Useful money-saving tips for Winter 2022

IF you have a microwave, "bed buddies" are a wonderful warmer. These are small cloth sacks filled with one of a few grains: rice, dried corn, flax seed, etc. (I prefer rice), sewn on all four sides. Microwave it for a couple minutes and it warms you right up. I like to use flannel, making them around 15"x 10" (give or take). They last at least a couple years.

The best thing we bought last year was a heated throw, big enough for two. We also have a single ring gas camping stove powered by gas canisters. We’ve never camped but it’s been invaluable in a power cut, even for a cup of tea with water boiled in a saucepan. They’re not expensive.

You can get silicone hot water bottles so wont degrade like rubber does.

I like henetha's hot water bottle idea too. We had some but they were very old and DD said I had to ditch them as unsafe.

Yammy

We have an AGA which is switched off at the moment.No other heating in the kitchen other than a pathetic plinth heater. Our dining table is in there and the central heating is oil fired. Has anyone else considered not putting one on this year with no price lock on oil?

We stopped using our oil-fired Rayburn (in a similarly unheated kitchen) several years ago. It took a bit of getting used to the cold in the mornings but we did it eventually. The main heating in the kitchen now is the electric cooker. In cold weather (which is most of the year here, just a bit more so in actual winter) I like to do slow-cooking things in the oven, which heats up the room half-decently for us to eat in it.

Electricity cuts (of which we've had plenty since living here) affect the Rayburn as well as the electric cooker so we keep a wee gaz camping stove. We also have a wood burning stove in the sitting-room on which we can do simple cooking if needed.

We never have our heating on in the morning & only from 6 til 9 in the evening. We have a 16th century house with very thick walls, we have a log burner in the kitchen diner & that's where I spend most of my days during the winter. We'll be eating a lot of soup made from frozen or stored veg from our garden. We both have plenty of warm clothing - we could probably give a lot to charity as we both have far more than we need.

1summer

I like the idea of a heated throw for the winter, does anyone recommend one. A decent one seems to be £40-£50 for one big enough to cover body and legs.

We bought 2 from Lakeland a few years ago, very efficient and still going strong. Unplugged they can be machine washed.

Hay box cooking
Or cook as the Māori do by the hāngī method (hot stones in the earth.

I have a gas AGA which is turned down to its minimum. Have thought about turning it off for the summer, but do not have any other means of cooking. When I receive gas bill it is not as expensive to run as I thought, when it is on at its lowest setting. But it heats the kitchen does all the cooking and dries the washing. So what would I do without it.

When we were first married and broke, we lit candles each evening - they really warmed our living room up. Now I'm a beekeeper I might go back to them, but with my own wax. Pound shops have cheap candles, but make sure you have them on a dish or plate for safety.

Twopence

I have had separate slow cooker, airfryer and pressure cooker for years and wonder if I should replace them all for a 9 in 1 multi cooker. There are just the two of us. Interested to hear your views.

I wouldn't bother. I did that and don't like the PC function on the multi-cooker. The multi ones are BIG and heavy, so unless you plan to get rid of the existing appliances you will lose worktop space. If I knew what it was like before buying I wouldn't have. I just wanted the AF function, as I already had the other things, but anyway prefer the oven type air fryers to the pot-based ones.

For pasta and veg, bring to.the boil till lid ispopping, turn heat off, go away for the time it would normally take and it's cooked when you came back. Doesn't work.if you take the lid off at any time during cooking. Works for a chicken, but then you leave overnight. Has been on another thread but worth repeating.
Cut down on washing clothes. If worn once they just don't need it.

When I was young I used to cook rice until it boiled and wrapped it in a sleeping bag to be left until we got back from our hikes. The pot of rice was done by the time we got back. Nowadays they use this technique by using a Wonderbag which was invented in South Africa because they have many power cuts. One can also get a stew or soup boiling and and put it in the Wonderbag to finish off. The Wonderbag looks like a pumpkin made of material pockets stuffed with insulating material and the bottom is a cork board. The whole thing is tied up and left to cook for hours. It takes a bit of getting used to and one has to experiment. For hard root vegetables I recommend cooking in the microwave before adding to stews and soups. I believe a haybox works on a similar principle.

