While the cost of Christmas depends on many factors, experts estimate that the average home owner will spend between $200 and $500 each year installing Christmas lights. Many home owners assume that Christmas lighting can only be used during the holiday season, but taking a more creative approach to your lighting can help you get more mileage out of your Christmas lights each year.
Here are 3 everyday uses for Christmas lights that will help you justify the expense of investing in new lighting during the holiday season.
1. Use a strand of Christmas lights instead of a lamp.
If you are looking for an easy way to get more life out of your Christmas lights and save some money at the same time, then utilizing holiday lights instead of lamps in your home could be the answer. The amount of electricity required to power the average incandescent light bulb can cost you 5 to 10 times the original purchase price of the bulb.
Since most seasonal lights are commercial LED Christmas lights, which require a mere one-third to one-thirtieth the amount of power as their incandescent counterparts, using these holiday strands instead of lamps to create mood lighting can be cost effective.
2. Use Christmas lights to create visual art.
In a study examining the effects of viewing artwork, researchers found that when subjects were shown works of art they considered beautiful, blood flow in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (the part of the brain associated with pleasure and desire) increased by 10%.
This increase in blood flow from viewing art mirrors the effects of gazing at a loved one. Having art installations in your home can help you take advantage of the emotional benefits that art consumption can provide. Strands of Christmas lights can be used to create unique and engaging works of art for you to display in your home throughout the year.
3. Use a strand of rope lights to create a unique floor covering.
Adding more light to a certain area of your home could be accomplished by simply adding a rug to the room. Crocheting around a strand of rope lighting will provide you with a floor covering that has the ability to illuminate your entire room.
Tossing this rope light rug in the bathroom will make those midnight trips less dangerous; and, if you use a soft rope yarn, the rug will be both comfortable and durable.
Keeping your home merry and bright beyond December is simple. You just need to think outside the box and find creative ways to get more mileage out of your holiday decor by incorporating Christmas lights into your home's everyday decor.
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