When the holidays are over, take down the tinsel, but don't bag the tree. Its needles, boughs, and trunk can do more than hold ornaments. -Jennifer Stimpson
See ALL our clever ideas for recycling your Christmas tree at thisoldhouse.com!
1. Mulch With Needles
Pine needles dry quickly and decompose slowly, making them an excellent moisture- and mold-free mulch for ground-covering crops, such as strawberries, to rest on.
Related: All About Mulch
2. Create a Bird Sanctuary
Place your tree in its stand outdoors. Fill bird feeders and hang them from the boughs, or drape the tree with a swag of pinecones coated with peanut butter.
Related: How to Build a Bird Feeder
3. Insulate Perennials
Cut off boughs and lay them over perennial beds to protect them from snow and reduce frost heaving.
Related: How to Propagate Fall Perennials into Spring Plants
4. Edge Your Borders
Cut the trunk into 2-inch discs and set them into the soil to edge flower beds or walkways.
Related: How to Lay a
Blog Posts by This Old House Magazine
Best Reuse Ideas for Your Christmas Tree
By This Old House Magazine | Green – Wed, Dec 28, 2011 4:08 PM EST5 Quick & Easy Ways to Spruce-Up Your Kitchen Without Remodeling
By This Old House Magazine | At Home – Wed, Dec 21, 2011 5:50 PM EST
If a complete remodel or overhaul is out of your reach, here are a few small, affordable upgrades that pack a big punch. Your kitchen will look holiday-fabulous before you know it! --Tabitha Sukhai, thisoldhouse.com
SHOWN: The $967 Kitchen Remodel
Paint Kitchen Cabinets
See How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets for the pro step-by-step instructions for a flawless finish. A fresh coat of paint will only cost a fraction of the cost of replacement or refacing!
RELATED: How to Afford the Kitchen You Want
See Oversize Bar Pulls for Tired Kitchen Cabinets for TOH's top picks for the most stylish cabinet hardware. These hardworking handles will add substance and style to your cabinets in mere minutes!
Swap Plain Handles Out for Oversized Pulls
RELATED: How to Reface Kitchen Cabinets
Put in a New Faucet
This quick and easy swap is another small way to make a big impact on your countertop. See How to Install a Pull-Down Faucet and All About Kitchen
Read More »from 5 Quick & Easy Ways to Spruce-Up Your Kitchen Without RemodelingBest Green, Guilt-Free Gift-Wrapping Ideas
By This Old House Magazine | Green – Sat, Dec 17, 2011 5:48 PM EST
In a perfect world, we'd carefully unwrap gifts and save the paper for reuse next year. But tearing apart wrapping paper is about 98 percent of the fun, isn't it? Still, gift wrap accounts for much of the 25 percent spike in waste during the holiday season. Meanwhile, according to The Use Less Stuff Report, reuse of just two feet of ribbon per family would save enough of the trimming to tie a bow around the entire planet. That's a whole lot of ribbon.
If the mounds of colorful wrapping paper on your living room floor make you feel a little guilty-wasteful, even-here are a few creative reuse ideas to ease your conscience. -Tabitha Sukhai, thisoldhouse.com
See ALL of our Guilt-Free Gift Wrapping Ideas
Off the WallThe repetitive patterns of wallpaper are very similar to that of wrapping paper. Check your garage or closets for wallpaper scraps or samples you may have leftover. Create a reusable "Hollywood box" by wrapping a lid and box separately, or cover an old shoebox to put
Read More »from Best Green, Guilt-Free Gift-Wrapping Ideas
The fire's blazing, the hors d'oeuvres tasty, the tree a-twinkle...but if your guests slip on a wet floor or shiver through dinner, no one will remember those lovely details. Use our cheat sheet to help make your home comfortable for everybody, from your baby niece to Great Uncle Harry.
See ALL of our easy tips for a holiday-ready house
Walkway
• Replace blown-out bulbs in exterior lights.
• Scatter sand or kitty litter on slippery steps.
• Knock away icicles hanging above the front door-no skewering your guests!RELATED: Snow & Ice Removal Tips
Entry
• Add a dimmer switch to the hallway fixture (soft light = instant mood-setter).
• Roll out a runner to absorb slush and snow.
• Fix squeaky hardwood floors by sweeping graphite powder into the cracks.RELATED: The Quick Front-Entry Fixup
Living Room
Read More »from The Holiday-Ready House
• Ratchet down the thermostat by 3 degrees F-guests hate sweating over their holiday cocktails.
• Keep area rugs6 Deadly Holiday Disasters and How to Avoid Them
By This Old House Magazine | At Home – Thu, Dec 15, 2011 2:04 PM EST
The holidays are traditionally a time to kick back at home with the family and put depressing thoughts-like death, for example-aside in exchange for fuzzier feelings of comfort and joy. Unfortunately, the Grim Reaper is not one to take a holiday, even if it's Christmas, Hanukkah, or New Year's Eve. His handiwork often manifests itself in some of our favorite holiday home traditions, too, from living room Christmas trees, which catch fire and kill about 15 of us each year, to backyard sledding, which sends more than 33,000 of us to the hospital annually.
To make sure Death doesn't nab a seat at your holiday table this year, we took a look at the different ways he tries to sideline this most wonderful time of the year. The hope is that you'll avoid his sinister plans so that you can savor the comforts and joys of many holidays to come.
