Turn Old Toilet Paper Tubes Into A Clever Yet Simple Solution For Seed Storage

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For home gardeners, few things are more rewarding than seeing the fruits of their labor in their summer garden strewn across their kitchen island come fall. Ripe green zucchinis. Plump heirloom tomatoes. Hydrating cucumbers. There are more than a few pots of minestrone in all of that homegrown produce. Importantly, the one thing you need to do with your summer garden in fall is find a way to save all the seeds your plants are producing. Fortunately, one of the key materials you need to make seed packets is in your bathroom, usually destined for the trash can. Yup, we're talking about your empty toilet paper tubes. With a little ingenuity, they'll go from household waste to garden treasure in no time.

Just starting your seed-saving journey? Here's a beginner-friendly option for storing your harvest. It starts with a few salvaged materials — dried saved seeds and some empty toilet paper tubes. You'll also need some decorative scrapbooking paper. While it's perfectly fine to make plain seed packets from toilet paper tubes, adding embellishments — think scrapbooking notions, patterned contact paper, or stick-on gems — will help turn them into something unique. If you have a bin filled with scrap fabric and odd crafting supplies, use them for this project. On the tools side of things, you'll need a pair of scissors, a ruler, a pencil, and a Hampton Art Mini Scoring Board With Bone Folder — or a similar board for making neat folds. Finally, get some craft glue and double-sided tape to help seal the seams of your seed envelopes.

To start, you need to flatten the toilet paper tube. Press down on the tube with the bone folder until two creases start to form, one on each side. Keep running the bone folder up and down the tube until the creases are well defined. Once you've flattened the tube, use it to create a pattern for the scrapbooking paper you'll eventually use to cover it.  Next, use a pencil to draw closure flaps on each end of the toilet paper tube and cut them out. The bottom flap should be slightly shorter than the top one. Apply some glue to the bottom flap and tuck it inside the tube. You could also tape it in place. Don't add any glue to the top flap. Once you've cut both flaps and the bottom one is adhered to the tube, use your pattern to cut out enough scrapbooking paper to cover all sides of the tube, including the outside of the top flap.

After you've covered the toilet paper tube with the decorative paper, you can add your embellishments. Glue on a border of lace, ribbon, or use nature-themed  Songdao Vintage Washi Tape. Attach a few fabric flowers, cute buttons, or tiny bows. These toilet tube envelopes really are like mini scrapbooks! If vintage is your thing, skip the embellishments and embrace the raw cardboard of the toilet paper tube instead. Then decorate your new-to-you cottagecore envelopes with vintage-style ink stamps. This seven-piece Yinder Vintage Clear Acrylic Stamp Set costs about $12 and includes botanical and postage stamps. It's a look that's reminiscent of seed packets from the late 1800s.

If you know which seeds you'll store in each envelope, write the name of the plant on the front. If you're unsure, stick a MESS Reusable Dry Erase Label on each seed packet and decorate around the label. You can also buy blank seed envelope labels on Etsy or look for printable seed packet label templates online. They have space to write information such as seed type, plant variety, date saved, and notes. Other information to write on the packet might include planting times, growing conditions, spacing, and the reason you collected seeds from that specific plant.

Now all that's left to do is slip your clean, dry seeds inside their envelope and seal it up until next spring. Closing the envelopes is as easy as gluing or taping them shut. Alternatively, you could staple a long piece of twine to the top flap and wind it around the seed packet several times. Tuck the loose end under the wrapped twine to secure it. Before closing the envelope, you can put a silica gel packet inside to keep the seeds dry.

One final thought: the seeds you should be harvesting from your garden and replanting don't stop with vegetables and fruit. You can save the seeds from herbs, flowering plants, native plants, and even succulents and cacti. Give them their own little toilet paper tube envelopes, too. They'll look just as cute and ensure you have a thriving garden that's as full of basil and marigolds as it is green beans and lettuce next season — and all for free!