Tuesday, May 21, 2013

More Things you can do with a Five Gallon Bucket

Previously, I have posted some things Five gallon buckets can do beside hold liquids and prep food supplies.  I suggested they make planters, stilts, clothes washers, and nests in the coop.  Tonight I have a few more suggestions for buckets.

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The Bug Out Bag not sturdy enough?  These organizers are available from sporting goods stores and hardware stores, or you could make your own.  Cut a slit the size of your webbing and strap military pouches to the bucket, putting organizing pockets on the outside.   

     There are free patterns and blogs that show how to make your own organizer.  It pays to know someone who sews, or to learn to sew.

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     Girl Scouts make a craft called a sit upon.  It is a basic cushion the girls sit on in their listening and sharing circles.  This picture is a sit upon made from taping vinyl over stuffing on the lid to create a 'tuffet' and Contact paper used to decorate the bucket.  Duct tape comes in cammie colors, too.  Either a Girl craft, or a boy craft with cammie tape, this is a great way to get the kids making their own little storm supply bucket or their own disaster readiness bucket.  They can get prepared without fear, this is fun!  

     This is also a great way to teach the kids to pack their own blanket, change of clothes, spare shoes, extra socks, first aid kit, flashlight MREs, snacks and go spend the night away from home.  You can find out how much weight and how far they will carry it on an afternoon hike.  

     This bucket per child tool is also a training tool for kids with too much stuff.  Give them a small toy bucket.  The XBox, tablet, family computer are tools not toys.  Books don't go in here.  Give them a bucket and tell them more toys than this is too many and they have to pick their favorites, the ones they actually play with go in the bucket to keep.  After they have picked up their toys and decided what is important to them, you can give the rest to charity or help them throw their own little yard sale to learn how to make their own money.  I know you love your little rug rats, but, imagine their room with three buckets and no clutter!   And, as long as we are talking kid clutter, one bucket should be used for all those crayons, markers, stickers, paper and coloring books.

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     Speaking of clutter, Grown ups have their own toys!  Put them in buckets with this garage bucket organizer.  Also take a lesson from this design blog site.  You can wire or zip tie buckets together to organize that play room, even the one you call a den!




Uses for cracked or leaky buckets:  

A shower for you or the garden.

Toy and tool organizer.

Any use (above) that doesn't need to be kept air tight.

Fill with sand or cement and use as a post support, as in a flag pole support or the upright of a canopy.  Fill with cement, sink a can or pipe slightly larger than the pole all the way to the bottom.  


                                Container garden.

                                Trash can.

                                Clothes hamper.

I love buckets!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great ideas. I saw Dave Canterbury using buckets for foul nest boxes. I've used them as forms for concrete pilings to prevent soil contact with wood. Made a patio umbrella base the same way using a scrap of pvc for the hole.