As I have said before, we live in Texas. Last year, we broke the all time record for most days over 100 degrees. It was something like 77 days or another ridiculous number close to that.
When it is that hot outside … you do not send your tiny children out. They will cook to death. So, our solution was simple:
Bring the fun of the outdoors … IN! Here’s how:
1. Locate a joist or solid beam in your home; One that has plenty of room on either side … conducive to swinging. Perhaps … a doorway or hallway. ??
2. Pick up some porch swing hangers (the hardware shown below). I’ve been able to find them at Wal-Mart all three times I’ve needed them. They cost about $6 for the two pieces.
3. Screw those puppies into the joist. The ones we used are about 6 inches long and at least 1/4” in diameter – these are some big screws!
4. Figure out how high or low your swing(s) needs to hang and make adjustments accordingly. Our children were very small when we first installed our swings, so additional chain, to lengthen the swing, was necessary.
5. If you are making a trapeze (or “monkey swing” as it is called in our house), you just want to pick up a piece of wooden rod (about 14” across), drill a hole on either end (spray paint it your favorite color), thread some bolts through it, and finish it off with a washer and nut below the rod.
Bingo. A trapeze swing for pennies!
6. You can find swings, like the green/yellow one pictured, at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Toys R Us, and many other stores for around $12-$30/each. They are worth every penny!
Once you’ve installed your indoor swing set … sit back and watch, with calm assurance, as your 3 year old pushes your 1 year old on the swing. This seriously saved my life when they were little. I never worried about them getting hurt because the swing was a foot off of the carpeted ground.
These are great in the winter time too … when it’s just too cold to go outside!
This was one purchase/install that we have never regretted. Hours and hours of enjoyment, watching our children swing and squeal in delight.
** BTW, since this was installed in a joist … my husband and I often swing with the kiddos on our lap. It can take the weight! It’s held over 300 lbs of adults and kids before and never budged.
For those of you with questions:
1. No, we have not noticed any wear pattern on our carpet under the swings. Not even a little bit.
2. When we don’t want the swings down … we just tie them up on a hook, which is mounted on the side of the wall. When we want them down again, we just unhook them and they drop right back into place.
. Since he’s a firefighter, he was worried about the white plastic that surrounds the casing that the light bulbs are screwed into. See what I am talking about in the picture below? Those white tube things? He did NOT want those sprayed with spray paint, aka flammable material. (The last thing we need is the firefighter setting his own house on fire!) So, he taped those off really good so they would not get paint on them. I must recommend that you do this. There, I recommended it.