Thank you HousePlantQueen and others, they’ve been pre warned.

We have 2-3 spare duvets wrapped up in the attic, so if needs must, plus already have hot water bottles. Other than this…. Hibernate ;)

I have had separate slow cooker, airfryer and pressure cooker for years and wonder if I should replace them all for a 9 in 1 multi cooker. There are just the two of us. Interested to hear your views.

Some lovely tips ladies.

I have just bought a combined air fryer/slow cooker so will be using that more instead of my oven and hob to save money.
I have a wood burner so will be stocking up on logs and will shower at the gym.
Have bought some solar lights which I put outside or on a window sill to charge up and then can use them inside instead of lights sometimes. Candles are also good as they give off a bit of heat as well as light.

I’m going to get OH to make one of these for his man cave.
He spent a lot of time in there in the winter with an electric heater on.
Looks pretty impressive.

www.google.co.uk/search?q=make+a+heater+out+of+clay+pots&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#kpvalbx=_W7QMY_DpI4-hgAby-YqADg_26

I really feel the cold and last winter indoors I wore m&s thermals (extra warm, tops & bottoms under trousers), a long sleeve t-shirt, 2 fleeces & a hat. I used microwaveable hot 'water' bottles to warm my hands. I also bought an oodie- or kuddly-type thing from QVC (60 day money back guarantee) which was better than the 2nd top fleece as it also kept my legs warm. Throws are okay if you're stopping in one room & not moving much but when you leave the room you leave the warmth behind! Dunelm have them for £16/18 but I saw them online, no idea of the quality.
B&M had a half price airfryer this weekend (£25), I use mine all the time (the oven is used for storage).
I'm going to properly use my instant pot, currently just used for rice as I'm a bit scared of it ?. Apparently its great for pulses which are still cheap at the mo.
I have a heated airer for the washing but rarely put the heat on - I've found it actually only dries what it touches. If you are getting one (sorry, I've forgotten who!) I'd suggest getting the cover, presumably it keeps the heat in.
I only shower weekly, no need for more & top layers are washed once (or twice) in a blue moon. Quick wash, lowest possible temperature.
I use a water heater for drinks &/or boiled water, only heats what I use.
Think that's it. My plan for this winter is to stay in bed longer, tho that usually causes back pain ?

I use a teabag twice.
Cut the toothpaste tube in half to use remainder.
Halogen heaters.
Use newspaper (free weekly) rather than plastic for lining small bins.
I’m going to use candlelight in the evenings.
Small things and thanks for the tips.

Use a cooker top steamer.
One ring to cook several items. Cheaper to purchase than an electric steamer, easier to clean and takes up less space for storage.
Can't find a cost to run comparison which implies they may be expensive. Or am I being too suspicious there?..

I live on a narrow boat. I have no central heating...just a multifuel burner. Coal has gone up by £4 a bag. I have started foraging for wood already. Locally trees have been cut. I bring light weight logs to my boat on my wagon and cut and split. I have numerous hand made patchwork quilts that are layered on bed dependent on temperature. I cut my immersion down by 15 minutes a day last winter...that was noticable on electricity bill (I have a landline). Layered cotton clothing, two pairs of socks, a cosy blanket over knees. It is really not that difficult to keep warm. I was brought up before central heating and double glazing...one learnt how to adapt back then.

MerylStreep

Kevincharley
Your link shows that a tumble drier is more expensive than an iron.

But you use an iron for far longer ironing, say, half a dozen shirts than you'd use the tumble drier for. 5 minutes is all that's needed.

Kevincharley
Your link shows that a tumble drier is more expensive than an iron.