Useful money-saving tips for Winter 2022

Callistemon21 BBC radio 4 have done a podcast on Air Fryers
It’s very interesting.

Daisymae

Nadhim Zahawi suggests that we should think about using less power ?. Never thought of that, guess it must be the fact that he's Chancellor that he comes up with such brilliant ideas.

Oh brilliant!
Why didn't I think of that?

Does anyone know if air fryers are economical to use?

The farmer here has stopped blackberry picking in his field because too many people were going, and just smashing his hedge to pieces to get to them. Same happened with the sloe berries. Another farmer had to stop people cutting the holly after some people started selling it.

JenniferEccles I don’t know where you live for blackberry picking but I am just back from visiting the UK and noticed Manchester’s blackberries were larger, juicier and sweeter than those in Surrey, which were dryer. I thought it was because of the rain fall But MOnica has proved me wrong.

I've bought three heated 'Relaxwell' throws for C gifts from Dreamland UK, at £59 each, they've just come back into stock at last. Great reviews and recommended by a lot of people on Mumsnet.

I wonder if the Chancellor would like to tell us what he is doing to make substantial cuts in his and his families consumption of energy.

My problem is that many of the hints and tips are things I have always done anyway, whether not having a tumble dryer, using appliances only when fully loaded, and then using the shortest coolest programme practical. Every light bulb in our house is an LED bulb and the thermostat is set at 18.5, so the scope for changes in our living patterns that will enable us to easily make cuts in our energy consumption is lmited.

Of course this thread is full of ideas, but they are all what I would call energy shaving ideas, cutting a few units here and a few units there.All these make their contribution, but I am sure many other GN members are in the same siuation as we are, they have always been economical with energy, so silly suggestions from government ministers, who should know better, go down like a lead balloon.

Daisymae

Nadhim Zahawi suggests that we should think about using less power ?. Never thought of that, guess it must be the fact that he's Chancellor that he comes up with such brilliant ideas.

That’s why he’s Chancellor and you’re not! ??

We’ve been meaning to ditch Virgin for some time but their latest price hike got us into gear.
Had an aerial fitted £170.
Free view box £180.
A deal with 3. £10 per month for 6 months then £20 per month for 2 yr contract. Unlimited 5G.

TeacherAnne I am surprised that you need your heat on all day. We have a big old house and only have the heating on from 6.00am-9.00am(I am an early riser) in the morning and 5.00pm-10pm in the evening, Yes, the temperature in the house will gently drop but between 9.00am and 5.00pm it rarely drops more than a degree or so.

We live in a listed building so there is a limit on how much we can do in the insulation line, although we have done a lot and have partial double glazing.

How well insulated is your house? Do you have the recommended 12 inches of insulation in the roof, double glazing and cavity insulation or other wall insulation?

I am concerned about turning the heating much lower. When I first moved in, I had terrible problems with damp and black mould on walls in my wardrobes and in the corners of two of my bedrooms. My lounge always felt cold, I even had complaints from visitors!

My boiler was inadequate for the size of the bungalow, I was told this by the surveyor so always planned to replace it. My bungalow is built in an area that used to be boggy farm land and underground water seeps into the floor space after heave rain - it was designed to do that.

Once I replaced the boiler and also installed a positive air exchange unit in the hall, the damp disappeared and has not been a problem since. But obviously I don’t want the problems to reoccur so am reluctant to drop the temperature below 19 degrees which I set last winter. I did reduce the time it was on, from 8 am to 9 pm but did not vary the temperature when I went out as it takes a while to warm the house up again - I don’t have a gas fire, just the central heating.

So I’ll be looking at other ways to reduce energy use if needs be, like not using the oven unless I fill it, less washing, double spinning clothes and trying to dry outdoors every time.

