What do you do with paper towel rolls when you're done? The obvious thing to do is to properly dispose of it, but where is the fun in that? We looked around and found these new uses for paper towel tubes.
PLANT PROTECTOR
You can use a cardboard tube to make your outdoor plants a suit of armor -- well sort of. Cut down one side of the roll from top to bottom, and you can place the cardboard around the base of a thin plant or shrub. This way when you weed whack around it, the stem doesn't accidentally get hurt.
ART TUBE
Whether they're your children's masterpieces, or just some papers that you want to save, you can roll them loosely and insert them into a cardboard tube. It's a great way to keep them safe. Just remember to label them to make it easier to keep it organized.
GERBIL TUBE
Let's face it, it's not that fun to be a gerbil. But for some reason, gerbils enjoy cardboard tubes. They can run through them, climb on top, and when they get really bored gnaw at them. But remember, when they get a little too ragged, that mean's it's time to get rid of the tube.
CARDBOARD CANDLES
It seems that every holiday in the month of December uses candles as decorations. Unfortunately if you have little ones running around the house, it's probably not the best thing to have lit candles out. Spoonful shares a really quick and easy craft project to make fake decorative candles that look great with any cartoony holiday decorations.
PARTY FAVORS
Speaking of the holidays, you can make a festive party gift. Fill the tube with candy and wrap it with some festive wrapping paper and tie it with ribbon to make a great but inexpensive parting gift.
For more great uses for everyday items, check out our previous installments of "5 Uses For..." in our slideshow below!
5 New Uses For Everything
Have something to say? Check out HuffPost Home on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram.
**
Do you have a home story idea or tip? Email us at homesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.)