How to Make Mobile Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

My family recently thought it would be a good idea to install some outdoor speakers so we could enjoy music when we're in the pool or out on the deck, but the more we looked into it, the more we thought it would be easier, and more useful, if we pulled together a solution that would allow us to use them anywhere (well, within our Wi-fi reach, at least).

My husband came up with the idea of using Apple's Airport Express to allow us to play music from our iTunes (from the laptops, PC, iPads, or iPhones, or iPods if you have them). From there, we found some speakers that we liked, but they weren't very mobile. We thought it would be fun to be able to move them outside when we're in the pool or yard, and inside when we want to use the speakers in a room where we normally wouldn't be able to hear our computers' built-in speakers.

I came up with a solution that uses all of the above, but in a small, rolling suitcase.

What You'll Need:
-Apple Airport Express
-Power strip or surge protector
-Rolling fabric suitcase
-Computer speakers (We used the Logitech Z313 speaker system)

It was really easy to set up: all I did was connect the components and place them into the suitcase. We were lucky and had this older, small, rolling suitcase up in our closet. It's covered in fabric, so it doesn't muffle the noise noticeably, but that means it isn't waterproof, so we'll need to be extra careful to remember to roll it all in when we're finished.

My first step was to make sure everything worked: I plugged it in and tested it, and everything sounded great.

Luckily, this suitcase had a piece of fabric that connected to the bottom with velcro, and this was handy in keeping the smaller speakers from moving around.

So, I tucked the smaller speakers under the fabric and used the velcro to hold them in place.

Then, I added the other components, heaviest on the bottom. Make sure the power strip is in the ON position so you won't have to open the zipper each time you use it.

I left the plug outside the suitcase, since it will need to be plugged in each time we use it. Since this speaker set also had a volume control, I also left it hanging outside and zipped around it. However, if you choose a speaker system that doesn't have a separate volume control, you can still use iTunes to control the speaker volume.

That's it! It's now ready to roll around and be used. I'm so excited to be able to listen to some decent tunes this summer while we enjoy the warm weather.

To use them, roll into place, plug it in, then go to your iTunes console, and click the speaker option (lower right of the screen - the rectangle shape). Select "Airport Express", and the output will be redirected to your Airport Express, wherever it may be.

And here it is on our deck, beside the hot tub. It sounds great!

This solution will be so handy for our 4th of July cook out - I can't wait!