Yes @Fairygirl I'm sure some proper insulation in the loft would help, so it's on my list.
I used to dry clothes on a rotary drier, but every Spring I'd never be able to find the spike in the lawn into which the drier goes, so I'd concrete another one in only to not be able to find it the following year.
I also find that clothes last much, much longer if not dried in the sun. The rays that damage your skin also damage clothing. I have dozens of tee-shirts that I bought in Thailand (at 90p a pop) during the 1990's that I wear throughout the year - most of them are still almost like new - and they're all designer labels!!! I still have a few jumpers that my Mum bought me and jeans that I bought over 30 yrs ago! and yes, they still fit I don't glo to work any longer so I have no need of a wardrobe full of smart clothes - but I've still got 14 suits just in case 😁
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I was just submitting my meter readings and saw the first £66 energy payment go into my account and disappear into the company's pockets straight away. I've only used the heating for half an hour since March and my account has plenty of credit. I just know that £66 has gone straight onto the massive profit pile of the energy companies.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
My £66 got credited to my energy account and then disappeared a short while later and resurfaced in the bank account I use to feed the Scottish Power direct debit.
I have chosen to increase my direct debit by £66 on the basis it’s ‘free’ money and, it will provide a buffer for te winter price surge.
Shell show it as £66 against the energy account - BUT they then reduce the agreed DD amount by that payment. So my £300 DD is shown as £234. Net effect being is that the money is in the bank.
My £66 was taken off by Octopus, and the DD was amended to show that. I've had no problem. Our council did the same with that rebate many of us were getting, when the new year for C. Tax started. I'd rather have control of the saving too, even though the interest rates are total pants. @Pete.8 - I hope you can get the insulation done. What size is your garden that you can't find the spot for your whirly? I've just had to re do mine because the whirly [ should have bought a better one] had rusted and snapped. I came home from my walk one day to find younger daughter valiantly trying to hold it up, and stop all the washing from hitting the ground. Fortunately, it was almost dry. I'm not sure what she was planning to do though - just stand there until I got back? I like clothes drying outside whenever possible. Nothing beats the smell of freshly washed bed sheets that have dried outside. I don't mind clothes fading - they just mirror me I'm not sure I've ever had a wardrobe full of smart clothes either. I didn't exactly have the kind of job where a suit was needed....
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Had the first full bill at the new rates. Still difficult to judge the overall effect as November was still so warm (in comparison) down here, so the gas usage was down 50% on last year, but the cost up by a factor of 1.5'ish. My leccy usage stays roughly static throughout the year ( we rarely have lights on and when we do, they're LED - and my hob is still gas). The overall, gas and leccy, for the month was circa £190.
It's getting a bit colder though - we've been still up at 10'ish degrees in the morning outside and this morning it was down to 6.
1 degree here just now @steveTu, which is more like it should be at this time of year - yesterday was similar. The high yesterday was 5. It was 13 degrees in the lounge this morning when the heating kicked in. I suppose it also depends on what you're used to in terms of temps. We haven't had the heating on very much at all, which is highly unusual, but I'm not complaining. I've always done the shutting curtains as soon as it's dark, and batch cooking etc, so there aren't many more savings I can make. I have it on for 20 or 30 mins for daughter getting up for work [before 5 am] and then I just use it manually, according to who's in or out, and for drying the washing off rather than using the drier. Readings are due in a few days, so it'll be interesting to see what my usage has been this month, compared to previous ones.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm not sure how the outdoor temp affects the indoor. This morning at 6am, the temp indoors was circa 17 with an outdoor of 6 - BUT it had been on previous days, about 17 with an outdoor of 10. I haven't a clue what it was overnight though - so maybe the overnight has still been warm'ish. The heating is set for 19 degrees and is on between 7am-9am and 6pm-10pm. Typically so far, the raise in temp from 17-19 has taken about an hour - so even set for two hours, it comes on for one.
It's only really on in the morning for two reasons - keep the towels dry and to at least keep the place a bit warm during the day with the two of us here. If we were out (at work?!) during the day, I doubt I would have the heating on in the mornings at all.
We used to have a combined washer/dryer - but never used the dryer anyway, so when that packed in, we replaced it with just a washer - luckily we have a conservatory that gets warmish (and a dehumidifier that seems to use little leccy) for when the washing can't go on the line (or doesn't dry off anyway). I'm becoming an adept at timing the washing to match non-rainy days.
If you get a sunny day, and it's getting into the house, that certainly bumps up the indoor temp, but a cloudy day doesn't do quite the same. That's when the views become a little less appealing too I expect if your house is staying around the same regardless, the outside temp can waver a bit without having too much impact. The difficulty I have re the washing is, there's three of us, and the girls' work clothes need doing regularly because they don't have enough of them to allow us to hold off for longer. It's a bit of a drag having to spend so much time 'managing' the washing though! I've just taken an airer into the kitchen because the sun is starting to appear, and the kitchen faces south east, so the bedsheet that's on it will finish off nicely while I'm out. If I had to wait for non rainy days to get stuff out, I'd not be able to move for piled up washing, so this time of year until spring can be very tricky.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
I used to dry clothes on a rotary drier, but every Spring I'd never be able to find the spike in the lawn into which the drier goes, so I'd concrete another one in only to not be able to find it the following year.
I also find that clothes last much, much longer if not dried in the sun.
The rays that damage your skin also damage clothing.
I have dozens of tee-shirts that I bought in Thailand (at 90p a pop) during the 1990's that I wear throughout the year - most of them are still almost like new - and they're all designer labels!!!
I still have a few jumpers that my Mum bought me and jeans that I bought over 30 yrs ago! and yes, they still fit
I don't glo to work any longer so I have no need of a wardrobe full of smart clothes - but I've still got 14 suits just in case 😁
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I have chosen to increase my direct debit by £66 on the basis it’s ‘free’ money and, it will provide a buffer for te winter price surge.
@Pete.8 - I hope you can get the insulation done. What size is your garden that you can't find the spot for your whirly?
I've just had to re do mine because the whirly [ should have bought a better one] had rusted and snapped. I came home from my walk one day to find younger daughter valiantly trying to hold it up, and stop all the washing from hitting the ground. Fortunately, it was almost dry. I'm not sure what she was planning to do though - just stand there until I got back? I like clothes drying outside whenever possible. Nothing beats the smell of freshly washed bed sheets that have dried outside.
I don't mind clothes fading - they just mirror me
I'm not sure I've ever had a wardrobe full of smart clothes either. I didn't exactly have the kind of job where a suit was needed....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We haven't had the heating on very much at all, which is highly unusual, but I'm not complaining. I've always done the shutting curtains as soon as it's dark, and batch cooking etc, so there aren't many more savings I can make.
I have it on for 20 or 30 mins for daughter getting up for work [before 5 am] and then I just use it manually, according to who's in or out, and for drying the washing off rather than using the drier.
Readings are due in a few days, so it'll be interesting to see what my usage has been this month, compared to previous ones.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I expect if your house is staying around the same regardless, the outside temp can waver a bit without having too much impact.
The difficulty I have re the washing is, there's three of us, and the girls' work clothes need doing regularly because they don't have enough of them to allow us to hold off for longer. It's a bit of a drag having to spend so much time 'managing' the washing though! I've just taken an airer into the kitchen because the sun is starting to appear, and the kitchen faces south east, so the bedsheet that's on it will finish off nicely while I'm out. If I had to wait for non rainy days to get stuff out, I'd not be able to move for piled up washing, so this time of year until spring can be very tricky.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...