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Are Artificial Christmas Trees Better Than Natural Ones?

Until very recently I was a big fan of natural trees for Christmas. I just love their fresh scent and I can’t imagine Christmas without it. However, I’ve started to ask myself whether I’m being selfish in my desire of killing one tree each year just for the sale of a few days of Christmas fun. Then I started to do some research and it didn’t take long until I found a few websites that made me change my mind in this respect. One of those sites is named exactly Artificial Christmas Trees and I was attracted by it from the very first glance, because it has a friendly look and feel. I love the falling snow effect and I’d be happy to discover how to add that to my site for December.

Back to our Christmas decorations, this is one of the trees I liked very much on the previously mentioned website (sorry for “borrowing” the photo, but I really wanted to show it to my readers):
artificial Christmas tree - bronze
Surprisingly, I liked this tree even though it doesn’t look realistic at all. Maybe that’s because I’m a bit bored with conventions lately and I try to do stuff other way than most people do. This bronze color is absolutely fantastic and the metallic look combined with the mini lights make the tree look like coming straight from a winter tale. I think it evokes the spirit of Christmas, wouldn’t you agree? I’m sure all the kids will love it, so I’m strongly considering getting one soon.

The reason I posted this here is that I want to know your opinion on whether or not buying an artificial Christmas tree could be considered a green option. I do agree it saves 3-4 trees from being cut (thinking that I’d keep it for maximum 4 years before wanting a new one). Nonetheless, there’s some pollution in making an artificial tree as well, so it might be much more than 3-4 trees missing from the forest.

Have your say! Thanks!

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Cleaning Mildew Off Bamboo Blinds

One of the most frequent problems with window blinds is cleaning. Depending on the material blinds are made of, cleaning can be easy or it can be a real pain. Moreover, natural materials such as wood, bamboo, reeds or grass are prone to develop mold and mildew over time, especially if they are installed in wet rooms. Cleaning mildew off bamboo blinds needs to be done at least three times a year or as often as needed. I’ll show you one way to do it, but I’m sure you know other methods too and I invite you to detail them here.

Here’s my method of cleaning bamboo blinds:

  • First of all, I remove them from the windows. It’s tempting to skip this step, but if you don’t take them down, it’s almost impossible to clean them thoroughly on both sides, so your work won’t be as efficient as if you sink the blinds in a cleaning solution.
  • I prepare a solution containing three parts water and one part laundry bleach, plus a few drops of vinegar
  • With the blinds fully soaked in the solution, I wipe them thoroughly with a soft cloth, until all debris and mildew accumulations are gone.
  • I then rinse the blinds very well with the shower, until the water runs clear.
  • I let the blinds dry completely at air, and only then I hang them back at the windows.

As a special cautionary measure, I’d recommend you wear latex gloves when wiping the blinds, because the bleach could harm your skin.  A preventive fungicide treatment could help keep mildew off your bamboo blinds for a longer time, so doing it could be a good idea.

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