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After I stumbled into my crying baby’s room and blinked at the too-bright rays, I knew we had a problem. The summer sunlight was waking up my three-month-old at the actual crack of dawn, and I was over it messing up her sleep routine. But like most people, I didn’t have $100 to drop on premium blackout blinds or curtains. As I tried to rock my very awake baby back to sleep, I searched for dupes and found the perfect solution: $6 paper shades.
Available at Walmart, RediShade blinds are the perfect dupe to pricey blackout curtains. At $5.47 each, they can be cut to the exact size of your window using a box cutter. Plus, they have double-sided adhesive for quick installation. Want proof? I had these both cut and installed in less than 15 minutes.
But do RediShade blinds work as well as blackout curtains? As soon as I got the paper shades installed, I shut off the lights. To my relief, the room was pitch black. And it was almost time for the real test: nap time. My baby, who was firmly stuck on 32 minute naps, slept for over an hour! And the next day? She slept until almost 7 a.m.! I was officially sold.
For a paper product, these blinds are remarkably high-quality: a thick, strong, nearly indestructible material. (They haven’t torn even once since installation, despite opening and closing the window frequently and pulling the blinds up most mornings.) Nearly two years later, these are still on my now-toddler’s windows and they continue to do a fantastic job keeping the light out so she can sleep soundly during naps and bright early early mornings.
The only issue I had with these shades is that they don’t stay up when you actually want to let in some light. I solved this issue by placing Velcro squares on the bottom of the blinds and the window frame.
As a mom of two, I’ve bought a lot of stuff for my kids, but I have found very few life-changing products that cost this little money. I did get fancy blackout blinds for my first baby and in hindsight, I wish I had known that these RediShade paper blinds existed! Now, I tell all of my friends they should skip the pricey blackout curtains – and you should too.
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