Our family also seem to acquire a plentiful amount of paper towel rolls too, but not as much as toilet paper tubes. Nonetheless, we are still faced with a nice pile of them occasionally and I’ve often used them for other things.
Here are a few frugal ways to use up those paper towel rolls and save a little trash!
Grocery Bags
All those plastic grocery bags that we accumulate every time we visit the grocery store or discount chain store, really add up. I hate to throw them away, so stuff them inside a paper towel roll. About 10 or so can fit comfortably in the tube and the tube itself can be placed in a drawer out of the way.
Gift Wrap
A unique and fun shape, they can hold small presents like socks or underwear, pencils, pens, crayons, etc. Anything tiny enough to fit inside, will work great! The best part is, they are bigger than toilet paper rolls so you can fit more inside and longer items!
Kids Crafts
I think this is just a known fact. Kids love to create and toilet paper roll tubes are perfect! You can make all types of cool crafts, just do a google search for paper towel roll crafts and you’ll find them!
Pet Toy
For cats (or birds) you can place a bell inside or even catnip and close up the ends with masking tape. Roll them around on the floor and let the cat go wild. Our kitten loves them!
Art Organizer
If you affix two or three together, even add a toilet paper roll or two, you can create a very modern, almost eclectic looking art organizer. You can store rulers, pens, pencils, and crayons.
Swords
Every boy dreams of owning a sword, and well, a paper towel tube is a very safe way to make a home-made sword. Not as sharp and they can decorate however they wish.
Scrunchies Holder
Those wonderful hair bands that our little girls seem to accumulate fit perfectly around a paper towel tube. Makes them easy to see and find, and less mess.
There are dozens more uses for these wonderful, free little items. Can you think of any?
Nicole Humphrey writes articles for the Scrapbooking Blog and for the Frugal Blog. She also guest blogs on a variety of topics. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.
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