We need door stoppers. Rudy and I often get up or go to bed at different times. Whoever is still in bed would prefer the door almost shut. Why not all the way shut? Because cats hate closed doors. No matter which side they are on, they will scratch and scratch to get the door opened so they can have access to the other side.
Another reason we need door stoppers is because we have doors at each end of our house. These doors open up onto screened porches. When weather permits I love to open both doors. It's fabulous. When the breezes blow, it's like being in Hawaii (without the beach). If it gets too breezy, doors start slamming shut all over the house. Hence, nice heavy door stoppers are a must.
Since our floors are actually just painted plywood, our doors are an inch or so up from the floor.
I saw an ad on TV for draft stoppers with foam tubes on both sides of the door. That got me thinking. I could make a double sided draft stopper weighted with rice or beans or popcorn to serve as our door stopper.
I decided to start out by making one for our guest bedroom.
First I looked all over the internet for pictures and tips for draft stoppers. The Paper Pony had a pretty one for a window. Her post also had some good info on making them. The ones on Fabulously French are so pretty, they almost make you wish your house was drafty!
My first attempt at anything almost always leaves me with a list of things to do different next time. In this case, I underestimated how wide to make the tube. I ended up having to cut a second piece.
It's hard to tell in this picture, but the white strip at the bottom is a plastic tube filled with rice. In my internet browsing, I found a good tip about making an inside waterproof tube to put the filler in. If the tube gets damp you don't have to worry about soggy rice.Spooky was proud to pose with the finished product. He is one of the charter members of the Cats Against Closed Doors club.
I adjusted the measurements several time and decreased the space between the tubes until it fit right. I must say, it works great for our purposes. As soon as I get more rice (or popcorn or beans) I'll make some more.I suppose these are a little on the tacky side, but they certainly are useful.