Last summer I decided Abby needed a sandbox. Unfortunately, the standard plastic sandbox with lid is $50-100, more if you get a bigger one. I refused to pay that much. I kept my eye out at yard sales, Facebook, etc. but always seemed to be about 30 minutes too late. I asked Matt to make her one but he just didn’t have the time. I finally took matters into my own hands and decided on a sort of DIY sandbox. We’ve still using it this summer!
Materials needed:
-plastic wading pool ($10)
–small tarp ($6)
–bungee cords ($4)
-3-4 bags of sand ($9-16)
Tools:
-power drill and drill bit or hammer and nail
Directions:
1. Either drill or use the hammer and nail to make a number of holes in the bottom of the pool. **This is important!!!**
I didn’t do this the first year it was used and we had serious drainage issues. The tarp cover keeps most the rain out but it is mostly there to keep cats, etc out. Some water will get through, especially in heavy rain. You need to make drainage holes in the bottom so you do not have to deal with the standing water issue I dealt with last summer (although, that did lead to a great post and lesson in learning to say “yes” sometimes).
2. Fill with sand. I can’t remember if I used three 50lb. bags or four. It was no more than four.
3. When you want to cover the box for the night, I find putting a couple buckets in the middle help to shed rain. I use a light duty 6×9 foot tarp and two bungee cords to hold the tarp in place. It can take some trial and error to figure out what grommets on the tarp to use to get the tarp secure. I suggest you mark the holes you use some way to make it easier. The tarp part is the only thing I don’t like about this sandbox. A hard lid would be so much easier. But, as I already discovered, getting a hard lidded sandbox is far more money than I can afford to spend.
How clever! I bet your daughter loves her wading pool sandbox just as much as she’d love an expensive one.
Heather H recently posted…ABC Cards: Montessori Inspired Multisensory Learning
She knows no different. As long as there is some way to play in the sand, she is happy. 🙂
What a great idea! My little guy got a sand table for his birthday, which just has water in it right now because sand grosses me out. I can deal with keeping cats and mammals out; it’s the spiders that totally skeeve me. BUT if I did ever get him an actual sandbox for sand, I’m definitely going this route. And then figuring out how to spider-proof it!
Kelsey Ferguson recently posted…Let’s Stop Comparing and Start Cheering Each Other On
Cinnamon keeps ants out of sand. I don’t know if it would do the same for spiders. Peppermint oil is a great spider repellent but I’m not sure if I’d want that around a little one.
I remember when my daughter was young thinking I wished she had a sand box. I was always worried about animals using it! This is a great idea. Thanks for linking this to the This is How We Roll link party! I look forward to seeing you next week. I am now following your social media!
We live near woods and there are a lot of stray/feral cats so a cover is a must!
LOVE this… my daughter loves sand so we will have to give this a try!
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Love this frugal sand box – much cheaper than the store-bought ones!
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What a fun and frugal idea! My kids would have loved this when they were younger!