We may float with a pool noodle in the water occasionally, but kids are far more creative — they use them to squirt each other, build shapes, and stage mock sword fights. If we can take a cue, these long, hollow tubes of polystyrene foam can have a life beyond the pool. Stock up when the price is right (figure on $3 a pop, and even less during summer closeout sales) and put a pool noodle or two to work around the house, even if you don’t have a pool. Do you have more uses for them? Tell us in the comments.
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Make a Homemade Sprinkler
A cheap pool noodle and some duct tape make an excellent stand-in for toy-store sprinklers. Poke holes in a row down one side of a pool noodle. Cover one end with a plastic bag and tape it shut to contain the water, and set a garden hose into the other end. (If necessary, use duct tape to secure it in place and minimize leaking.) Turn on the water and watch it spray.
Related: Sprinklers and Other Water Toys to Turn Your Backyard Into a Water Park
Build a Wicket
Wickets (small gates or barriers) can be used for soccer practice, lawn croquet, and an obstacle course. Push garden stakes (cut in half) or chopsticks into the ground about 2 to 3 feet apart and affix each end of a pool noodle on a stake. Adjust the wicket height (the arc of the pool noodle) by narrowing or widening the distance between the stakes.
Related: Classic (and Free) Backyard Games Due for a Comeback This Summer
Create a Boot Stand
Forget about those pricey stands that keep boots upright in the back of the closet all summer. Use a cheap pool noodle instead and save big time. One noodle does the trick for several pairs of boots: Just cut into pieces that match the height of each pair and stuff inside.
Related: Where to Buy Shoes and Boots That Are Made in America
Make a Toddler Bed Rail
Lay a pool noodle at the outer edge of the mattress pad on a child’s bed. Cover with a fitted sheet and tuck in tightly to keep the noodle from shifting and young children from falling off the side. Then make the bed as you normally would. This is a cheap alternative to a toddler bed and a solution for those nights when you’re on the road with a toddler in tow.
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Design a Race Course
Add excitement to kids’ marble races with a homemade course. Cut a pool noodle in half the long way and line up side by side. Use toothpicks to hold the halves together at the top and bottom. Prop one end higher than the other and place the lower end in a shoebox to catch the marbles. Make start and finish lines with toothpicks and colored paper.
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Make a Headboard
Buy multiple pool noodles and attach to the wall at a height and color order that suits your fancy. The website Design Dazzle suggested this arrangement for a child’s room, but it also works for the bedroom in a summer home.
Related: DIY Projects That Are Easier Than You Think
Make a Shopping Cart Cover
Does your toddler always try to put his or her mouth on the metal bar of the shopping cart? Rather than buying a pricey cover, take a cheap hollow pool noodle and cut it to the width of a cart, then lengthwise on one side only. Store it in the car for shopping excursions.
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Fashion Decorative Props
Here’s an idea for a Halloween decoration we found at Halloween Forum. Gather up a giant pot, cauldron, or oversized planter; a pool noodle; craft foam; thrift store shoes and leggings; bamboo sticks; and an old broom end. Place the craft foam at the bottom of the pot. Cut the pool noodle in half and cover each with the leggings and a shoe. Stick a bamboo rod down the middle of each pool noodle half and stick it into the craft foam with the broom end. Voila: a crashed witch — for less than $10. You can turn pool noodles into a scarecrow, alien, or any other prop your imagination conjures up.
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Make a Wreath
One of the beauties of a pool noodle is its flexibility. Bend it in a circle, slice one end at an angle and the other end at the opposite angle. Match up the ends and secure with clear packing or duct tape. You now have the perfect circle for starting a wreath — loads more cheaply than a foam form from a crafts store.
Make Porch Decorations
A giant candy cane porch decoration is easy, cheap, and perfect for the holiday season. Buy a red pool noodle, bend the top in half to make a candy cane shape and secure with fishing wire. Take a thick white ribbon and secure one end inside the pool noodle with a straight pin, then wind it in a spiral up the length of the noodle. Flesh out the theme with a string of snowflakes. All you need are blue pool noodles in star or flower shapes, fishing wire, beads, and a needle. String the noodles and beads together with the fishing wire and needle. Leave a loop of wire at the top and secure the garlands to your door with a pushpin.
