Using Your Noodle

Happy Thrifting Day Everyone!  I won't be attending one of the big group thrifting events, because my cousin is getting married today.  Still in the spirit of Thrifting Day, I thought I'd share a thrifty DIY project.

The boys have been getting good use out of the pool this year.  SB has actually been going in and swimming. 

For those of you who don't know us personally - this is huge.  SB has never been comfortable in water.  He was born with such bad eczema, that we never put him in a tub.  We'd sponge bathe him, but he was never actually in water until his skin had started to be less dry.  We still need a prescription cream, but his skin is doing much better.  This has led him to never be the fish that WD was until this year.  He's now enjoying the water, and it's just about time to pull the swim vest off of him, but for that we need to keep him in the shallow end.  The pool I grew up with at my parent's house had a buoy line between the shallow & deep ends.

I googled buoy lines, and was shocked at the prices.  $120-$150 for a couple of pool floats on a rope?  What?!

I was stumped.  Obviously the kids' safety is my utmost concern, but staying on budget is always a concern too.  That's when I came across 20 ways to use Pool Noodles over at Design Dazzle.  Toni didn't have 'make a buoy line' as one of the ideas, but as soon as I saw some of the creative projects, I immediately thought buoy line.  So I grabbed a pool noodle from the pool shed and a pair of scissors.

I threaded it on some utility line from the garage and knotted it at intervals to keep the buoys in place along the width of the pool.

And here's my line stretched out across the pool

dividing the shallow from the deep.

Hopefully SB will be swimming floatie-free soon, and the improvised buoy line can be packed away.  I had all the materials on hand, but noodles can be bought for $1 and the rope can be found at the dollar store, too.  Not a bad way to save over $100.

Thanks for stopping by and DIYing with me.  I'm linking this up to Home Stories of A to Z's Tips & Tutorials Tuesday.