Selfsufficientish.com

big woodburner getting fitted on Mon/Tue

i know this is plastic (eek) but you can buy some clingfilm type stuff that you can stick to your windows using a hairdryer, it's a bit like double glazing on the cheap

masking tape. run it aroung the seal of your windows- use low tack for the bits attached to the walls so you dont damage the paint/wallpaper.

ok realised that made not a lot of sense so drew what I mean:
red bits are normal tape, blue are lowtack.

Funky wallpaper!

Nice view, too...

thanks... but both are-unfortunately-fake... one was drawn by me, one is a set shape on photoshop CS.

my view from my bedroom is a carpark, my wallpaper is someone else's taste.

10. Turn on the central heating to full. Er I am assuming you mean 101 ways without doing that.

Real 10. Exercise indoors and raise your own body temperature.
11. Have a party and fill the house with people.

put your feet on a hot water bottle when you sit down in the evening.
Wear thick wolly socks.
Wear a wolly hat as a loy of heat is lost through your head.
Wear layers of clothes rather that one garment.
Hope this is a little help to you.

in this place all you have to do is stick the oven on

I have had my central heating on full (but only in the one room i'm in) about 2 hours - and its still cold

16. Just keep one room warm not whole house

please, remember, the grants sytem is nothing whatsoever to do with keeping you warm and dry - it is a typical government scheme to employ even more of the unemployable running the grants system, and soaking up at least 60% of it on the way for "admin"......what liitle is left MUST be spent with a nasty little clique of companies who've all doubled their prices as they're grantable!
Me? warp twitter and bisted?
Even "you and Yours" had an item on it today on that very subject - a labour mp was having a good go at our non-existent grant schemes!

I remember my dad putting some plastic stuff over the windows.
We've had wall cavity insulation put in - free of charge in association with the council and British Gas (we own house). They have been doing a lot of the houses in the area.
What a mess they left behind though. They broke the main trunk of a pot-bound apple tree, plus bits of foamy-stuff were everywhere, as well as dusts.

THe grant system has meant that we have been able to have cavity wall insuation, loft insulation, and a new boiler - which we would never have been able to afford without it And now the house is much warmer - so much so that the heating is rarely on
BUT............
We have had an appauling experience with the company who fitted the boiler. The plumbers were constantly late and left drinks cans all over - and the electricians were worse!
They were going to work in contravention of the regs, they swore at us and we had to ask them to leave minutes after they arrived without doing the job!! They did come back and do it eventually - grudgingly but almost properly. When we complained to the grant provider they made such a mess of it - I had to compalin to their bosses!! It's still not really resolved to satisfaction so I'm on the verge of calling DEFRA. It's scary to think that these people can gain access to the homes of vulnerabe people and behave this way - and potentialy do a really bad job.
Oh and by the way - I know that the electricans were working badly - cos I used to do the job myself!!

Eeek, I hate to mention plastic again, but here we use 6 mil greenhouse plastic inside and out on the windows and the door we don't use. Not suggested if you have cats as they shred it, but here it works well, we just don't do the inside of the windows in the basement where the cats live

We've put blankets and heavy towels up over the windows when we haven't had thick curtains and I have a feather duvet and a feather comforter, so we manage to keep warm, cooking lots of casseroles does help keep part of the house warmer, but raises the electric bill as I have an electric range.

I wear 2-3 layers of clothes in the house, including a kerchief on my head, they say you lose the most heat through the top of your head and it does help.

We're going to upgrade our insulation next spring and that will be a big help. This house is 40 years old and definitely not insulated well enough.

And I know the ceiling only has that silly styrofoam board in it, the thin stuff at that.

So I've got all the specs from the building inspector and the ok to go ahead with doing it on our own, so next year we will be much warmer. in the meantime I'm stuffing cracks with old socks or pieces of denim and we still have to put the plastic up.

Take Care All
Lois

17. Burn candles. (Safely!)

We buy the cheap taper candles and tea lights from Ik*a. Even 4 tapers make a huge difference. Good ambiance too, sitting in candle light with thick socks, bobble hat and blanket over your knees. Pain when the doorbell/phone rings though