Grasshopper New Media Presents...

Imagine it:

It’s 8:00 on a Saturday morning. You’ve heard the kids get up and they’re quietly watching TV. Maybe they’ve even fed themselves. You, on the other hand, are still in bed. You were up late last night - maybe you were watching a movie or maybe you were blog-surfing, maybe you were even ranting about something writing on your own blog) - and all you want to do is sleep some more.

But that darn sun is making your room so bright that you can’t get a wink more of shut-eye! Frustrated, you drag yourself out of bed to face the day.

Not if you had Blackout Curtains!

With these curtains you can make your room as dark as the best hotels do.

It was from staying in a (good quality) hotel that I found out about these curtains years ago, and I always kept that memory stored in the back of my mind for use in my home one day. Being homeschoolers, we are fortunate to be able to do things on our own time, and one way that presents in our home is by sleeping later than most people. So after our recent move to a beautifully sunny house, I knew I’d have to get myself some of these curtains (instead of using blankets to block out the light).

A quick search on the ‘net and I found out they were available from Wal-Mart’s website, so we decided to see if we could find them locally (saving time and money). We easily found them and grabbed one package of two panels (failing to do the math with regards to their total measurements), feeling that the $25 was well worth it.

We got home and immediately started to set them up in the master bedroom; I wasn’t going to let Mr. Sun wake me up ever again! He’d been waking my co-sleeping toddler up even before me, which meant that I had to drag myself out of bed before I was ready.

Upon reading the installment directions, we found that there were several ways these could be used. We decided against what I assume is the best way - putting them on the drapery hooks. The house is a rental and we just thought it would be better not to take any chances with their property.

This meant a trip back to the store to get a drapery rod the next day, and another morning being woken up by Mr. Sun.

We also realized that the two panels we had wouldn’t completely cover our window horizontally, but were way longer than necessary vertically. Three panels will fit this window just right when we’re ready to buy two more packages (so we have three panels for another window as well).

It was a quick set-up slipping the rod through the pocket at the top of the drapes and sticking it between the walls of the window (do those have a name? ) This means that some light is allowed through. But compared to what could be shining in, it’s acceptable. Now we get up when we wake up naturally and are well-rested and happy.

According to the package, these are useful for more than just blocking out the light:

• Insulates against heat and cold, which saves on electricity bills
• Muffles Sound
• Protects sun-fading of carpet and furniture
• Blocks light day or night and reduces noise
• Provides privacy (no silhouette)
• Not a vinyl product and not a laminate, Blackout looks and hangs like a normal drapery but will not crack, peel, or bubble.

It’s also suggested for those of you with home theaters - these can help you get more of a theater-like feel by blocking light from the room and keeping glare off your screen.

The price we paid might seem kind of steep to some, but these are definitely extremely sturdy and will last for years and years. After we got our package of two panels for $25, I saw the same exact package in a catalog (not a high-end one, mind you) for more than $40.

I guess you’ll have to determine how much it’s worth to you to have a completely dark room to sleep in. I know that I am looking forward to getting more as our budget allows, and using all of our blankets for our beds.

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