What can you make out of toilet rolls?
Toilet paper is one of those everyday items we don’t think twice about. Once a roll has given up its last sheet the inner tube heads to the recycling, and another one roll takes its place.
But what if they had more to offer? A second life before the bin? After all, a roll of toilet paper is nothing more than a bit of cardboard and some tissue, both materials that can be incorporated into a whole range of everyday household crafts, practical uses, and storage solutions.
So before you throw your next one away, let’s take a look at some of the simple and satisfying ways you can give them another lease of life.
How can you reuse toilet paper rolls
Put the PVA down for now, we’ll get the grown-up stuff out of the way first. There are plenty of ways you can reuse the inner cores of toilet paper rolls without even reaching for the safety scissors.
If your home is anything like ours you’re probably being steadily overrun by a growing tide of plugs, chargers, and adapters. They feel too useful to chuck, but they’re turning your drawers into a tangled mess.
Never fear, empty toilet roll cores are on hand to solve your storage struggles. Cut down to fit your drawers, these simple cardboard tubes make great storage for random plugs and chargers. This post on Instructables gives pointers on how to tackle the project.
Or, for our green-thumbed readers, how about repurposing toilet paper tubes as temporary pots of seedlings? Cut them in half, fill them with soil, and plant your seeds. When the seedlings are ready, you can pop the whole thing into the ground - cardboard and all. Your plants will be protected from transplant shock, and never know the difference from fancier alternatives.
What crafts can be done with empty toilet paper rolls?
Right, boring stuff over, now it’s time for some fun.
If you’re like us and primary school is a distant memory, let’s take you back to the good old days. Gather some craft materials and some pint-sized helpers and together you can turn empty toilet roll tubes into a cardboard farm. The Youtube channel Welcome to Nana’s features a delightful video that’s sure to provide some inspiration.
Of course, once you’ve got out all your pencils and pens you’re going to need to put them away again. Why not do it in style with a unique holder made from, you guessed it, empty toilet roll tubes? Cover rolls that have been cut to different sizes in decorative paper or paint, then attach them to a cardboard base. Here’s a lovely spring-themed option from local (to us) blogger Jennifer’s Little World.
If you’re looking for more ideas, check out The Brilliant Recycling Project Book by Sara Stanford, which features masses of simple projects you can do with toilet paper tubes. One of the projects is a castle made from toilet roll tubes, which inspired our team member Dave this week. We mentioned to him that we needed some pictures to illustrate this blog post, and he really over-delivered...
What can you use toilet tissue for?
Okay so your drawers are organised, your plants are ready for spring, and your surfaces and clothes are covered in poster paint and PVA. You might think we’ve come to the end of the road, but toilet tissue still has a few surprises up its sleeve.
Run out of tissues? No problem. No napkins? Toilet paper isn’t the most conventional substitution but we won’t judge.
Toilet paper is also great for a quick clean around the loo, or wiping off dust and smudges. But while we’re talking about cleaning, we should note that toilet paper doesn’t work exactly the same way as kitchen roll, and can’t handle wet wiping duties in the same way.
Unlike toilet roll, kitchen roll is made with a wet strength ingredient that means it holds up under a soaking, making it tough and durable for daily wiping and kitchen tasks. Toilet roll, on the other hand, is designed to break down as rapidly as possible once it gets wet, so it’s not going to work to wipe down your surfaces. The difference between the wet strength of different types of household tissue is the main reason why you should never flush kitchen paper towels, or facial tissues, down the toilet.
Small sheets, big potential
None of this is going to save the planet, but when we see the potential in the things we usually throw away, it invites us to think again about how we can make our homes less wasteful and more creative.
We’ve made it through a whole post about toilet rolls without mentioning a toilet paper mummy, but we can’t resist throwing in a shout-out to our bamboo suppliers, who have decorated their offices with this spectacular bamboo toilet paper dress!
Still overflowing with creativity? We have a crochet pattern for a colourful, cozy, toilet paper cover in another post! And if you want to try the soft, sustainable toilet paper that’s inspired this post, step right this way…
