A sandbox cover is essential in keeping sand dry and free from animal droppings, leaves and other undesirable items. Although there are several types of sandbox covers available, one quick, easy and reliable option is to make a basic sandbox cover using a plastic tarp.Follow these simple instructions to make a plastic cover for your square, wooden sandbox. more »

The hardest and most unpleasant part of repainting your house is getting the old paint off. There are several effective ways of taking off external paint, and which is best for your situation should be determined by what kind of siding you have and what shape the paint is in. Whatever method you choose, it's a good idea to lay plastic tarps along the ground under the wall to catch the falling paint chips and dust. more »

The best way to protect outdoor plants during the winter is to cover them with a plastic tarp or a sheet to keep them as insulated as possible. Learn other ways to preserve fragile plants with helpful information from a sustainable gardener in this free video on outdoor plants. more »

The winter season is coming and you are starting to prepare. You have sealed the windows with a protective covering, and your doors are weatherstripped. The one item you are puzzled about covering is your air conditioning unit. The AC unit consists of a condensing unit and a compressor that can be damaged if ice or other debris falls into the unit. But you don't need a special cover for your AC unit. A piece of metal and a plastic tarp will do the job. more »

Kids love paper mache crafts because they are so messy. Parents can choose to do this craft outdoors if the weather is still nice. If not, parents should lay down a piece of plastic tarp so children can have fun without worrying about getting paste furniture. A great paper mache craft to make during the Halloween season is a black cat. It isn't hard to do. Once kids learn how to make this black cat, they can also change the steps around to create just about any animal of their choice. more »

If you live in a single-family home, one of the most useful things you can use around the house is a canvas tarp. Tarps are useful when you paint or remodel, and they make good protective covers to keep something from water damage. The advantages to using canvas tarps instead of plastic ones are that they last longer and are not slippery to walk on. Sometimes when you drop paint on a plastic tarp, it gets on your shoes, and you can unwittingly track paint all over the house. more »

Go Green is a recurring theme to bring conscientiousness back to the way we interact with our environment. After years of producing excess waste, we are now learning, or re-learning, green solutions for how to use common household items in new and exciting ways. How about those blue and green tarps? We can go green by cutting shopping bags from them that we can use over and over again. They are easy to clean, durable, and fairly inexpensive to make. more »

If your monthly heating bill is out of control and you can feel cold air leaking into your home from an uninsulated exterior wall, you don't have to rip apart the room to install insulation. A improvement store can sell you cellulose insulation, which is loose dry material that resembles ground-up newspapers. They can also rent you the machine made to blow the insulation into your wall. The process is a dirty one, filling the air with insulation dust, so get a respirator, goggles and plastic tarping while you're at it. more »

Old bathtubs are generally cast iron bodies covered with a porcelain coating. The porcelain can wear, scratch and yellow over the years, leaving you with a classic old tub. Instead of replacing it, consider refinishing it. The process is basically spray painting (after etching the shine off the surface with an acid that eats at porcelain but doesn't affect plastic tarping). If you're good at other refinishing and painting projects, you can do it yourself, securing the materials and equipment at your local home improvement store or online. more »