preparing for winter/ways to keep warm

[JackiePaper]

thought i'd start a thread on this as i remember a really useful one last year that has loads of money saving tips for keeping warm during the colder months.

we're moving to a new house that runs on oil fired heating so i will be looking for ways to keep the useage down as it is so expensive.

so far my plans are

no heating on til we move -24th october
line all curtains with fleece
make some draft excluders

we also have 2 open staircases at the new place and i can already visualise all the heat dissapearing up them, so am trying to work out some way of rigging up a fleece curtain or something to try and keep the heat in.

last year the thread was really great, full of lots of tips on how to save money and keep warm in the winter so looking forward to reading everyones tips for this year too.

[walkthedinosaur]

Am marking my place to watch, I remember taking some useful hints from last year's thread. I'm hoping not to put the heating on till at least November - but it's still glorious sunny T-shirt weather during the day here so long may it last.

[JackiePaper]

yes it's been really warm here too. i remember last year struggling to keep the heating off until oct1st

apparently the forecast for the weekend is cold though with ground frost over most of the uk

[YouLukaAmazing]

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[overmydeadbody]

Keep internal doors closed

Have a big pile of thick jumpers/fleeces in the sitting room to put on if you feel chilly,same goes for slippers and blankets

Invest in hot water bottles

Eat ginger

Excersise and increase your muscle ratio in your body. Muscles generate heat even when you're not using them.

Turn the thermostat on your hot water down from scalding hot to just right.

[tvaerialmagpiebin]

Could someone clever post a link to the other thread?

Lining curtains with fleece - what sort of thing? where do you buy it?

Have had a new boiler installed and UPVC windows so am hoping to be less draughty here. But it is a cold house facing north and I am a chilly soul by nature. Considering a curtain across the front door even though it is UPVC.
Shut cutains as soon as it gets dusk. Wear vest (am already doing, took it off only in June and was back on at end of August!)

[overmydeadbody]

wear tights or leggings under trousers and jeans.

Invest in thermal vests and wear lots of layers.

[madwomanintheattic]

we have no internal doors downstairs, and i have noticed a gap of nearly an inch around the front door, through which i can see not only daylight, but trees and bushes... i foresee a snow drift in my hall unless i get around to resealing...
it was minus 2 here on monday morning, and is supposed to be the same tomorrow.
i too am interested in the whole fleece curtains thing? explanation please!

[YouLukaAmazing]

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[YouLukaAmazing]

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[JackiePaper]

link to last years thread is here

new house is lovely, on it's own down a lane in the countryside, so lovely and wuiet, although i have a feeling it won't be nearly as warm as my current 3-bed semi!

curtain linings - i was literally going to sew the cheap fleece blanketws (from primark or ikea) onto the inside of our curtains to try to stop heat escaping.

was also thinking of getting a door curtain - doors are upvc, but still drafty. does anyone know how you go about hanging it? do i just put a curtain pole up?

[tvaerialmagpiebin]

I know, just wondered if it might spark things off.

Anyone heard any amusing long-term weather forecast yet, don't they normally start prophesying cold winters about now (bit like the ha ha barbecue summer?)

[JackiePaper]

ikea have some fleec blankets that have holes in so that you can use them as curtains/room dividers. although at 15.99 i reckon you could diy cheaper. Am trying to figure out how i can hang some fleece/ or curtains if i can get some cheap at the charity shop around the open staircases, not quite sure how you would them to the wall/ceiling tho {hmm}

[JackiePaper]

fix them to the wall

[Mousey84]

I keep blankets handy in living room and wheat / cherry stone bags you heat in microwave as alternative to hot water bottles.

ATM, my hands are very cold but no heating has been on today at all, though I hadnt noticed chill til now.

I wear camisoles under tshirts and have big woolly socks, as well as fleece pjs for me and dd (£4 in primark)

I also tend to spend more time in local library in winter ;)

RE oil fired heating, I only have mine set to go on in the mornings and the rest of the day I only put it on when I really need to. I only put the radiators onto low heat in rooms I need , and turn up if need be (then turn down before bed). It means making a conscious choice (as opposed to having it come on automatically and on full blast)

Also keep the sofa away from the front of the radiator - even by a few feet (where possible) so that more heat gets into the room, rather than absorb into sofa.

[JackiePaper]

only weather guess forecast i've heard is that we are goingt o have a cold snap in oct/nov and then quite a wet mild winter

[YouLukaAmazing]

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[JackiePaper]

mousey - is it possible to set oil heating to come on wehn it drops below a certain temperature (like you can with the gas)? or is it just on or off? i am completely clueless as never had oil-fired heating before. (oh and how long do you think £300 worth of oil will last for 2 adults and 2dc's in a 4 bed house?)

i am also thinking of getting some more candles and not putting the lights on so much in the evening, although i will have to get some glass container thingys (are they called hurricanes?) for them as we have a mad kitten who runs around the house at 100miles an hour!!

[tvaerialmagpiebin]

Luckily ds is a nice warm child. I do spend a lot of time out of the house in the library or anyone else's house in the winter. My parents and brother always have their heating on full blast and it makes me feel quite odd if I turn up in "my house" clothes, 4 layers at least, where they are swanning around in just T-shirts.

[madwomanintheattic]

door curtains...
ta!

[Mousey84]

Jackie - if there is no room at each side of the door, you can get special curtain poles that will hold the curtain back when you open the door. Like this but Ive seen a lot cheaper in local stores

[tvaerialmagpiebin]

Charity shops for old curtains to hang inside your own ones, for extra insulation? If your poles/rails are up to the extra weight.

[Mousey84]

Jackie (again) theres def not a thermostat on mine, but its old.

Im a CM and home all day, but 900 liters lasts us 4-5 weeks in dead of winter. We usually fill tank 3 or 4 times each winter.

Candles arent great for reading as will strain eyes too much, and not sure about safety with cat running around - unless what you are thinking of is the little glass / metal boxes that completely enclose the candle. AFAIK, hurricane lamps are like big vases??

[JackiePaper]

you fill the tank every 4-5 weeks it's £600 to have the tank filled at our new place...

please tell me you have a smaller tank...

[Mousey84]

900 litres - £300ish. But if I wasnt looking after other peoples children, I wouldnt have heating on as much!

[JackiePaper]

ok. gosh that is quite a lot of money isn't it?