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You are here: Home / Naturally Frugal Living / Frugal Fun Tip: Turn a Kiddie Pool into a Sand Box with a Cover

Frugal Fun Tip: Turn a Kiddie Pool into a Sand Box with a Cover

February 24, 2011 by Alea Milham 21 Comments

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My friend, Shana, often shares pictures of her adorable little boy, Blaze. In one of those pictures I saw what I thought was a brilliant, beyond brilliant idea and asked her to share it with you, as well as a little bit about herself.

Turn a Kiddie Pool into a Sand Box with a cover

This last week here in GA we have had some beautiful weather in the 60’s and have even hit 70.  It has me really thinking of playing outside with Blaze and I wanted to tell you about one of the main things we do when warm weather hits.  All kids, or all of them I know, love to play in water and sand.  When I first went looking for pools and sand boxes for Blaze right before he turned two, I was amazed at the selection but was also not happy with the prices that were asked for them.  So I came up with my own frugal solution to the dilemma.

I just could not see spending $39 or $49 for a sandbox that was tiny and I also didn’t want to spend a ton on a kiddie pool.  I decided to one up the stores and bought 2 of the cheap hard plastic pools, one smaller than the other.  In the small one, I put 5 bags of play sand (I think that was a little too much and will go with 3 or 4 this summer) and I used the big one for water.  With small ones around you need to empty a kiddie pool every day so my idea was to use the big pool as a lid for the small pool (sandbox).  So after and long day of playing in the water and sand, we just empty the pool and turn it upside down and cover the sandbox so any critters or moisture stay out of the sand.  Works like a dream.

This will be the 3rd summer we have used the same 2 pools so I would think this has more than paid for the investment.  We bought the bigger pool at Fred’s for $10 and the smaller one at Wal-Mart for $12.  I would have got the small one at Fred’s too but they were out.  But all in all I would say $22 for 3 years so far is a very good deal.

 Shana blogs over at Blaze-in On: Life on a Wanna-Be Farm.  She’s been with her husband Chris for almost 19 years now and after being diagnosed with PCOS and 12 YEARS of trying we had our miracle boy Blaze in August of 2007.  He is my ray of sunshine and what I wanted more than anything in the world.  I love blogging, reading, crocheting and sewing. You can find her on Facebook and Pinterest.

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Jasmine Grosch says

    April 12, 2021 at 12:20 pm

    Does the larger pool ever blow away?

    Reply
  2. Beatriz says

    March 30, 2021 at 9:16 am

    Where can you get a cheap play sand ?? I’ve been looking everywhere and they are $28 just for 20 lbs

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      April 24, 2021 at 4:30 pm

      Tractor Supply

      Reply
    • Jamie says

      March 17, 2023 at 9:26 am

      Lowe’s has 50 lb bags for $6 of play sand

      Reply
  3. Kiara says

    May 9, 2020 at 7:30 am

    Great idea 😁…will 1 gallon of fake sand be enough or should I get two to fill the pool half way up. just to be on the safe side?

    Reply
  4. Araceli says

    May 2, 2020 at 2:27 pm

    Thank you so much for this great idea. I was alsol trying to buy a sand box and thought they were too expensive. I’m trying this idea this weekend for my 2 and 3 year old

    Reply
  5. helene davis says

    April 25, 2019 at 9:01 am

    done this for a couple years now glad i m not the only one that thought of this idea works great !

    Reply
  6. Paula says

    April 20, 2015 at 1:22 pm

    i love your idea and I’m trying to implement it, but what do you do about rain water sinking down the larger pool when it is turned upside down? I’m afraid the weight will eventually cause it to crack.

    Reply
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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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