It’s no doubt that if you have toddlers in your home, then you have a plethora of cute fuzzy stuffed friends too. Stuffed animals are often some of a child’s favorite toys, but I feel like they are taking over our house.
I raided my husbands shop and found some rubber hose that was the perfect solution. These adorable cubbies make a great little display for my son’s favorite stuffed friends and was totally free to create.
My husband had been using this 10 and 8 inch rubber hose for work. When he was done he left a few scrap pieces in the house because the kids thought it was fun. It somehow ended up in my sons room (I think he was rolling his cars down it). It looked really cute in his “transportation themed” room. The yellow and black was fun, but how could I incorporate it into his room? I moved it around the house for a couple of weeks until I devised a way to use it.
One night while putting my son to bed I realized that he had about 5 stuffed animals in his bed with him, and a couple that HAD to be found before he could go to bed. There I was on a scavenger hunt before we could all get to sleep. That’s when it hit me! The hose would make the perfect little home for his stuffed animals. Now my son can put his favorite friends away in the cubbies at night, and he always knows where to find them. Now we tuck them all in at bed time and he chooses just one to sleep with. It makes choosing one to sleep with quick and easy for both of us!
The hose is rubber and the yellow rings are plastic. I counted the yellow rings to make them all the same size, and cut the hose using a utility knife. I then hung them on the wall using coffee mug hooks that I had from another project. I just put little holes in the rubber to slide the hooks through to hang. This was a quick process after I got everything measured out. I put the cubbies down low enough so my son can reach by himself. The 10 inch hose is the perfect size for Build A Bear friends or average sized animals.
I also had a smaller 8 inch sized hose that I used to make cubbies that are the perfect size for little stuffies like Beanie Babies or Angry Birds. I put 2 on each side of the window in his room for his smaller friends. These were attached the exact same way as the bigger ones.
My husband tells me that the rubber hose is a specialty product made by Goodyear that you cannot buy at regular hardware store, but any kind of plastic or rubber hose could work for this project as long as it has soft, safe edges. I’m excited that I found something fun to do with the hose that would have just gotten thrown away, and my son loves his new toy storage!! I think these are as cute as they are functional. A child’s room should be filled with the things they love and use! Raid your hubbies garage or shop and see what you can come up with! Sometimes thinking outside the box gets you a cool new storage solution.
What a clever repurpose! They look so cute for storage.