Christmas is done and you're probably looking at that Christmas tree and thinking its a shame that not more can be done with it.
Well good news is it can still be put to good use, and help you stay warm over the winter period by turning it into firewood for your log burning stove.
Living on a Christmas tree farm has taught me a good few tips about how you can cut, prepare, and burn Christmas trees and make sure they don't go to waste, and I'll share them below.
Trim the branches
To prepare the Christmas tree for cutting you'll want to trim the branches that can get in the way of the cutting, which you can do with a billhook, pruner, or just a small axe.
Make sure to not throw these branches away as they can be very useful as kindling when lighting your burner or fireplace.
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4516az Southern Counties Bill Hook with smooth wooden handle for easy use, ideal for tree branches.
Silverline Hatchet axe with ash handle with a forged steel polished head. Ideal for both cutting and splitting firewood.
Cut and split the Christmas tree
Now it comes to the cutting, which you may need a chainsaw for, or if you have a smaller tree, or if you're feeling adventurous, you may be able to use an axe.
Cut the tree into small enough sections that they can easily fit into your fireplace or log burning stove, making sure to make straight cuts.
If your tree is quite thin then splitting the wood may not be necessary, but if it's thicker, then splitting will help the wood burn better and fit into your fireplace.
Obviously, if you're using a chainsaw or axe, then caution is needed and using a stable surface to hold the tree into place is crucial to avoid slips that could be extremely dangerous.
Leave to dry
Assuming that you've bought a Christmas tree that still has its pine needles then your tree will be wet and very difficult to burn, so trying to burn it straight away will prove difficult.
Burning wet wood is not a good idea as it creates excessive smoke in your home, which is bad for your health. As pine wood is a type of softwood it normally isn't the best for burning anyway, but if you're going to burn it then you'll want it to be dry.
You should store the freshly cut pine wood in a log store or somewhere dry, preferably where wind can get to it so it can dry out faster, and then within 4-6 months it should be perfect for burning.
Just because it's the end of Christmas shouldn't mean your Christmas goes to waste, in the bin, or at the tip.
Pine wood is perfectly fine to burn, as long as it's properly prepared, meaning your tree isn't just used for one day of the year.
Following this advice will mean you get a secondary use from your Christmas tree and help you save a little on turning on the heating or buying firewood, making the use of your tree stretch a little further.
