Did you know that two rolls of toilet paper fit perfectly into an old oatmeal canister?! Amazing!
We have a pedestal sink in our bathroom, so there is no cabinet space under the sink to store toiletries, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, or anything else. We’ve made do so far, but it’s sort of a hassle to keep our extra toilet paper in the linen closet just outside the bathroom.
Once I realized that toilet paper rolls fit into an oatmeal canister I knew that was the perfect solution to our dilemma!
It’s super simple to make your own. You need:
- an empty oatmeal canister (the 42 oz size)
- fancy paper
- mod podge/glue
Start by cleaning out the oatmeal canister with a slightly damp paper towel. The container is cardboard so you can’t totally immerse it and wash it with water, but a damp paper towel will get the oatmeal dust out of the container.
Next pull off the little plastic ring around the top rim of the canister. Hold on to it, you’ll glue it back on later. Note: If you use thick, bulky toilet paper you may notice it doesn’t quite fit into the container easily. If this is the case, cut the “lip” off of the inside of this plastic ring. The only piece of this ring you actually need is the piece that covers the top of the canister, not any of the extra plastic on the inside.
Now choose some fun paper, cut it to size, and glue it to the canister. You can wrap it over the top and bottom edges to get a fully covered look. I used mod podge to stick the paper to the canister and it worked great. Don’t forget to cover the lid too!
Once the mod podge is dry everywhere glue the plastic ring back onto the canister. The lid won’t fit on properly unless you put this piece back.
And you’re done! Now you’ve got a fancy toilet paper holder! Or a storage container for anything small. 🙂
How do you deal with a lack of storage space in your bathroom (if that’s an issue for you)? We’re always looking for better ideas for our bathroom; there is absolutely zero storage space in our bathroom and it’s KILLING me!
If you’re looking for other awesome bathroom projects, check out these posts:
- DIY Homemade Grout Cleaner
- 18 Small Bathroom Storage Ideas
- DIY Home Improvement: How To Install A Faucet
- Organize Your Bathroom: DIY Wall-Mounted Storage Jars
- Quick & Easy Shower Cleaning
- Upcycle A Pallet Into A Bath Shelf
Brianna says
Not only would this be cute & practical for the bathroom, but i’m thinking it would be a terrific, discreet and sanitary way to carry T.P. in luggage, or camping.
I ALWAYS carry a couple rolls of T.P. with me when traveling – for just in case. 😉
Brianna says
…. and if you remove the inner cardboard tube from inside the larger toilet roll you may be able to slide the roll in easier without having to cut the inner part of the plastic ring.
Jessi Wohlwend says
Smart! And great idea about traveling with a case like this; it’d be perfect for camping!
Erica says
Yay! Love it. I was in search of a toilet paper dispenser for the countertop. The wall mounted dispensers are just too much temptation for my 20 month old twin boys. I just folded the lid in half and cut a semi-circle to dispense the TP. Finally! Out of reach, super cute, and DYI with recycled materials. It just doesn’t get better than that!
Thanks a bunch
Cameron says
I did NOT know this – amazing – perfect for my tiny bathroom!
Danni Baird says
Don’t know how I missed this one because I’m always looking for space in my bathroom! Thanks for sharing it and I am so doing it!
Hilani - Handmade by Hilani says
Found you on Romance on a Dime, great idea! Totally going to do it!
Deana@CountryMommaCooks says
Featuring this(and your Blog) on CountryMommaCooks…..thanks for linkin' up…hope to see you again
this weekend : )
Betsy @ Romance on a Dime says
This is such a great idea!! Very cute. I love when others think of great ways to upcycle.
Six Sisters says
We're so glad you linked up to our "Strut Your Stuff Saturday." Thanks for coming and we hope you'll be back. -The Sisters
ASG in SLC says
Brilliant! I don't really need one, but I feel compelled to make it anyhow!
Karima says
What a great idea – I have made a toilet roll holder from a cookie jar!
Jessi W says
I totally agree! But for us it isn't about hiding the TP, it's that we have cats who really love paper, so when we left it out in a nice basket previously there were two problems: 1) the cats chewed on the rolls! and 2) the cats sat in the basket (even when we put it up on a shelf) and the TP was covered in cat hair. Ick! So this works much better for us 🙂
Jill Hayes says
This is cute and a great idea. I just don't see what the big deal is with hiding the T.P.- I actually put my T.P. in a very nice basket in the corner and stack it up, especially in our guest bath. People have actually complimented me for having an abundance and have it available and within reach. People – stop hiding the T.P.!
Six Sisters says
What a cute idea! We would love for you to come share it at our weekly link party and enter to win a $50 gift card to Mikarose Clothing!
http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/05/strut-your-stuff-saturday-link-party_11.html
Love,
The Sisters
Jessi W says
I actually saw a picture like my first one above showing that the roll fits in the canister when looking around on Pinterest. The pin didn't link back to a tutorial or anything, it was just uploaded by a user, which was a bummer, but it was a great idea so I just sort of recreated my own!
pinkoddy says
How did you find out they fitted perfectly? Great idea.
Nancy OBrien says
That was what I was thinking …. How did she know that tp would fit perfectly inside an oatmeal container? Great idea!
bonniegetchell says
This is such a cute idea! Stopping by from Under the Table and Dreaming! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
-Bonnie @ Revolutionaries
http://www.revolutionariesblog.com
Debra Kapellakis says
That is so cool!
Michelle says
I LOVE knowing this!! Thank you SOOO much for sharing!! Genius!! I am a new follower!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Michelle
http://www.delicateconstruction.com
Thrifty Miss Smith says
Wow I just seen one of those tp canister commercials and thought you could so make those… And you did!! It looks great good job!
Jessi W says
If you wear headbands or have hair accessories or something I've also seen them used as a container for hair ties etc. with the headbands wrapped around the canister itself.
Kendra @ A Proverbs 31 Wife says
That is way cute! to bad I don't have a need for one lol. I'm thinking though, surely I could come up with something I could use an up-cycled oatmeal container for 🙂
Mary says
I made a cute one several years back with Vintage at the beach old school blue scrap paper. I keep my hair ties and clips in it. It has held up pretty well for being in a bathroom.
Jessi W says
We still keep most of our extra tp in the linen closet, cuz yeah, it'd look dumb to use these canisters for all ten extra rolls we have at any given time!
This is mostly for "emergency" rolls, cuz it would suck to be stranded toilet-paperless in the bathroom one day. And then we just refill this canister from the linen closet as needed.
Katie says
Genius!
Our bathrooms have decent storage, but I have much better things to store in them than toilet paper, so it's in the linen closet outside the downstairs one (which seems to work fine, but maybe I ought to stash one under the sink just in case for guests) and just sitting next to the toilet in the upstairs one (no under-sink cabinet there).
This would be cuter than the packages they come in for the upstairs bathroom, but I need to store way more than two rolls at a time up there, or I would do nothing with my life but ferry toilet paper up and down stairs. And a whole line of them would look silly.
Still, I love making reused containers look fancy! ^_^