See ALL 13 Ways the Holidays Can Kill You
1. Christmas Tree Fires
You'd think by now we'd have this whole Christmas tree safety thing down. But
Read More »from 6 Deadly Holiday Disasters and How to Avoid Them5 Christmas Light Displays You Can See from Outer Space
By This Old House Magazine | At Home – Mon, Dec 12, 2011 12:45 PM EST
Tackling that tangle of lights may be intimidating to some, but here are 5 over-the-top holiday displays that are sure to amaze. And, leave you wondering how these spirited homeowners are going to manage their energy bills this season!
Dominic Luberto's home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, (shown above) causes quite a stir; especially among neighbors who don't care for the bright lights. Luberto's lights aren't without fans, though. Local news stations have covered and photographed the place for special holiday coverage. The yard featured everything from traditional snowmen to Winnie-the-Pooh figurines. -Tabitha Sukhai, Annie Hauser, and Victoria Reitano, thisoldhouse.com
MORE: World's Wildest Holiday House Displays
Lights for a Cause
Out of all the over-the-top homes on our list, this one just might take the cake. With lights so plentiful you can't even see the house under it, this home in Ontario donates money from visitors to SickKids, a children's hospital in Toronto.
Read More »from 5 Christmas Light Displays You Can See from Outer SpaceTop 3 Ways the Holidays Can Kill You...Or Try To, Anyway
By This Old House Magazine | At Home – Fri, Dec 9, 2011 4:02 PM EST
We don't mean to be kill-joys during the most joyous time of the year, but the stats don't lie: According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, over 12,500 of you have to leave the company of your loved ones to rush to the emergency room due to holiday-related accidental injuries. Here are some common holiday dangers that are overlooked by distracted holiday revelers more often than you might think. Take a look, know the warning signs, and you'll be the first to know if you, your loved ones, or your pets are victims of a toxic Christmas. --Tabitha Sukhai, thisoldhouse.com
See ALL 11 Ways the Holidays Can Kill You
1. Christmas Tree Mold
If your sniffling and sneezing coincide with the arrival of your freshly cut Christmas tree, you could be reacting to skyrocketing mold spore counts. If you must have a real tree in your home, prevent allergic reactions for guests and loved ones by hosing your tree down, spraying it with a mold-resistant sealant like M-1 Sure Cote, and
Read More »from Top 3 Ways the Holidays Can Kill You...Or Try To, AnywayThe Top 10 Most Magnificent Gingerbread McMansions
By This Old House Magazine | Tis The Season – Fri, Dec 9, 2011 3:39 PM ESTThe 4th annual TOH Gingerbread House contest is well under way (hurry, and get baking and building-you can still enter by December 19th)! Here are 10 unbelievable and edible abodes that will inspire you to create the NEXT TOH Gingerbread House Contest Grand Prize-winning masterpiece.
Read More »from The Top 10 Most Magnificent Gingerbread McMansions
See ALL of the entries so far and enter the 2012 TOH Gingerbread House Contest
1. Winter Wonderland Victorian Palace
"The tools I used were my X-Acto knife to cut out a pattern in foam board and in the gingerbread dough, my Skil saw to cut the platform for the stand, a mouse sander for sanding the plywood stand and the rough edges of gingerbread house, a drill to make holes in the platform to insert lighting, a jigsaw to enlarge holes in platform and to cut baked gingerbread,a Dremel to sand gingerbread edges and refine details. The gingerbread house took 180 hours to prepare and finish. The windows are made with gelatin."
Stephanie S.
West Palm Beach, FL
MORE: Best Holiday Home Lighting Displays
2. GRMake Sure Your Home is Safe and Secure During Holiday Travels
By This Old House Magazine | At Home – Fri, Dec 9, 2011 11:41 AM EST
Read More »from Make Sure Your Home is Safe and Secure During Holiday Travels
burglar
While you'd like to think it could never happen to you, a home is broken into every 14 seconds, according to the FBI. Add expensive stocking-stuffers and spotty holiday travel to this mix, and your home's stock just went up. Luckily, you don't have to be a security mastermind to protect your property during the hectic holiday season. There are plenty of simple, affordable steps you can take. --Natalie Gingerich Mackenzie, thisoldhouse.com
See ALL of our burglar-busting tips at thisoldhouse.com
1. Advertise Your Alarm
alarm
Criminals talk big, but when push comes to shove, they won't go near a house that has an alarm, says Dr. Paul Cromwell, a criminology professor at the University of South Florida Polytechnic. You don't even need an active system, just a sign in your yard or a decal in a window-or better, both.
MORE: Burglar-Proof Your Entry
2. Showcase Fido
beware
Most burglars don't want to mess with a dog, whether it's a toy poodle or a 90-pound German shepherd. A threatening BEWARE OF DOGWinter Pest Control Tips from the Pros
By This Old House Magazine | At Home – Thu, Dec 8, 2011 4:47 PM EST
Read More »from Winter Pest Control Tips from the ProsFurry Invaders
Not everyone is welcome to gather 'round your warm fire and snack on the fresh-baked gingerbread men. There's no worse time than the holidays to have unwanted house guests scurrying across your dining room floor. Unfortunately, when the weather turns cold in winter, it is prime pest invasion time. To prevent rodents and winged critters from breaking in, start by strengthening your home's vulnerable spots.
See ALL of our winter pest prevention tips at thisoldhouse.comweatherstripping
1. Protect Window and Door Frames
Replace worn weatherstripping. Repair soft spots in wood sills and frames; rats and mice can gnaw at them to gain entry. Screens should fit frames tightly; patch tears right away.
MORE: Block Chimney to Keep Critters From Coming InTree Limbs
2. Protect the Roof
Banish bats by closing up gaps in eaves and flashing joints with aluminum or galvanized steel. Fill holes in soffits and fascia with expanding foam. Trim back trees to reduce access paths for squirrels.
MORE: Protect Your Siding From
