I like blinds, but I replaced the blinds in my office a year or so ago, and they are falling apart now (I went to close them, and pieces just fell off). I’ll take half the blame for buying the cheapest crap I could find, but falling apart after a year on the window (and it’s not even on the side that the cats look out of)? That is some serious cheap material. I think they would be lasting longer if they were actually made of cardboard. I guess I’ll replace them with the second-to-cheapest crap. See how that goes. 
You know, I read this twice before I went WAAAAAAAAAhahahahahah…
I fear I appear at the top of many people’s lists, but I do appreciate your kind words.
Who the fuck invented blinds?
Moe Howard.
Pick two!
Lots of ways. Poke his eyes out. Throw acid in his face. Bury him up to his neck facing the sun and slice his eyelids off. Show him the Roseanne Barr sex tape. (Go ahead and let him use the goggles. It won’t matter.)
Blinds are the devil’s own buttplug. I have blinds on my back door. The cats are constantly crashing into them or playing with them and messing them up. That means every SINGLE goddamn time I want to use the back door, I have to oh so carefully untwist every last one of them just so that I can push them open. I just want to go outside!
And they’re ugly. They’re hideously ugly. I’ve seen some new ones that are okay-looking, but I have the 70’s rental models that actually can cause you to go blind by looking at them too long.
I swear, the second I buy a house, if the house has blinds, I’m ripping those fuckers out and doing a dance on their hideous corpses.
You have to install the kaboodle separately. Do not use the same mounting brackets that you use for the kit. This is a common error.
But what about your Hawaiian shirts? 
Well, so long as you do it casually, you know.
I get very OCD about the vertical blinds leading to our back yard. There are a couple of slats that never want to line up properly, and as much as I try to walk away, I find that I can’t help but spend five minutes fiddling with them to make them complete the shield. All this, and I’m fully aware that the only creatures that could see into the house from outside are the spiders and occasional stray cat that wander through the yard.
Still, I know those cats are looking at me and laughing. I can’t help it – I just got out of a cold shower! Leave me alone!
My blinds do a fine job of keeping out the sun or the heat, or whatever I’m using them for. But damn do I hate keeping those fuckers clean.
So silenus, since you’re relatively close, you can come over and keep mine clean, right? Hell, I’ll even let you clean them whilst casually naked (or clad in a Hawaiian shirt). Just let me know and I’ll leave a key under the doormat.
We’ve had the same vertical blinds for 26 years and they still work just fine.
The secret is to get rid of all children and dogs and buy quality goods at the outset. Smug smiley goes here if only we had one.
Psst, olivesmarch4th, you’re wondering where those footprints came from?
This summer I replaced all my venetian blinds with matchstick/bamboo blinds. I fucking love my blinds. I have windows in almost every room in my house, one of the things I like about it. Blinds let in more light than drapes, and if my neighbors don’t want to see me walking around in my drawers, they shouldn’t look in my windows.
Actually, we’ve replaced most of the curtains with these. They attract much less cat hair and clean with a blast of canned air.
I appreciate the offer, but if the wife discovers that I clean in the nude, she’s gonna start expecting me to do it while she’s home, and then I’ll never get any work done! 
Well, there’s one good thing come of this. I had never considered cleaning blinds with the ol’ canned air. Thanks for the tip!
As a landlord I have had to clean lots of blinds after tenants moved out. The best way to do it is to take them outside, hang them up by attaching them to a gutter or a privacy fence and then just hosing them down. You can spray on a little 409 and gently wipe them if they need it.
No, the best way to clean blinds is to hire a cleaning service.
That said, if you’re worried about people peeping in your windows, or excess light coming in (which was my problem), I recommend tinfoil. It’s reasonably opaque, and an artistic statement besides!
My dog just ripped mine down so she could yell at a beagle whizzing on “her” lawn. I always buy the cheapest one I can, because they end up with holes punched in them at pet eye level.
If you need to clean blinds in the winter in the north east and don’t want blindsicles,
give them a bath! Drop them in the filled tub with a little Mr. Clean. Rinse them with the shower.
Or leave them dirty and try not to look too hard at them.