Create Your Own Slip & Slide

Here's something I never thought I'd write a DIY post about: creating your own slip & slide! But you know what, I'm so glad I am because it was a really fun idea to try.

To create your own  slip & slide that is adult, child and dog friendly, you need the following supplies:

• Heavy Duty Tarps (preferably with grommets)
• Tent Stakes
• Dish Soap
• Water Source (We did not have a hose, so dumped buckets down the slide periodically. If this is your situation, have tubs/buckets on hand and a place to refill.)
• Garbage Sacks
• Inflatable Pool Lounger and/or Roll-Up Snow Sled (we used both)

Step 1
Position your tarps on a hill. Pour water down the tarps to test how it flows. Re-position the tarps as needed because it is very likely that wherever the water flows, the rider will flow. Make sure your tarps overlap slightly. You want the bottom part of your first tarp to slightly overlap the top part of your next tarp. This way the water and riders flow smoothly down the slide.

Step 2
Secure the tarps with small tent stakes. Be mindful of how they are positioned so they do not scrape the slip & sliders! We learned that the hard way...Place the stakes in the top two, outside grommets of each tarp, we did not stake the bottom grommets, which allowed for some movement as people were going down. 

Step 3
Cover your tarps with dish soap. You'll need to reapply the dish soap when it appears riders start to slow down. The soap will start creating a nice foam as riders continue to go down.

Step 4
Let the water flow. If you have a hose, fantastic. Let it trickled down the slide during use. If you need to use tubs/buckets like we did, have back-up tubs filled up with water and use a bucket to throw water down the slide periodically, especially just after you apply the dish soap.

Step 5
Get ready to slide! Going down sitting on a garbage sack worked really well if that's all you have. The next best option was a roll up snow sled. We squirted dish soap on the bottom of the sled and could fit up to four little ones or two adults on the sled each time. It flew down into the grass every time! The other item we used was an inflatable lounger wrapped in a garbage sack. This option also allowed for more than one person to go down at a time.

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My husband called this invention "Aunt Augusta's Hillbilly Slip n' Slide," but you can call it whatever you'd like! It's definitely a cheap, easy way to have some fun in hot temperatures, and like I said before, is fun for all ages - human or dog!