Lifestyle

Fun Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Salt Water Pool

Published

5 years ago

October 1, 2020

Many people have found themselves spending much more time than usual at home this year, which for pool owners, probably means more time in the pool, but fewer pool parties with friends. If you’ve already run through all your favorite ways to have fun in the pool, you may be searching for some inspiration to jazz up pool time for you and your family. Here are some fun ways you can get the most out of your salt water pool this summer.

Underwater Photos

Though underwater photos might seem like something that requires specialized equipment and a fancy technique, it’s actually possible to take really great underwater photos yourself without spending too much money. You can buy an inexpensive disposable waterproof camera for less than $15 and snap fun and silly photos of your family from the water. Or you can invest in a waterproof case for your smartphone and take pool photos that way. Whatever method you choose, you’ll have more fun than you expected setting up different shots and seeing the results.

Pool Floaties

Pool floats are not only for safety but also for fun and joy. They’ll provide a colorful and cute look to any pool and will blow away your ‘boring’ lookalike swimming days. You can find inflatables with customized designs according to each of your family member’s tastes and preferences. Imagine your swimming pool full of different shapes and sizes of floats such as hummocks, lounges, balls, tiny cup holders and many others. They can be typically of any design you think of, even with lights inside and out. Get creative and have some unique pool floaties to feel safe and joyful while swimming.

Add Lights

Though “fun in the sun” is often associated with the swimming pool, playing in the water doesn’t have to be exclusively done during the day time. Adding fun lights in or around the pool can bring a whole new element to your swimming experience. Depending on the ambiance you’re looking for, there are a lot of options for lighting up your pool at night. If you like firelight, you can use tiki torches or gas-fed fire bowls to add literal and figurative warmth to the outdoor space. If you want more of a party atmosphere, color-changing LEDs or light-up floating pool lights can add a fun vibe to the evening. Some lighting systems even allow you to play music through wireless speakers, which adds another fun element to your pool time. Adding lights is a great way to increase the time you can spend poolside this year.

Water Sports

For family pool time, there’s nothing like a little healthy competition from water sports. From familiar favorites like volleyball, poolside basketball, and even water polo, to new favorites like water pong, floating ring toss, or diving games, there’s almost no limit to the games and sports that can be played in the pool. You can buy inexpensive equipment designed specifically for use in the pool, or encourage family members to make up games of their own. Regardless of what you play, water sports will add hours of fun to your family’s summer.

Heat it Up

If you live in an area where the weather isn’t sunny and warm year-round, you might be frustrated by the short timeframe each year where it’s warm enough to use the pool. One way you can extend the time you can spend in the pool is with a pool heater. Pool heaters can warm up water on cooler days and nights, and also extend the time in which you can use the pool to earlier in the spring and later in the fall. Pool heaters are really worth the investment if you find yourself disappointed by short swimming seasons every year.

Make Cleaning Fun

Anyone who has owned a pool knows it’s not all about the fun. Pools take a lot of work to properly clean and maintain, especially chlorine pools. Since pool maintenance isn’t a negotiable aspect of pool ownership, you can try making it more fun. For example, the Jet Net remote control pool skimmer makes pool cleaning fun by attaching the skimmer net to a remote controlled boat, allowing you to race around the pool while keeping it clean.

Add Variety to Your Workout

Though a backyard pool most often brings fun to mind, you can also use it for practical purposes, such as getting in your daily workout. Working out in the pool is great for a variety of reasons. You can burn more calories in less time in the water than with traditional workouts. Exercising in the pool can also mean a complete workout that includes cardio, strength, and resistance training. Training in the water is also lower impact and puts less stress on your joints. Using your salt water pool for exercise will give you a chance to shake up your workout routine while spending even more time in the pool.

Whether you’re a longtime pool owner or just starting to think about putting in a salt water pool of your own, there’s almost no limit to the ways you can have fun with your family in the water. Whether you decide to add a heater to extend your yearly swim season, or spruce up the pool area with lights to party the night away in your pool, finding new ways to spend more time in the water is a surefire way to get the most use out of your swimming pool investment.

Thinking of putting in a new saltwater pool or converting your existing pool to saltwater? The experts at Discount Salt Pool are your saltwater pool system experts. Discount Salt Pool is America’s largest specialty provider of saltwater swimming pool equipment. Since 1997, DSP has helped hundreds of thousands of people convert their pools to salt. We offer expert advice based on decades of experience, friendly and knowledgeable customer support, and manufacturer-direct pricing on the best salt pool systems available. Order online, visit our Texas headquarters, or call us now for personalized help and recommendations on your saltwater pool needs.

Lifestyle

When Seasons Shift: Dr. Leeshe Grimes on Grief, Loneliness, and Finding Light Again

Published

2 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Michelle Langton

Some emotional storms arrive without warning. A sudden change in weather, a holiday approaching, or even a bright sunny day can stir feelings that don’t match the world outside. For many people, the hardest seasons are not defined by temperature; they are defined by what’s happening inside, where grief and loneliness often move quietly.

This is the emotional terrain where Dr. Leeshe Grimes has spent her career doing some of her most meaningful work. As a psychotherapist, registered play therapist, retired U.S. Army combat veteran, and founder of Elevated Minds in the DMV area, she understands how deeply seasonal shifts and unresolved grief can affect people. Her upcoming books explore this very space, guiding readers through the emotional weight that can appear during different times of the year.

What sets Dr. Grimes apart is her ability to see clearly what many people overlook. Seasonal depression, for example, is usually tied to winter months. But she often sees it appear during warm, bright seasons, the times when the world seems happiest. For someone already grieving or feeling disconnected, watching others travel, celebrate, or gather can create its own kind of heaviness. Sunshine doesn’t always lift the mood; sometimes it highlights what feels missing.

The same misunderstanding surrounds grief. Society often treats it as a short-term experience with predictable phases and a clean ending. But in her practice, Dr. Grimes sees how grief keeps evolving. It doesn’t disappear on a timeline. It weaves itself into routines, memories, and milestones. People learn to carry it differently, but they rarely leave it behind completely. And that’s not failure, it’s human.

Her approach to mental health centers on truth rather than pressure. She encourages clients to acknowledge the emotions they try to hide: sadness that lingers longer than expected, moments of joy that feel out of place, and the waves of loneliness that return even when life seems stable. Instead of pushing for quick recovery, she focuses on helping people understand how emotions shift and how to care for themselves through those changes.

Much of her insight comes from her military years, where she witnessed the emotional toll of loss, transition, and constant survival. She saw how people continued functioning while carrying pain that had nowhere to go. That experience shaped her belief that healing requires space, space to feel, to speak, and to move through emotions without judgment.

In her clinical work today at Elevated Minds, she encourages people to build small, steady habits that anchor them during difficult seasons. Journaling helps them recognize patterns and name what feels heavy. Community support breaks the cycle of isolation. Therapy creates a place where emotions don’t have to be minimized or explained away. And intentional routines, daily sunlight, mindful breaks, and calm evenings help rebuild emotional balance.

Her upcoming books expand on these ideas, offering practical guidance for navigating both grief and seasonal depression. She focuses on helping readers understand that healing is not about escaping pain. It’s about learning how to live with it in a healthier way, honoring memories, acknowledging loneliness, and still allowing room for moments of light.

What makes Dr. Leeshe Grimes a compelling voice in mental health is her ability to bring language to experiences that many struggle to explain. She reminds people that emotional seasons don’t always match the weather and that there is no single path through grief. But within those shifts, she believes there is always a way forward.

The seasons will continue to change. And with the right tools, compassion, and support, people can change with them, finding steadiness, softness, and light again, one step at a time.