Wait! Don't throw out that cardboard tube from the wrapping paper! That's valuable stuff. So is the tube that toilet tissue comes on, and the one that aluminum foil and wax paper and paper towels come on.

One of the most fun parts of being frugal (and the part that sometimes will get you the strangest looks) is finding practical and interesting ways to use things that seem to be nothing but trash. Our economy produces so many throw away things that we quit thinking of them as what they are: raw materials for our imaginations and our needs.

There was a time when people used straw from the field, wood from the forest and clay from the ground to make things. Those were materials of no consequence until someone decided to weave them or carve them or fire them. Look at the raw materials of today with the same creative attitude.

Cardboard tubes? Okay...

Make fire starters from them. If you have long ones, cut them into small log sizes and cover one end with paper, either taping or using string to tie it on. Fill it with twigs, twisted paper scraps, bits of real cotton, wood chips or whatever you can find that will burn quickly. Fill it full, then pour melted wax over it. After the wax has set, cover the top with another piece of paper.

Use them as firewood by rolling newspaper tightly and inserting it inside. This will burn a lot longer than plain paper and gives quite a bit of heat.

Cover with interesting paper and use them to corral tangled electric cords. They're especially useful for electronics and can be decorated to go with your decor or colored to blend in.

Use a small section for a form to make suet cakes for your feathered friends. Add bird seed to suet and stuff it into the cardboard roll. Thread a wire or cord to hang it with and freeze, then peel the cardboard tube off when it's time to hang the suet cake.

Remember those big hair rollers that you didn't use heat for? The kind that gave you great waves but you had to wear them until your hair dried naturally? Yep... cardboard tubes work. They help wick away moisture, so your hair dries faster, too. Just cut cardboard tubes to length and roll your hair on them, fastening with bobbi pins or clips.

Use them to contain small gifts like pens, jewelry or gloves and hair accessories. Cover the ends with paper and then wrap with gift paper.

Have you ever bought a tube mailer? Why, when you have cardboard tubes all over the place?

Cardboard tubes can be used many, many ways and this list is short and incomplete. Put on your thinking cap and go to it!