The Genius Pool Noodle Hack That'll Bring A Gorgeous Glow To Your Backyard

With summer rapidly approaching, pool noodles are coming back to stores, and you can use them to make unique outdoor lighting for your patio or yard. By cutting up various foam noodles, you can create a colorful display of string lights that would be perfect for transforming your backyard into a party space for a summer bash or get-together by the pool. For this hack, all you will need is several colors of pool noodles, some rope, and some outdoor string lights.

This is a great project for repurposing white string lights from the holidays, such as icicle lights, or you can find some outdoor white Christmas lights for about $10 on Amazon. If you're looking for a more sophisticated aesthetic, you might consider the string of patio light bulbs on Amazon for around $22. For those who plan to leave the lights up for a while, it's important to ensure they're made for outdoor use. If you're looking for a way to make this pool noodle hack more budget friendly, Dollar Tree has the colorful foam noodles for $1.25 apiece. If you're looking for different colors, Walmart also has pool noodles for about $1. 

To start, you'll want to ascertain how long you need your string lighting to be. This will help you figure out how much rope to use and how many pool noodles to cut. You'll also want to be sure that your rope will withstand staying outdoors. On Amazon, you can find 100 feet of nylon paracord for approximately $6. Alternatively, Home Depot has 50 feet of polypropylene rope for just under $5. Your rope will be the base of your decoration, supporting your pool noodles and lights and allowing you to tie up your project when you're finished.

Once you've gathered your supplies, it's time to create this gorgeous light-up lawn decor. Start by laying out your pool noodles and using a box cutter or sharp, serrated knife to slice off circles. These could be several inches thick, or you could make them thinner for a different look. Depending on how you want your decor to look, you might cut more or fewer slices from your pool noodles. The more slices you add to your decoration, the closer together your pool noodle pieces will be. If you want the colorful aspect of this piece to be more spaced out, try starting with fewer noodles (you can always cut up and add more if you change your mind later). Alternatively, you might use enough foam discs to totally hide the rope. 

Now, string your pool noodles onto the rope, paying attention to the colors. You may want to space out the foam discs so that the colors are in a repeating pattern, or randomly place them onto the rope. Alternatively, you might choose to use only one or two colors of noodle to match the vibe of your outdoor space. Play around with how the different colors look before tying off the ends of your rope. Consider trying to tie slip knots into the ends of your rope to create loops you can use to easily hang your decoration. Finally, twist your outdoor lights around your rope and pool noodles. If you used fewer noodles, you may be able to wrap the lights in a way that helps to space them out and keeps them from sliding together.

You can repeat this process with several lengths of rope and lights if you wish. These decorative lights can then be hung from a fence to frame your backyard, or just around your patio. You may also consider hanging the lights from an outdoor tent that's set up for a party or from your porch. This beautiful DIY will light up your backyard patio for summer nights while also adding a pop of color to your outdoor space. Be careful not to leave the lights on for long periods of time, as they could heat up and melt your pool noodles.