· I am a responsible light hanger and will not embarrass my family with a theme of purple lights because I found them on sale.
· I will not shine floodlights into my neighbors’ windows, unless they haven’t returned the cordless drill they borrowed last summer.
· I will meticulously wrap my extension cords so they won’t end up in knots only an Eagle Scout could unwind.
· I will not ignore the warning label about using the top rung of my ladder as a step.
Finkle has been professionally decorating houses in the Midwest for the holiday for 30 years and has won plenty of awards. He says a lot of mistakes are possible in exterior decorating, the biggest being the use of orange extension cords. “Use colored extension cords that match the surrounding of the area you’re lighting,” he says.
Another misstep: lighting the house so much that on a clear night it’s visible from the moon. By doing a little planning, including taking accurate measurements of any shrubs and trees you’ll be including in your lighting scheme, you’ll know how many lights you need to buy.
The book has charts for calculating how much of every decorating item you’ll need, plus a list of necessary tools, installation recommendations, 12 projects you can do easily, a troubleshooting guide in case problems arixe, and removal and storage advice.
Finkle also offers a basic course in electricity, at least as it applies to lighting. Newer houses tend to have exterior outlets. If the builder’s electrician did his job correctly, the outlets are on the ground-fault interrupter circuits, which means that if moisture is sensed, the power is shut off, and shocks prevented.
He warns, thought, that some outdoor electrical outlets share the same circuit as indoor receptacles and should not be overloaded.
What does Finkle say to those who think all this outdoor illumination wastes precious resources and helps speed climate change?
“There are not many things in this world that can take your mind off all the troubles around the country, but enjoying a grand lighting display can,” he counters. “It gives you and your mind another, more pleasant feeling.”
Fewer resources would be wasted if the decorations were removed in a reasonable time after the holidays.
For Finkle, that’s the first week of January. |
