Summer is just about here and we're spending more and more time outdoors. Summers are short in Maine and we want to squeeze in every bit of outdoor time we can, even in the rain, That's why you'll see a lot of E-Z Up canopies in backyards and campsites. They're fantastic when you need a little shelter from the rain.

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Over time though, the canopy starts to stretch out some and doesn't fit as snugly over the frame. That causes water to pool up to the point where you are constantly pushing it up from underneath to dump it out, and likely getting yourself, something or someone else wet.

While helping set up my friend Gary's E-Z Up at camp this weekend with some rain headed our way on the radar, someone mentioned they saw a way to keep that water from pooling up on a stretched out canopy. You just need pool noodles.

Take four pool noodles and place them in the corners of the canopy like this.

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That lifts the canopy up enough to keep the water from collecting. Brilliant! But of course once we did this, it never rained.

That's only one of many life hacks with pool noodles. Here's 20 more.

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