Outdoor Grade Lights and Decorations
At your local home improvement store, you’ll find a wide variety of outdoor grade lights and decorations to choose from. There are traditional string lights, lit-up figures, net lights to surround your trees and shrubs, and large ornaments to hang from trees. When looking for décor appropriate from outdoor use, you want to look for the words ‘outdoor grade’, ‘waterproof’, ‘water-resistant’, and UL which stands for Underwriters Laboratories and means that it meets national industry standards for safety and outdoor use.
Plastic Hook Products
You never want to sever a string light’s electrical cord by using nails to hang lights on your home, so look for plastic hook products that you can nail or screw to the home and hang or wrap lights around them. This makes for easy removal, and also, easy re-installation next year!
Outdoor Grade Extension Cords
For the same reason you want outdoor grade lights and decorations, you want outdoor grade extension cords that can withstand the elements, especially if you live in an extreme weather region with rain, ice, or snow. Tape or secure your outdoor extension cords out of heavy traffic walkways and above ground, water, and snow for the safest installation.
Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter Outlet
Speaking of re-installation next year, if you don’t currently have a GFCI Outlet installed outside your home for jobs like these, you’ll want to contact your electrician and have one installed. Then it will be a permanent fixture, making future decorating easy. There is, however, an alternative. You can purchase a portable unit from your local hardware store for 20 dollars or less. This outlet ensures that in the case that your lights overwhelmed the circuit, it would shut off, preventing a potential fire or blowing fuses connected to the lights inside your home. This is an absolute safety must-have for outdoor holiday decorating.
A Reliable Ladder
The qualities you want in a reliable ladder are a wide-spread between its legs, rust-proof hardware, heavy side rails, and a stable stand when you open it. Be sure your ladder will reach the height of your vision. If you can’t reach where you need to standing two steps below the top, you will need to purchase a taller, reliable ladder, or alter your vision for safety.
We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season, from our families to yours!
