WE were so spoilt with the hot summer. I don’t want it to end. My house was finally warm and I even opened the windows.

I live in the coldest house in the world. It’s more often warmer outside than it is inside, which has been a real treat during our wonderful summer.

The house has no central heating, just night storage heaters, which pump money out of my bank and into the pockets of the electricity board. It’s so expensive I have a heating strategy to try to mitigate the bill.

The big question this month among my facebook friends is: have you turned your heating on yet?

I sit firmly in the camp of no heating until October and, if possible, switch it off in April. But that’s not to say I haven’t lit a fire. I have a range of room-ready heating solutions, which have to be used sparingly.

My ten-year-old gets dressed for school in front of a blow heater on eco, my fiveyear- old in front of a halogen heater.

I have two odourless petrol heaters, two grates and an electric heater in the kitchen.

Then there is the oil-fired aga, but this is an expensive luxury so again falls into the ‘don’t light until October’ category.

I am on economy 10, which gives us cheaper heat in the day because economy 7 heat only at night just didn’t keep the house warm enough in the harshest of cold spells.

But most importantly we have big furry rugs on the bed, electric blankets at night and we wear more clothes.

Wearing big jumpers is free so that is my favourite option, obviously. In the evenings we curl up on the couch under fleecy throws, snug as a bug in a rug, watching films together.

What’s interesting is that as we move into our third year of living like this the children are immune to the cold, they bounce around in fewer clothes than me and object to wrapping up warm.

When I stay with friends who have their heating on it feels stifling and I long for the air. Of course, when I drive into the Wylye Valley it always feels about ten degrees colder than the rest of the world and it does take a few hours to acclimatise to the cold of the house again.

October is looming and I have yet to order the wood.

This in itself is a warming task as the load has to be moved from the road to the store. It’s a good way to stay toasty. I am determined not to give in and, as the kids don’t care, I am dressed in jumpers, scarves, thick socks and boots and keeping busy.

This is by the far the most cost-effective heating solution.

l Writer and journalist Clare Macnaughton’s latest book is available on Amazon worldwide. A Modern Military Mother – Tales from the Domestic Frontline is an honest account of a decade of being married to an RAF officer serving in the British military.

Follow Clare on twitter: @amodmilitarymum Blog: amodernmilitarymother.com.