One of the saddest things about growing up (aside from student loans, doing your own dishes, and having to ingest enormous amounts of coffee to survive another day) is not spending sufficient time in blanket forts. So, while your kids are still young try to do your best and encourage them to read as much as possible. Check out this next hack, you call it a reading nook.
You don’t even have to read it (but your kids don’t have to know). All you need to do is mount a heavy-duty tension rod between the wall and a big piece of furniture. Next, drape some blankets over it. For a finishing touch, throw some pillows on the floor and put up some twinkle lights.
DIY STEM Bin
Looking to create a homemade STEM bin for your kids to play with? Here's a super simple, fun way to do it: just cut different colored pool noodles into small pieces (they should end up looking like somewhat foamy, colorful doughnuts).
Add a pile of toothpicks to the mix – and you have yourself the foamy version of building blocks. Just don't forget to warn your kids before you let them play with toothpicks. We have come to the conclusion that the soft toys sold by big brands, are just too expensive and with a little imagination, the same quality, however much cheaper equivalents can be made.
Feet Care
As a little kid, not many things beat having a super cool bunk bed, especially if you're the one to sleep on top and get to climb a kickass ladder to get there! It's almost like having a treehouse (okay, we may have gotten slightly carried away here). Anyway, this next hack will solve all of your child's problems.
Back to the matter at hand – the only problem with such a bed is having to climb the stiff ladder steps with bare feet. Enter pool noodles! Just cut pool noodle pieces down the middle, slide them around the steps of the ladder, and put an end to sore little feet.
Baby Bumpers
If you're a young parent, you probably know that annoying situation where you have to change your baby's diaper, and… well, it ain't fun. The little rugrats simply won't stop moving, bumping different body parts on the side of the changing table! Honestly, what are they feeding them at daycare?
Anyway, if you're one of these poor parents – boy, have we got something for you. Just use a pool noodle to cover the sides of the changing table, and you'll never have to worry about your baby hurting their head.
The Foam Knights
Feel like using pool noodles to help your kid become a make-believe warrior extraordinaire? Or, better yet, become one yourself? All you need are some pool noodles, PVC, and duct tape. You can make various types of swords and go wild with individual variations, shapes, and colors!
The principle is simple: use PVC of the wanted length as the sword's "backbone," then slide the pool noodle over it, cutting it to fit and leaving a few inches of exposed PVC as the handle. Once you're all done with that, just wrap your marvelous creation with a ton of duct tape. And there you have your Halloween expenses reduced by half.