Tuesday, September 7, 2010

New Uses for Egg Shells


How many times have you cracked an egg into a pan and then just thrown the shell away? You might be surprised what those eggs might be able to do! Check out this list for some ideas.

  • Use as a fertilizer for plants. Egg Shells are made up of calcium carbonate which is a natural fertilizer. Just mix in some pieces with your soil. This is great for plants like tomatoes and peppers who love calcium.
  • Drain cleaning. If you crush the eggs into tiny pieces they work really well as an abrasive to clean your drains.
  • Composting. Eggs are great for the compost heap.
  • Keeping away garden slugs. Sprinkle crushed egg shells around your plants to keep the slugs and snails away.
  • Start seedlings. Half an egg-shell is a great place to start a seedling. If the egg container is the cardboard kind it will make a great place to hold this little pot.
  • Keep away wildlife. Egg shells tossed in your shrubs will keep deer and other wildlife away.
  • Water house plants. Put the egg shells in a container of water. Cover with tight lid. After several days remove the pieces and water houseplants with the water.
  • Paint the egg shell. In order to have a full egg shell, you would need to poke a small hole with a pin in one end to allow the insides to come out. But then you can decorate them into all sorts of things. When I was in school we made them into "babies" to take care of, carrying them around, etc.
  • You can use pieces of eggshell to make mosaic art pieces.
  • Crushed eggshells and soapy water make for a nice abrasive non-toxic cleaner.
  • Dissolve an eggshell in apple cider vinegar (this takes about 2 days) and then use the mixture on irritated skin or itchy skin.
  • Crush an egg shell with a mortar and pestle and whisk it into an egg white for a nice facial. Allow it to dry before rinsing.
  • Make fuel. (ok maybe not at home, but it's an interesting read)
Do you have an interesting use for egg shells? If you do, share below, and I will add it to the list.

Join me next week for more clever tricks.

1 comment:

  1. Glue the shells to a backing such as construction paper, or cardboard. Perfect for children of any age and a great way to reuse already colored Easter egg shells.

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