When you know how to recycle it makes it easy to recycle from every room of the house.
My dad is the king of recycling. He sorts by material and then color, and then keeps it all organized in a crazy sorting system that I have yet to figure out. Now, Basil (when your dad’s name is something awesome/unusual like “Basil,” you are obligated to reference him by his first name) is also quite thrifty so he uses the money he earns from recycling to pay for his haircuts.
This is a partnered post with MomTrends and Johnson & Johnson.
I got lots from my dad, and of those things is the appreciation for recycling. I don’t take mine to the recycling plant, but my recycling bin fills way faster than the regular garbage. Unfortunately, only 7 out of 10 Americans say they recycle consistently. And even those of us who do recycle, may be forgetting a great opportunity to reduce our waste. Many, myself included, are forgetting to recycle from the smallest room of the house: the bathroom.
Johnson & Johnson has created a campaign to help us remember to recycle items from every room of the house, including the bathroom. The Care to Recycle Tumblr site highlights all of the bathroom items that are recyclable and allows you access which items are recyclable in your geographical area. Providing simple information about what we can recycle makes it even easier to ensure we’re saving items from every room of the house from entering landfills.
Did you know that each year Americans throw away enough 15 ounce shampoo bottles to fill 1,164 football fields? That’s more than 18,000 tons of plastic ending up in landfills.
To ensure a third generation is doing their part, I have trained my children to sort their waste materials in the fashion of their grandfather. They are prolific artists and are constantly turning trash into treasure. One way they help reduce their waste is using items from around the house, including the bathroom, and turning them into art.
We have gathered some fun art projects that are all made from one of the bathroom’s most commonly trashed recyclable: the toilet paper roll.
- Flying Bats Craft
- Pumpkin Halloween Craft
- Toilet Paper Roll Jack-O-Lanterns
- Colorful Ghouls
- Halloween Treat Holders
- Toilet Roll Bats
- Toilet Paper Roll Treat Holder
- Toilet Roll Candle Holder
- Toilet Roll Frankenstein
In addition to the empty toilet paper rolls, you can also find some fun crafts using empty shampoo and conditioner bottles, lotion bottles and more! To learn more about Care to Recycle and for a list of Johnson & Johnson consumer products that are recyclable, please visit caretorecycle.com!
Do you recycle your bathroom items?
Jennifer @TheRebelChick says
These all look so fun! I especially love the little treat pockets!
Melanie says
They are adorable, aren’t they!?!?! I love that they dress up the candy without too much work.
Nichol says
OOh lots of fun crafts here. I recycle as much as I can unfortunately toilet paper and paper towel rolls aren’t one of them. I guess I need to change!
Melanie says
I thought I did a pretty good job, but there’s a ton I hadn’t thought about recycling.
Toni says
I love making crafts out of toilet paper rolls. I am going to bookmark the site. Thanks!
Melanie says
Happy crafting!
Penelope (NYC Blogger) says
I like the whole recycling aspect, it saves money and encourages creativity and decreases waste.
Melanie says
Kids are the best at this! They see the potential in everything. Love that!
Kelsey Apley says
Love the Bat Upcycle from the toilet paper rolls! Thanks for sharing all these crafts :-)!
Melanie says
Enjoy!
Angela says
There are some very neat ideas here. Now I want to collect all of my toilet paper holders so I can make a few of these!
Melanie says
It won’t take long to collect them. 🙂
Sheri says
Great ideas! I always throw those rolls out but I will make a point of recycling or reusing them now!
Melanie says
Even if you don’t use them yourself, a local school or daycare would probably love to have a collection.
Amanda says
thanks so much for including my colorful ghouls!
Melanie says
They are adorable!!!
Paula @ Frosted Fingers says
I need to make those little treat holders. We definitely go through enough toilet paper to get enough rolls for Halloween!
Melanie says
I’m thinking about making one for each member of the family for a special Halloween morning surprise. Candy from sun-up to sun-down!
Anne - Mommy Has to Work says
On occasion, but recently my daughter has taken it upon herself to take the paper rolls and make her own craft!
Melanie says
She sounds resourceful. Must get it from her mama!
Mellisa says
What a great idea! Especially since my kids go through TONS of TP. I love the candy holder idea.
Melanie says
I was wondering if this would encourage my kiddos to start using the toilet paper up faster, just so they could get to the rolls. That’d defeat the purpose of recycling, for sure!
Marcie W. says
These are so cute and fairly easy considering how much toilet paper we go through as a family of 5!
Colleen says
Its amazing what you can do with a toilet paper roll LOL. I love the little pocket like crafts how cute.
Kathleen says
Those treat holders with the witches’ boots are absolutely adorable.
Melanie says
I know! Such wonderful ideas out there.
Vanessa: thequeenofswag says
Those crafts are amazing. Who knew you could do so much with a toilet paper roll.
Melanie says
I marvel at people’s creativity! One mama’s trash is another one’s treasure. 🙂
Ty @ Mama of 3 Munchkins says
We actually just made some toilet paper candle holders for the porch (they aren’t a cute as the one’s in the photo), but I think they’re a nice addition to the other Halloween decor. I’m definitely going to have to try some of the other ones listed.
Melanie says
We have a combination of store-bought and homemade decorations up. The kids loooove to see their handiwork displayed. Hope you guys have fun crafting!
Leilani says
My daughter just made a spy glass out of our toilet paper roll this afternoon. She said she’s a pirate!
Melanie says
Haha love it! Perfect DIY Halloween costume!
Melanie says
Those crafts are adorable and so creative! I love upcycling and reusing things I would normally throw away. 🙂
Stefanie says
Other than putting empty shampoo bottles in the recycle bin, I don’t recycle bathroom items
Shell Feis says
Those are SUCH cute ideas! I don’t recycle my bathroom stuff, but that’s mostly because I didn’t know I could!
Melanie says
I hope you can check out the Care to Recycle page. There’s some great info there. 🙂
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes says
I don’t recycle the shampoo bottles but I do recycle the toilet paper rolls for craft projects … so I LOVING the ones you highlighted. The jack o lantern ones are so cute!
And, if my Dad’s first name was Basil, I’d reference him by first name too!
Robin Gagnon {Mom Foodie} says
These are cute ideas and those dang rolls seem to go down mighty fast, may as well make use of them.
Lolo says
It is amazing all the cute crafts toilet paper rolls can create.
HilLesha says
All are wonderful ideas, especially the one in the last picture!
Mickey says
Great ideas! We always save our rolls for crafts, so we have some and can try these soon. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Tiff @ Babes and Kids says
I need to start hanging on to the toilet paper rolls. Fun crafts!
courtney says
Wow such clever reuses! I especially love the candle holder 🙂
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
I remember doing TP roll crafts in school, but I’d forgotten all about it. These are all super cute ideas!
Jenn says
Love the candy holders. That’s smart for any holiday!
Donna says
I always save toilet paper rolls because you can make so many Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas crafts with them! 🙂
Melanie says
The possibilities are endless! Any favorite crafts for other holidays? I’ve got a stockpile now.
Tammy says
I love the detail of some of those crafts, especially the candy holders. It’s crazy to think of how much we waste that we can reuse!
Melanie says
Crafters are destined to be hoarders. You can reuse everything!
Lynsey @MoscatoMom says
Those are awesome. And my grandpa was “thrifty” as well… I learned a lot from him 🙂