No matter how small your projects, it won't be long before the bits and pieces of left over wood you 'can't throw away' make you feel like you're being crowded right out of your work space. It's fine to have a small scrap bin for off cuts, then sort through them later to decide what to keep and what to burn, but what do you do with left over lengths of cove molding, sections of hardwood dowels you may need later, or narrow pattern templates you want to keep?

Behold, the lowly 'carpet tube,' just the organizer we need. In the alleys behind many carpet stores, you'll find these thick cardboard tubes up to twelve feet long, usually free for the taking (ask!) and useful in a variety of ways. By securing a couple of 1"x2" cross members below exposed overhead rafters, you can slide the tubes side by side up out of the way to sort different sized materials.

If you cut several tubes to a similar length, they can be tied together with string like stacked pipes and then wrapped firmly with packaging tape, giving you 16 to 20 (stacked 4x4 or 5x4 high) divided storage spaces. Place this taped stack on a frame of 2x4s to keep the cardboard off the concrete floor, then you can slide the whole unit under a table or benchtop.

They can be used vertically, cut to different heights and fitted onto a wooden base: cut 3/4" or 1" thick wood discs to fit inside the tubes, glue the discs to a wooden base and set the tubes over the circular discs, gluing and screwing them to the discs for stability. This is a good arrangement for dowels of all lengths, keeping them organized and easily available. Many benchtops and tabletops have enough space beneath them for tube storage: with a stubby screwdriver, use a screw and washer to reach 6" inside the end of an 18" long cardboard tube, securing several of them to a 1"x2" cross piece of pine at each end. These in turn can be secured under a tabletop where paperwork and roll-up plans can be put away for safe keeping.

Cut to any length, they are good for storage of extra electrical cords, picture frame moldings or architectural trim pieces. Tongued edge-bandings could be made up in batches and saved for later use on raw plywood edges. Long hardboard templates for table legs could be stored separately to avoid damage in a helter-skelter stack.

The only limit to the use of these tubes is in your imagination. And besides, if you visit the dumpster behind your favorite carpet store often enough, you may be surprised what you find discarded there. I've taken home dozens of pieces of masonite, whole 12" tile samples from discontinued flooring lines, and even oak pallets left leaning against the dumpster. One woman's trash is another woman's treasure, so check it out!