5 Genius DIY Ways To Use Empty Toilet Paper Rolls To Organize Your Home

When it comes to the end of a toilet roll, a lot of us are more concerned with making sure it gets replaced than thinking about what to do with the empty cardboard tube. While they are typically recyclable and compostable, it's important to find easy ways to make your home more sustainable by reusing cardboard. So why not try some fun, simple ideas to repurpose these little tubes in your home and yard? Let's reduce, reuse, and recycle those empty rolls, instead of just tossing them in the bin.

Toilet paper rolls are easy to decorate or cut to make into new shapes, and they are surprisingly durable, making them uniquely well-suited to being repurposed. Not to mention, they can help you to organize, declutter, and even beautify your home. From getting your cords and cables in order to creating a stylish makeup caddy, and even making it easier to pick out a pair of matching socks each morning, we've found five of the best ways to use empty toilet paper rolls in the home. 

Empty toilet paper rolls are a surprisingly effective and eco-friendly solution for taming unruly and unsightly cables and cords. Coil each cord you want to store, whether it's a phone charger, USB cable, or extension cord, and slide it neatly into its own roll. The cardboard keeps the cable from unwrapping while making it easy to grab when needed. To make it even easier to know where you've stored which cords, label each roll with a marker, indicating the type of cord, as well as what it's compatible with, like a television, laptop, or phone. Once all your cords are tucked away, stand the rolls upright inside a shoebox or repurposed container so you can see and access each one.

You can also use a toilet paper roll to organize earbuds, rechargeable batteries, HDMI cables, and more. Cut them in half for smaller objects like earbuds, and line them up in a box to create a homemade storage container with individual slots for each of your tiny tech accessories.

Take a look at your vanity right now. Chances are, it's a little bit chaotic, in part due to a lack of great built-in storage solutions. A lot of makeup and cosmetic tools can be awkward to store, with items like brushes getting dirty and damaged when they're stuffed into drawers, while lipstick tubes and eyeliner pencils roll all over the place, so you can never track them down. That doesn't mean you need to spend a small fortune on buying makeup organizers — just give your toilet paper rolls a little makeover, and you'll have a beautiful but functional vanity caddy. First, choose cardstock or wrapping paper to wrap the rolls in — it will look more high-end if the papers share similar colors or prints, rather than looking like a craft project. We recommend stacking tubes together to create taller containers, and trimming to make smaller ones. 

Once you've decorated your tubes to your liking, attach them to a flat platform such as a plate charger or trivet. Adding a piece of cardboard or cardstock to the bottom of the tube will provide additional stability, so we recommend taking this extra step. From there, just fill your tubes with all the bits and bobs from your cosmetic kit, and display your tools in style. 

If you're lucky enough to have a built-in wrapping paper storage station in your home, then you might not need this handy tip, but for the rest of us, empty toilet paper holders can be just the thing to get your gift wrap supplies in order. For scrap pieces of wrap, you can just tuck them inside a designated tube and pull them out as needed for scrapbooking or to make your own labels. Consider having different colored rolls for different paper occasions like birthdays, baby showers, holidays, and so on. 

Even if the wrapping paper is still on the roll, you know it can quickly come unwrapped, becoming crinkled and unusable in the process. To prevent this, just slip a toilet paper roll over the wrapping paper cylinder, which will act as a cuff and keep it from unfurling. You can also cut the cardboard tube vertically so you can place it anywhere on the wrapping paper tube. Beyond wrapping paper, you can store rolls of tape and ribbon around an empty toilet paper roll, too! Just stack them on the cylinder and store them vertically, or run a chain through the roll and hang it from a hook for easy access.

What's worse than being in a rush to get out of your home in the morning, only to find yourself having to dump out your whole sock drawer to find a matching pair? Socks, even when mated together, can be so easy to lose track of, and who likes walking out with a pair of mismatched socks? You could always buy a sock drawer organizer, but really, some cut up, empty toilet paper rolls will work just as well, and nothing beats free, right? First, cut the tubes to the same height as your sock container, whether it's a drawer or old shoe box. This will allow you to slide the drawer in or put a lid on easily, and you won't need to collect tubes individually to fill out the container.

Place the tubes in the container standing vertically into rows and columns. You don't want them packed so tight that the tubes get smashed together, but nestled closely enough that they don't fall over. Once you have the container filled out, add a pair of matching socks to each tube. Now, not only can you easily find a match when you're getting dressed, but you can easily see your whole collection so you can get a bird's eye view of your color and pattern options. 

Part of what makes gardening overwhelming is trying to keep track of all those tiny seeds once they're in the ground. That's why some prefer to use seed starters, which allows you to grow seeds in their initial stages out of the soil, as well as closely monitor any plants that don't seem to be catching on. Toilet paper holders are perfect, no-cost vessels for beginners to germinating and planting seeds. Place the rings inside a container about as tall as the roll, like an old ice cream carton for instance, or cut them down to size for shallower containers. Fill the container and each roll with your preferred potting soil mix, then make a small divot in each and place a seed or two. Follow the instructions provided on your seed packet to determine how often to water it/where to place the rings, and let the little seeds start their journey. 

If you're starting a large number of different plants from seed, you can use a biodegradable paint like clay paint to color code each tube, so you know what you planted and where you planted it until it actually sprouts and you can recognize each seedling. Or, to make seed sorting easy, you can write the plant type directly on the cardboard with a marker, as well as the date you planted the seed and any other important info about plant care. Attach those rings to a toothpick with some glue or tape, and you've got an easy label to plant alongside your seedlings.