Loryn: One of my first ideas for the spools was a towel holder that would take advantage of the spinning spools to make getting towels on and off easier.

I used a piece of scrap wood left over from the new wood trim I put in my laundry room. My first thought was to use some wire from the garage to hold the spools, but it sagged too much, so I bought a 1/4″ dowel. I had also planned to use two more pieces of scrap wood to hold the wire at each end, but it just looked too big and clunky. I didn’t have any hooks or strapping that would work, and I didn’t want to make another run to the hardware store.

The wire was still sitting on my work table, so I tried bending it into a hook. Doubled, it’s strong enough to hold the dowel full of spools. The same screw that mounts the towel holder to the wall also holds the wire hook on. Simple and efficient! I can see a lot of uses for hooks like that, so expect to see more down the road!

The trim wood I used is poplar, which would normally be painted. I wiped everything down with a little boiled linseed oil to make it look a little more finished. I really like the look of linseed oil, but make sure that you spread your rags out flat to dry in the sun before throwing them away. Linseed oil can spontaneously combust if you wad up soaked rags and toss them in the trash.

And here it is in my bathroom! I hung it next to the sink to hold hand towels. The wire isn’t heavy enough to hold wet bath towels, but it’s perfect for this use.