I start getting excited about holiday decorating at this time every year! Sure it might seem early to some of you, but the key to making your outdoor decorating display fabulous and less frustrating is the pre-planning.
I start by sitting down at the kitchen table and sketching the outline of the house on a piece of paper. I'm no artist and you don't have to be. Just draw in the roof lines, gutter runs, windows and doors. It doesn't have to be to scale; it doesn't even have to be neat.
Be sure to mark on your sketch where the outside electrical receptacles are located, that way you will have a good idea of where you can run your power from. Now, on the scale that we do things here on the farm it is a little more involved and we have taken the time to have multiple electrical outlets installed in key locations so it makes it easy to run the miles of lighting we put up each year. You don't have to go crazy but keep in mind just what the power loads are for that outlet and keep to those ratings.
Overloading circuits is dangerous and flipping breakers every night is a good way to anger you spouse when the house goes dark every time she plugs in a hair dryer. I sketch out where I want things to go and write a list of any tools or accessories I will need. Then I don't have to be running back and forth from the garage while setting up just to go get something I forgot. I put all those tools in a bucket and when the time comes, everything is at hand and ready to go.
When day one of the project arrives, I pre-test ALL light stands while still on the ground, replacing any bulbs that might have burned out from the previous year. It is easy to do this before you get up on a ladder and a lot safer! Your time on the ladder should be as limited as possible and avoid reaching for things unnecessarily!
Make a "to-do" list of what you want to light and in what order...then keep to your list. This will save you time and keep you more organized. I usually start at the top of whatever I am lighting and work my way down. Get the tough stuff done first and out of the way. This is especially important when lighting trees, it is easier to fill in lower areas from the ground level then re-climbing a ladder and attempting to attach more light strands if you run short. Keep yourself safe so you can enjoy the holidays!
One last note on this blog and later in the season I will share with you tips on how to effectively light trees bushes and walkways for maximum impact.
Label ALL your light strands either before putting them up or after taking each strand down at the end of the season. I use a "Sharpie" pen and mark the plug end of each strand with where it goes AND whether that plug is to the left or right (or top or bottom) of whatever it is hanging on, (example house, 3rd floor gutter run, left).
That tells me the plug will be closest to the nearest outlet and where it needs to go. If you have ever put up a full strand of lights just to find out that it is backwards you understand what I am talking about! I used to tell myself I would remember where each strand was supposed to go...you won't ..trust me on that! Labeling them makes life a lot simpler and decorating more fun.
Enjoy, I will have more for you later in the season!
