Preppers think fast on their feet, which is important when SHTF. But not everything is doom and gloom in a prepper’s life.

You can practice your skills by thinking of unique ways to use common items, like pool noodles. (h/t to ThePrepperJournal.com)

Bumpers and padding

Pool noodles are perfect for preventing crashes, scratches and nasty bumps on your shins and toes.

• Pad bed frames so you don’t stub your toes in the middle of the night.
• Pad rocker rails, the curved parts on the bottom of a rocking chair, to prevent pinched toes or scraped walls.
• Cut out the shape of your tow hitch on a pool noodle to protect your shins.
• Protect car doors and bumpers from getting accidentally dinged against items in the garage.
• Squeeze them between furniture and walls.
• Wad them under sofas to keep small items and toys from accumulating underneath.

DIY camping toilet

With a pool noodle and a bucket, you can make a camping toilet. First, place a plastic bag over the bucket.

Next, cut sections of a pool noodle and slice it in half, then secure the pieces over the rim of the bucket. Now you can comfortably use your makeshift toilet when SHTF.

Doors stoppers

• Make door stoppers using pool noodles by securing a pair in a length of fabric. Slide the DIY door stopper under your door when you’re done. Another option is to slice down the length of a pool noodle before clamping it around the bottom of a door.
• Cut a small pool noodle section, cut a slit all the way to the middle on one side, then secure the piece on a door to keep doors from closing all the way.

Fishing accessories

• Make jugs, bobbers or buoys out of them.
• Use several inches of a pool noodle to keep hooks secured.
• Attach a pool noodle above a whole rack of poles and add slits on the material to keep your rods organized and prevent tangled lines.

Gardening with pool noodles

• Cap the ends of pool noodles then poke holes to create DIY sprinklers. You can use pool noodle sprinklers to wash your pets or to cool off in the summer.
• If you can control the water pressure, pool noodles can also be used as slow soaker hoses.
• Cut pool noodles into spirals and put them around young garden trees to protect them from animals and mowers.
• Cut a pool noodle in half and place it under your knees as a DIY cushion for when you’re gardening or doing outdoor work.

Handy pool noodle holders

Keep your paintbrushes organized by cutting a pool noodle segment that’s the same size as your container. Secure the pool noodle to the side of the container then add as many slits as you need for your brushes. The slits shouldn’t go all the way through, so cut them a half inch to an inch deep to secure your brushes and avoid splattering paint everywhere.

Short makeshift hose

• When SHTF and you need to fill a bucket but you don’t have a hose, use a pool noodle. Leave one end of the pool noodle in the bucket and secure the other end on the faucet.
• Alternatively, pool noodles can be used as makeshift extensions for pumps and other hoses that don’t reach your bucket all the way.

Pool noodles are cheap, versatile and fairly durable (depending on how you use them). Even if you’re not a seasoned DIY enthusiast, you can definitely come up with many prepping uses for pool noodles.

Sources include:

ThePrepperJournal.com

HomeTalk.com

HomeHacks.co