If you think that hammocks are only useful for lounging in your backyard or on a camping trip, you’re not thinking outside the hammock… box – at least not enough for National Hammock Day on July 22nd! These five not-so-classic ideas will help you use your hammock (aka everyone’s favorite part about camping) to its fullest potential this summer.

Snooze under the stars

On those hot summer nights when you can’t bear to sleep inside, move your pillow outside and snuggle up in a hammock! For sleeping purposes, it helps to have a camping hammock that zips closed to keep the bugs out, but really any hammock will do. This is also a great trick when you’re camping on uneven or damp surfaces.

Build an indoor fort

Forts aren’t just for kids, especially if you use a beautifully decorated hammock in place of stacked couch cushions and pillows. Colorful hammocks make the perfect walls for an adult-sized fort while also brightening up a room. Drape a colorful hammock across a corner of a room or hang it vertically from the ceiling to create the perfect hideaway nook for reading, writing, or just relaxing.

Make a beverage boat

Whether you’re camping out in the wilderness or having a backyard get-together, you need a place to store your drinks! Instead of setting up tables, try filling a hammock with ice and using it as a crafty place to store beer, wine, and liquor. You’ll want to use a camping hammock for this rather than an open-weave rope hammock to keep the ice from falling out.

Organize your beach gear

You might have heard of using hammocks as stuffed animal storage, but why not use them for beach storage as well? String a hammock diagonally across a corner of your garage, basement, or playroom for a handy way to keep pails, shovels, beach balls, and floaties off the ground (and make your garage look like a Pinterest-lovers heaven at the same time.)

Picnic in style

Fabric hammocks also make great, colorful picnic blankets that are usually big enough to fit the whole family. As an an added bonus, they fold up easily for storage in a tote bag!