to hold it shining in the right direction).

I have 3 different lanterns from Decathlon. The smallest one can be recharged or wound up and is 50 lumens this one. The middle uses batteries and I think is 100 L (not available anymore but there are similar here. The biggest is rechargeable and 200 L this one - although it's gone up €5 since I bought it last year! All are useful for different things, I have used the smallest one for a few minutes to read up close in my tent but not for long as it is a bit low, would be perfect in a bathroom. The bigger 2 are both fine for reading etc - the biggest one lights up our marquee adequately on camp (good for reading etc for around the table it hangs over, more ambient at the other end 10 feet away) so would be perfect for homework etc. I can recharge from a plug when there is power, but a solar panel or powerbank when there is no power.

There is also the trick of using a regular headtorch (any torch is fine but a headtorch has a band on it already to hold in place) pointing INWARDS through a large bottle filled with water which also amplifies the light. You need either a clear bottle or like a milk carton style plastic.

Not for long. BT are going fully digital and won't be generating their own power from what I have heard, phones will be on the general electricity supply. Currently paused as they have realised how insane an idea it is but that won't stop it being implemented.

newsroom.bt.com/were-pausing-our-digital-voice-plans-for-consumers-while-we-work-on-a-more-resilient-rollout/

I have two solar lanterns. They have adjustable brightness. One can be torch as well.

Head torch would be good so you can hands free.

I know I've said it tons of times but I recommend wrapping a head torch on an old 4pt plastic milk bottle turned inwards. Obviously clean of milk and, instead, filled with water.the light diffuses through the water and it can be carried like a lantern. A bit less Blair Witch Project. Nicer for kids. Sat in front of a mirror for even more light.

@bellinisurge - I love that you've said it tons of times, as I've read it tons of times which means it saved our bacon when we had a powercut in the middle of the night and the kids' nightlights went out. It was the first thing that came to my mind and we were able to very quickly provide them with something even better using your suggestion and they still ask if they can have the milky light at bed time rather than the normal ones.

Good advice can't be mentioned too many times!

I’ve just bought 2 coslife 3w led lamps from Amazon which are rechargeable but that in an emergency we can run from our power packs. Thought they were pretty reasonable at £8.30 each

light is one of the things I’m most worried about after heat as I’m losing my sight and waiting for a corneal transplant at the moment

I also picked up a nice wearable blanket hoodie on offer from Amazon for £11.99 which seemed like a bargain