Interesting Uses for Your Winter Sled!

What should you do with your snow sleds now that winter is over? Yes, you could just hang them back up in the garage to gather dust until the next major snowfall, or you could try one of these suggestions.

· Shelving -- A classic, wood toboggan can be turned into an interesting shelf. Take your toboggan (this is for a sled without runners – a long and flat sled with a curved up front end), and attach to it a few shelves. These shelves should be nailed in perpendicular to the seat of the sled, sticking out on the same side as the curved part sticks out. Nail them in from the backhand side. If you just leaves your shelves like this, they will not be able to support very much weight. For additional support, you can use wooden beams (connected diagonally from the front of the shelf down to the sled), or you can use the toboggans string to come down tightly through the shelves (just drill a hole on each side of the front of the shelf, or screw in an eye ring). Hang your new set of shelves up on the wall, curved end at the top. Place on it picture frames, trophies, or whatever else you want. It is a great way to recall fun winter times, all year round.

· Table – another fun piece of furniture that you can make from a wooden toboggan is a table. Pretty much, you just need to nail some legs down into it! You can turn it upside down so that the end curls towards the floor, or you can turn it right side up. Either way, it will be a fun and unique piece of furniture. A toboggan table looks great in cabins!

· Tote – during gardening season, a plastic sled without runners is a great tool for dragging your garden supplies around. You can simply place the garden tools that you need in your sled, and then drag it up the grassy hill to your gardening spot. You can also fill your sled full of weeds that need to be taken to the garbage can. It should be noted, of course, that a sled drags best over grass – you may have a bit more trouble dragging a heavy sled over concrete!

· Canvas – any wooden sled could potentially double as an interesting canvas. Paint a picture of Santa Claus on your sled, or maybe paint your favorite winter scene. The possibilities are endless! This is a great project if you have an old wooden sled that no longer works. It can be a great way to “preserve” a sled that has been passed down your family for generations. Of course, even a new sled can be painted – as long as you properly seal it, it will look great as you are sledding down the hill, too!

· Bench/couch/chair – depending on what sort of sled you have, you can turn it into a bench, a couch, or a chair. You can fill up a plastic sled with pillows and blankets for a comfortable kids chair/bed. You can attach legs and turn a sled into a bench. Or, you can saw a bench in half and then reattach the halves perpendicularly to create a chair (legs are optional). Quite obviously, there is much more carpentry involved in this project, but this is merely an idea!