For one, do not use vinegar — a sap-softening remedy that works well on car windows. Vinegar eats into PVC and makes sap stains on this kind of decking permanent.

Do you have some maple trees? Are they sugar or silver maples? If so, chances are you've thought about "sugaring"—the process of collecting maple sap and boiling it down to make maple syrup.

Typically, the two biggest and most annoying parts of Christmas tree clean-up are the sap and the needles (assuming there are no bugs involved).