I spotted a milk jug shovel online. Gasp! Given that I adore all things DIY, especially if they involve my recycling bin, I had to try this.
I dug and dug (pun intended…I love puns) for the original source of this spiffy idea, and nothing came up. So, as a public service to my amazing readers, I pulled this very simple tutorial together for you, with the help of my trusty 3-year old assistant.
Thank you, little R!
Supplies
- Milk Jug
- Sharpie (or other permanent marker)
- Scissors
Draw a shovel shape onto the milk jug with the permanent marker. Use the photo (above) as a basic guide.
Cut along the marker lines (simple, right?) until the shovel comes out of the jug.
Take the shovel outside for some digging fun.
Shovel Tips
- As you might imagine, the shovel is somewhat flimsy, which makes it a better tool for dry sand. The shovel will have more trouble digging up soil and wet sand.
- Following up on the last tip, this shovel is great for emergency digging but I wouldn’t recommend this in lieu of a regular shovel since it’s not super-sturdy. Like, if you’re on vacation at the beach and you forgot a shovel at home, you might want to visit a local coffee shop and ask them for a milk jug.
- Although it’s not the greatest shovel in the world, making one of these is still a fun exercise and introduces children to recycling cast-off objects into something new.
- Try making shovels from different kinds of plastic bottles. How will they vary from one another?