Make Your Great Outdoors Even Better with 6 Easy, Clever Yard Hacks

Most of the year, you practically ignore the backyard, choosing instead to focus your repair and improvement efforts inside your home. Then, ironically enough, when the calendar finally flips to summer, your shabby, neglected outdoor areas don't do much to inspire and motivate the small DIY fixes and upgrades that would make all the difference. Don't worry—you're definitely not the only one with a yard overdue for a boost. But if you really want to make progress, you need an action plan for sprucing up all the worn out, tired, unwieldy, or messy things in your yard. Your best bet? Sugru. This moldable glue is as pliable as playdough but sticks to most materials overnight, and it's completely water- and weather-proof. Though it may be relatively new on the scene, Sugru seems destined to become a toolbox staple for one simple reason—this one-of-a-kind material greatly simplifies otherwise tricky projects, making it both easy and fun to tackle items on your to-do list. Click through now to see just some of the miracles that Sugru can help you achieve!

This content has been brought to you by Sugru.

#1. Amp Up the Ambiance

1/8
#1. Amp Up the Ambiance

Outdoor lighting makes the yard more welcoming after dark, certainly. But when done right, it also goes a long way toward fostering ambience. Remember: You don't need to spend a fortune to get the desired effect. That's especially the case with low-cost string lights, which deliver such a high-impact look. Of course, string lights have been frustrating holiday decorators for decades, but when you're armed with Sugru, that frustration becomes a thing of the past. Stick the moldable glue wherever you want—say, on a brick garden wall—then fashion the putty into hooks. After 24 hours, once the moldable glue has cured into durable rubber, go ahead and hang your lights. You can trust Sugru to stay stuck in place for seasons to come. Indeed, no matter the weather, Sugru doesn't fade, crack, or peel!

sugru.com

#2. Get Cookin'

2/8
#2. Get Cookin'

Picture yourself living life to the fullest in your rejuvenated backyard. If you're like a lot of other people, your fantasy includes a hot grill wafting smoke toward a cloudless blue sky. What's not to love? Well, if there's a knock against grilling, it's that it's not always convenient. Trips back and forth to the kitchen for supplies get tiresome quickly. That's where Sugru comes in! It's heat resistant up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, which means the product virtually never melts. So, if you'd rather not hammer any nails or drive any screws, you can use the moldable glue to customize your grill station with designated hooks and holders for each of your cooking utensils. That way, everything you need to prepare a delicious meal always remains within easy arm's reach.

sugru.com

#3. Be Supportive

3/8
#3. Be Supportive

Sugru sticks to almost anything and forms strong bonds—stronger than those you'd get with adhesive strips, silicone sealants, or even contact adhesives. It's tough stuff, and its toughness doesn't diminish over time. Pull, roll, or twist the product into a bar, ball, or spiral, and Sugru keeps the shape you gave it. Given its ability to retain its form, you'd probably expect Sugru not to give or budge at all, but it does. In fact, Sugru bends and flexes like a spring, a characteristic that only extends its utility, especially in the garden. Need proof? Look no further than these colorful curls of Sugru that work in tandem with stakes to form a unique support structure that actually adapts as the plant stem thickens and grows taller. Try doing that with regular glue! 

sugru.com

#4. Fix, Don't Replace

4/8
#4. Fix, Don't Replace

Has your watering can sprung a leak? No worries! Sugru works great for repair jobs too, even outdoors. That's in part because Sugru is a moldable glue, not a liquid or spray, so it has the ability to fill chinks and gaps—the eaten-through, rusty hole in a metal watering can, for instance. Sugru also excels in such applications because, in addition to being waterproof, it also resists both extreme heat and harsh UV rays. In other words, Sugru doesn't buckle under demanding conditions. Best of all, you can conceal or call attention to your repair, depending on whether you choose a Sugru color that matches or contrasts with the object you're patching. Plus, if you don't love any of the 10 available color options, you can always mix one or more Sugru colors together for a custom hue.

sugru.com

#5. Help Yourself Out

5/8
#5. Help Yourself Out

Gardening is famously hard on the knees, but as anyone who has worked with pruners, forks, and trowels knows, gardening is no less hard on the hands. Are you nodding your head in agreement? If so, consider this: with Sugru, you can bid farewell to cramps and blisters by creating custom ergonomic grips for your garden tools. Here's how: First, roll some Sugru into a sausage shape and apply it to the underside of a tool handle. Next, with your hand covered in soapy water, grab the tool handle, holding it long enough for the moldable glue to shape itself around your fingers and palm. That's it! Unlike other glues, Sugru never gets rigid and rock hard. Rather, once cured, Sugru feels soft, flexible, and tactile, despite its extraordinary adhesive strength.

sugru.com

#6. Tread Lightly

6/8
#6. Tread Lightly

Yet another reason to love Sugru: Before it begins curing, you can manipulate it however you want. It's even possible to finely tool Sugru or pair it with another material, or both. For example, to train a vine against a building, you'd typically start by installing a trellis. But to avoid drilling into brick and mortar, this DIYer devised a clever, nonpermanent solution. First, after adhering several tabs of Sugru to the exterior of the house, he made a small pilot hole in each one. Next, he set a screw eye into each pilot hole. Finally, he threaded galvanized wire through the hooks, creating a lattice for the vine to climb. Down the line, when it comes time to move, removing Sugru requires nothing more than a sharp knife.

sugru.com

Sugru Moldable Glue

7/8
Sugru Moldable Glue

Sugru sets itself apart by combining versatility, durability, and ease of use. The latter impresses perhaps most of all, because up to now, success with adhesives has always meant reading the fine print on the product packaging, learning different application methods, and fretting over complicated specifics and tiny details. With Sugru, on the other hand, there's no hassle, no fuss. Except in a few cases (bonding to polypropylene, polyethylene, or some powder-coated metals), you know Sugru's going to stick, and given its near indestructibility, you know that it's going to last. Don't waste time researching which adhesive to use. Choose Sugru and move on to more important things—like choosing what you're going to make, fix, or improve this weekend! 

sugru.com

Get More Ideas!

8/8
Get More Ideas!

There's plenty to do with play dough for DIYers. Want more ideas? Sign up for the Sugru newsletter and enjoy 10% off your first order!

sugru.com

Don't Miss!

1pixel

If you have the money to hire a handyman for every household woe, go ahead. But if you want to hang on to your cash and exercise some self-sufficiency, check out these clever products that solve a million and one little problems around the house. Go now!