Selfsufficientish.com

Theres a little heat from a kersone lamp and a bit more from a Coleman lantern too, not so romantic as candles though

A nice hot rum toddy for the adults and hot chocolate for the kids always helps!

Lois

20. Spend most of your time outside in sub-zero temperatures with it blowing a glale and ice spume abrading your face. When you go inside - even if the central heating has been off all day - it will feel deliciously warm and you'll be idown to your T-shirt in no time!

21. Scotch
22. Sex
23. A wooly hat worn in bed.

I'm starting a program of insulation with our old Victorian heat sink included is:

24.fill in the gaps between skirting boards and floor boards (put your hand near one and you'll feel how much air comes through on ground floors), I use the tubes of gunk you can get from B&Q
25. (Re) lag all the under floor CH pipes to and from the boiler/rads, so that the heat gets to the rads where you need it. (do the foil thing as well behind the rads.)

26.Keep unused rooms shut and rads on frost guard (if fitted with themo valves)

27. fit thermo valves, and adjust room temp to it's requirement , ie cooler in bedrooms and kitchen, warmer in living room and bathrooms.

28. Make sure you've got a balanced radiator system (unlike me who can't be arsed to faf about ,then keeps going on about how this room always takes ages to heat up,and that room is always toasty really quickly...but its the dining room. )

29. Fit daught excuders on all doors internal and external. We've got big gaps under the internal doors, so fitted them brush excluder things can't tell you the difference its made.

30. Loft insulation goes with out saying, there are some interesting products like sheeps wool , reused pulped paper, metalised film etc.

31. In the very coldest weather it is sometimes better to turn down the CH water temperature, but keep it running constant until the really cold weather breaks (I mean around zero during the day), as the boiler can really struggle to try and get the rooms up to temperature (using a lot more energy.) only to let then cool down after a few hours, then it has an even harder job to get the temperature up.The whole house doesn't seem to get warm. And I know the day thats the worsed here in the N.E, it's when we get a freezing fog all day, as there is no heat from the sun. As soon as thats looming the whole house rapidly gets colder rather than warmer if we use our normal heating times.)

i've put a thick blanket over the net curtains between the window and the curtains behind. and put foil behind radiator. Its really made a noticable difference

okay i need help...we live in a rented propert with no heating whatsover.....were waiting for warm front to ionstall but its tsaking for ever,,we have big curtains insulating tape but its still cold.......i have metal frames which are crap and have so many gaps they might as well not be there....any advice for me

Well-lined, heavy curtains. If you've got some old blankets, or access to some, hem the tops with a large hem and slip them on the curtain rail as well as the curtains.

I just nailed them up when i was a student, but i know that some landlords don't like nails...

One of those small fan heaters is a wonder...they use a bit of electricity, but they warm a room up really quickly.

Get some cakes in the oven (or some roasted veg if you're a bit more healthy than me...) to warm the kitchen up.

Draught excluders on the doors are a marvel!! you don't realise how draughty the doors are until you put them in place! For cheap, homemade ones, get some jeans, cut the legs off at the crotch, sew one end, fill with old pillow/duvet stuffing, and if you're feeling adventurous, a long bag with sand in along the bottom (make it out of an old sheet). Then sew the other end up and shove at the bottom of the doors. You can use the rest of the jeans to make a great handbag! Sew patches/beads/get the fabric paints (or acrylic paint) out to make them pretty.

Lots of blankets on the sofa for warm snuggly nights in.

If you've got wooden/stone flooring, stick some rugs down. We had a marble floor in our kitchen when i was a student, so we put some cheap rugs on it to stop our tootsies freezing!!

Keeping yourself warmer will keep the heating bills down. I wear a hat and socks to bed when it's cold outside.

Wear clothing in layers. Having a camisole under your t-shirt really helps, or two pairs of gloves or socks.

Any activity is warmer than sitting still. *Except when you are under covers. Then movement releases the trapped warm air.

Closing off rooms, not just the heating outlets, will help.

Keep doors closed, especially to rooms that are not used often or for long. Same with closets. Keep them closed.

If you can paint or roof the exterior, dark colors will make the house warmer.

ask the shop if you can paint it navy blue to match their sign!!!

no idea honey, when we lived with jim's dad we had 2 duvets, an air heater (the only thing that would fit in our room) and Maureen. she used to just climb under the duvet and sleep across our feet.


I remember having the break ice to use the loo the first winter I was there.







Maureen is a cat for those not connected with the Oliver clan.

first flat I had had very tall ceilings, very large windows (single glazed) and no heating.

so my advice is to do what we did back then... go down to the pub and spend all night nursing a half a pint of the cheapest.. sitting next to the radiator....

Get a stew on and all hang out in the kitchen all day.

Get the kids playing dressing up, layering, without the itchy jumpers.

Stay in one room all evening and get the kids to bounceup and down, run around, build up their body temperatures a bit

Wrap up warm and go to the park.

put about 5 layers of clothes on (lots of thin layers works best), wear a hat as well and sit with a hot water bottle under your jumper
(i have done this before keeps you warm but not much fun )

Hope you get the warm front thing soon.

just want to say thanks for all these tips, i also live in a very cold flat. In the evening i tend to stay in the bedroom as it's a bit warmer then the lounge and i can't recommend wrapping yourself in a duvet enough, oh and fingerless gloves when typing on keyboard


xx

red wrote:first flat I had had very tall ceilings, very large windows (single glazed) and no heating.

so my advice is to do what we did back then... go down to the pub and spend all night nursing a half a pint of the cheapest.. sitting next to the radiator....

yep thats what my flats like.....pub idea tempting but im teetotal and i cant really drag the four kids down the pub lol

I know some of these are repeats, but these are my favorite ways:

-Make a big pot of bean soup with a smoky ham hock, and keep it simmering for hours.

-During sunny days, open the drapes and lay something dark-colored in the sun (to absorb the heat.)

-Close the doors to unheated/unused spaces, and use lots of draft dodgers . . . only heat the space you're in!

-Hang out in small spaces with pets.

-Sleep a little more, under thick blankets.

-Drink big mugs of hot tea and broth and soup.

-Visit friends, invite friends over, make food and dance to some fast music!

-Take part in intimate activities ;)

-Draw a bath, soak in it for a while before going to bed, and leave the water in the tub. Overnight, the heat and some humidity will dissipate into the air and keep it warm and comfy!

-Bake lots of things, and put empty cast-iron or stoneware (or a clean, flat stone) in the oven or on top to absorb the heat and release it slowly.

I love cold weather! All of these things are so satisfying to do.