There’s a preschool teacher in my Modern Guild. She collects them for the children. They can build with them or use them as wheels for cars & trucks. I’m so glad they get put to good use rather than throwing them away.

A friend of mine used to take them and made toys for her cats. They loved them. Many years ago when they were made of wood, we would put nails on the top and used them to weave long tubes with the crochet thread. We would twist them to make hot pads, or coasters. Now they are plastic and go in the recycle bin.

In my past professional life I was a preschool teacher and director. In an effort to demonstrate to parents and others of my staff ways to save money, I used all kinds recycled items for teaching. I had a bin of spools that the children would use like blocks but also to learned to sort by shape, color size and counting and so on. Eventually parents began to bring me the spools from cash registers and calculators (now that means it was a while ago, right?). Any way, you can donate them to a preschool.

Last January someone on the QB suggested saving spools to track how much thread you used. So, just for fun this year, I have saved all my spools. I dropped them into old green glass canning jars I had sitting out for display. I now have nearly four quarts of spools for 2020. They will go out to recycling in just a few weeks or to a preschool and I will start over. I not only reduced my fabric stash in 2020, I also reduced my odds and ends of thread. Yea!

I covered the center with a pretty fabric. Made a little cushion for the top. Glued piece of ribbon around. Then I bought inexpensive pretty pins, put 3 in each...gave to Ruritans Thrift store ...
Made me feel good to donate, had fun making them! Had about 20!

As a kid my dad would nail 6 small finishing nails in a spool so we could spool knit with them. Now that they are plastic I usually toss them.

I used to save them and I put them in a bag with a long shoe string. My children and grand children loved to “string” them

ummm....I save all my spools in a large plastic jar....that big ones that things like puffed cheese corn come in. Then....when I am thinking I am not getting things done.....I glance over at the jar and go "but look at all the spools I have emptied"

I throw mine. Mine are all plastic
I use the 5000Y poly spools, nothing fancy about them. Sewing pup, I like your idea, seeing something like that would make me smile.😀

Wood ones I store in an old jar sitting in my sewing room. The others I save and give to Daycares as children love to play with them.

So I just decided to start saving my empty thread spools. Why? I have no idea. Just emptied one spool. Will date it and we'll see how long I do this...lol