Thomas Nelson
Thomas Nelson
January 28, 2024 ·  3 min read

Stop Throwing Away Empty Paper Towel Rolls, Here’s 11 Ways to Reuse Them Around the House

Once you finish your paper towel rolls, don’t throw them away! There are so many nifty ways you can transform a simple cardboard roll into beautiful decorative pieces and storage utilities for your home.

Organize Your Cords

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I hate it when the cords under my desk and behind my television get so messed up and tangled. Even just sitting there looking at it stresses me out. Fortunately, you can use old paper towel rolls to help organize them. Simply bundle and run the cords through the cardboard tubes. It keeps them from getting super tangled and keeps the mess out of sight.

Store Wrapping Paper

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It irritates me when I go to pull my wrapping paper out of storage only to find that the ends have gotten shredded and torn up while in storage. It happens! Chop up your used cardboard tubes and use them to help keep the paper in place and undamaged while in storage.

Decorative art mirror

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Once you’ve collected enough empty cardboard tubes, you can recycle them into gorgeous ornaments to add to a plain mirror. It’s a great way to add a rustic style to your drab wall mirror.

Christmas Ornaments

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This is a great activity to do with kids this holiday season. Transform your paper towel rolls into adorable hedgehogs.

Create storage container for toy cars

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Everyone knows how much mess kids can make with their belongings, so use empty paper towel rolls to store small toys like action figures, cars or even coloring pens and pencils. Separating and organizing your child’s’ toys with this technique will keep your playroom neat and safe. It can also prevent standing or slipping on items left on the floor.

Read Next: 9 Easy Pool Noodle Hacks Around The House

Create An Elegant Gift Container

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While many – or maybe even most – gifts are on the medium to large size, there are always a handful of items that are petite. And though you could pop them in a little bag, how cute are these homemade boxes?

Use Old Paper Towel Rolls To Start Seeds

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Cardboard is biodegradable and can be absorbed by the plants to aid its growth! Whether you want to grow your flowers or herbs, these cardboard tubes provide a natural, inexpensive alternative to store-bought plastic pots.

Desk organizer

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Searching through your office to find a pencil or a pair of scissors is time-consuming, but most office stationary can be boring or tacky. Using paper towel rolls to organize your workspace. It’s a fun and cheap alternative spending money on storage supplies. The nature-inspired pencil holder below is another great example of adding your own flare to your storage space.

Read Next: These 5 Hacks Will Lower Your Energy Bills

Organize Your Yarn

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This is great for sewers; simply wrap the yarn/string around the paper towel roll to replace spools.

Make A Bird Feeder Out Of Paper Towel Rolls

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Bird watching is a pass time of mine, but I don’t love going out and buying new suet feeders. They’re not expensive but still. I like to DIY things. By using peanut butter or coconut butter as an adhesive, stick birdfeed to a paper towel roll.

Organize Your Scarfs and Socks With Paper Towel Rolls

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How often do your socks just kind of go missing or get all mixed up? Happens to me all the time! By placing paper towel rolls in your drawers you can keep your favorite accessories compact and coordinated.

Do you think you’ll use any of these in your home?

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