Depends of the freezer casdon, chest freezers normally ok but not so all upright freezers. Mine has fronts on each drawer so the cold air will not fall out. Any chance of a power cut and I will ensure that it retains its proper freezer temperature. Naturally it is only scientific fact and anyone can do anything they want

karmalady

bread has a low thermal capacity, very much lower than water so bread would be useless in keeping the freezer cold in a power cut. Soups are a very good idea as is meat

My neighbour and I have all our solid fuel in and stashed, I reckon enough for two years. It will skyrocket in a couple of months

I have a good store now of unscented stearin candles. I have such a well insulated house that I can keep my living room warm via a candle

I have been busy for months, making layers for myself to wear eg warm tunic over leggings and with warm woollen socks. I can add under layers and top layers to that. I make warm layers from sheeps wool not acrylics

Tbh, I am fully prepped and am not going to bother with camping stove or gaz

But you wouldn’t totally fill your freezer with bread, it’s just a way of making use of the space whilst saving yourself money on something that we know is going to get more expensive? If there is a power cut, unless it’s for days, you would just keep your freezer door shut and it would be fine anyway.

A second vote for air fryer - the one I have is more actually described as a mini oven with two compartments.

I also use a faux fur heated throw - a bit like an electric blanket. Was a real boon during the last two winters working from home, kept me lovely and snug at my desk for pence per week.

If you’re on Facebook, selected Oodies are currently BOGOF. I bought a couple last winter, they are amazingly warm. I already had a cheaper version, but the Oodie is far superior.

Nadhim Zahawi suggests that we should think about using less power ?. Never thought of that, guess it must be the fact that he's Chancellor that he comes up with such brilliant ideas.

Tuesday at Iceland is 10% off
sustainability.iceland.co.uk/news/iceland-becomes-the-first-uk-supermarket-to-offer-special-discount-for-over-60s/

bread has a low thermal capacity, very much lower than water so bread would be useless in keeping the freezer cold in a power cut. Soups are a very good idea as is meat

My neighbour and I have all our solid fuel in and stashed, I reckon enough for two years. It will skyrocket in a couple of months

I have a good store now of unscented stearin candles. I have such a well insulated house that I can keep my living room warm via a candle

I have been busy for months, making layers for myself to wear eg warm tunic over leggings and with warm woollen socks. I can add under layers and top layers to that. I make warm layers from sheeps wool not acrylics

Tbh, I am fully prepped and am not going to bother with camping stove or gaz

As well as bread, buy seasonal gluts of vegetables, or even veg marked down in the supermarket. prepare and freeze them in empty spaces or make soup and freeze in the container sinstead of water.

We have a big old house with a huge big brick chimney stack going up the centre of the house. We know from experience that if we have our wood burner in use for three or four days in a row, the whole stack heats up like a huge storage radiator and is sufficient to give us background heat, not just over the whole of the ground floor, but for the upstairs as well for another 2 or 3 days, so in the really cold weather, we will use a mix of the stove and the storage radiator capacity of the chimney to not need to use the heating at all, or at least only the occasional boost.

We might have to give up our midnight feasts bikergran ?

Apparently it can save quite a few £1s if you take out the bulb in your fridge (no good for sneaky midnight feasters though)

1summer

Oh thank you, I was looking at the Dreamcatcher. It seems a resonable price and does get good reviews. I think I will get that one aswell.

Sorry response was to @Mayal. Thank you

Oh thank you, I was looking at the Dreamcatcher. It seems a resonable price and does get good reviews. I think I will get that one aswell.

karmalady

freezer tip: empty spaces use up a lot of energy so fill them with containers full of water, they will also help to keep food frozen when we have power cuts

I’ve been filling my empty freezer space with bread, it’s going to get a lot more expensive this winter, and I know it will definitely be used. You can also freeze flour.
My meanest tip is to always use the charging power in your car, I recharge my phone and iPad on any car journeys.

Not everyone’s choice but we do get free oysters and muscles and a few clams.
Non of these are on licensed beds.

we have already got two zones for heating within our house; bedrooms/bathroom and kitchen/living room. We have already turned the thermostats off in the unused bedrooms, but do throw the doors open every day to avoid the rooms getting musty. We shall try putting the heating on for less time rather than at a lower temperature, and have good quality wool blankets as throws if needed.