Daily Dose of Common Sense

Driving around, I see lots of houses with holiday lights still up outside. No, the lights aren’t turned on. But, the strands still frame the house with post-post-post holiday cheer.

Is this an example of marvelous efficiency or incredibly laziness?

Putting up holiday lights is no easy feat. The ladder, the reaching, the attaching, untangling, replacing bulbs…what a mess. Wouldn’t it be great to decorate the outside of your house only once every couple of years? All you would need to do in December is plug ‘em in and enjoy your previous handiwork.

Some people think it’s tacky to leave your lights up all year. Well, maybe next year, they will come and decorate your house for you.

Actually, one news report I found did claim it was unsafe to leave them up:

Remember, these lights are only intended for temporary use, no more than 90 days at a time, In some places, leaving temporary holiday lights up for longer violates electrical codes. In Florida, exposure to our strong sunlight can alter the plastic in lights over time, causing potentially dangerous deterioration. A guide rule of thumb is to make sure your lights are down and packed away by January 15th.

I guess in the interest of not starting a December house fire the next time you plug them in, it’s wise to take them down. Bah, humbug.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 8:27 pm and is filed under Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.