The Useful Way To Turn Toilet Paper Tubes Into Mini Storage Boxes

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Have you heard of "cuteness psychology"? Even if the phrase is unfamiliar to you, the phenomenon probably isn't. Lots of humans are drawn in by small things — the tinier the better. And what's better than tiny storage to reign in these tiny things? Toilet paper rolls measure in at just the right size to contain the minutia in our lives, whether it's practical or precious.

Of all the household objects that can be repurposed for extra storage and organization, toilet paper rolls probably aren't at the top of your list. But with a bit of snipping, gluing, painting, and recovering, you can make a capable container to hold small items like cotton swabs, safety pins, tiny toys, and more, as seen in a TikTok video from user @pumpkinemily. You can even turn this DIY into a functional match storage container by affixing a Circle Match Striker Sticker to either the base of the box or its lid. To make your own lidded toilet paper tube box, just set aside an empty, sanitized toilet paper roll, a pair of scissors, a glue gun, a piece of decorative paper, Mod Podge, a piece of repurposed boxboard (like a repurposed empty cereal box, for example), a paint brush, and paint in a color that complements the decorative paper you've chosen.

Before making use of your empty toilet paper rolls, they could use some attention to make them ready for repurposing. There's no need to go into grody details — objects stored in bathrooms come into contact with some pretty nasty bacteria. Before upcycling toilet paper tubes for any purpose, take some steps to kill the bacteria that you don't want mingling with whatever you're storing.

Wipe down the surfaces of your cardboard tubes — inside and out — with a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol (The quick-drying nature of this common household ingredient, which you can also use to clean your kitchen, will most likely keep the liquid from doing permanent damage to the paper.) If you're not sure about putting liquid on cardboard, you can also heat the roll in a low-temperature oven to kill germs. Since alcohol is flammable, though, make sure you don't combine these two methods.

Preheat your oven to 212 to 215 degrees Fahrenheit and "bake" the tubes for 30 minutes. Make this project more energy-efficient by treating a collection of rolls at a time rather than just one or two.

Once your tube is sterilized to the best of your ability, trace its circumference twice onto your piece of boxboard and cut both circles out. On the piece of boxboard, measure a rectangle with one side that matches the height you want your box to be. The width of this piece should be about 1 inch longer than the circumference of the toilet paper tube. Cut the toilet paper tube about 1 to 1½ inches shorter than the first tube, as TikTok user @pumpkinemily demonstrates in their video. Cut the excess off carefully, since this piece will be part of the box's lid. Edge the circular cutouts with glue. Attach a circle to one end of each cut toilet paper roll. The shorter of the two cylinders will be the box's lid.

Cut out the boxboard rectangle, then curve it into a tube that fits inside the toilet paper roll. Slide it back out of the roll and secure the overlapping edges with glue. Dab a bit of glue onto the outside of the longer section to hold it inside the toilet paper tube. Measure and cut a piece of decorative paper that matches the exterior of just the toilet paper roll, and glue it around the roll's edges. Top the paper with Mod Podge to give it more lasting power. Paint the outside of the lid. Once all of the components are dry, the box is ready to store small items both practical and adorable.