Amazing Things You Can Do With Eggs And Leftover Eggshells
When most people think of eggs, they imagine eggs hard-boiled, poached, or scrambled. They probably don't think of fertilizer, hair conditioner, or facial masks. But you can use eggs for all of these things...and more.
Loaded with protein, fatty acids, and calcium, eggs are a versatile food. They provide benefits when used topically, such as on nails, and also when they decompose in your garden. If you use these egg hacks, you'll save money and simplify your life. Check out all the amazing--and unexpected--uses for eggs and eggshells.
Make An Egg Face Mask
Because of their fatty acids, eggs can nourish the skin. Leave them on as a mask, and their proteins will tighten pores and hydrate your skin. There are several at-home remedies for egg face masks. We'll give you one with yogurt, which moisturizes the skin.
Whisk two eggs and add one teaspoon of fresh, unflavored yogurt. Mix it well, and apply the cream to your face. Wait for about 20 minutes until it's dry, and wash it off with warm water. Afterward, your skin will feel hydrated, smooth, and glowing.
Grow Plants Inside Eggshells
Because eggshells provide sufficient calcium for plant growth, they can help seedlings. Better yet, you can kickstart your garden by planting the seeds inside the eggshell. The shell acts as a tiny, nourishing bowl that'll hold your plant until it's big enough for its own pot.
Before you plant your seed, wash the shell's interior. With a needle, poke a hole in the bottom of the shell. Fill the eggshell with dirt and plant one or two seeds. Once your plant has sprouted, you can crack the bottom of the shell and place the rest in a pot.
Clean Your Drain With Eggshells
If you've ever had to dish loose eggshells out of a bowl, you know how slippery they can be. This can work to your advantage. Eggshells cling to tiny bits of food that are otherwise hard to reach. For this reason, you can use eggshells to clean your drain effectively.
Crush the eggshells before you send them down the drain, or else your sink may end up clogged instead. Grind the shells with a food processor and sift them through a strainer. Then, flush it down with boiling water as you run the garbage disposal.
Add Eggshells To Your Coffee
This may sound gross, but stay with us for a bit. Eggshells are alkaline, so they'll reduce the acidity of regular coffee. Adding them to coffee grounds mellows out the flavor, giving you a less bitter cup of joe. And no; you don't have to swallow the pointy shells.
Before you add eggshells to your coffee, wash them and let them air dry. Then crush the eggshells with your hand. For drip coffee, you can add them to the grounds and brew your coffee as normal. You can also stir them into campfire coffee by boiling loose grounds in water.
Feed Eggshells To Birds
This probably sounds counter-productive, giving your spare eggshells back to the birds who laid them. But eggshells contain calcium that birds can benefit from. Before you start, make sure your shells aren't colored. Dry them by baking them in the oven at 250°F for ten minutes. Then crush the eggshells and add them to your feeder.
Female birds tend to be calcium-deficient after laying their own eggs. They'll receive a much-needed calcium boost from this addition to their feed. If you don't own a bird feeder, you can crumble the shells and spread them on the ground, preferably outside.
Oxidize Your Jewelry With Hard-Boiled Eggs
Oxidizing is a technique that jewelers use to give sterling silver a black patina, making the metal look antique and slightly tarnished. If you like this look, you can do it yourself. Hard-boil your eggs first. In the meantime, clean your jewelry with dish soap and water.
Once your eggs finish boiling, peel them, and stuff them into a ziplock bag. Crush the eggs into small pieces. Stuff your jewelry into the bag, roll it up, and leave it for at least 15 minutes. Depending on the color you want, you can leave it in for several hours. When it's done, take the jewelry out and wash it.
Try This Homemade Hair Conditioner
Eggs contain a lot of vitamin A and fatty acids that can repair and hydrate your hair. Instead of cooking your eggs, save them for a hair mask. To start, wash your hair, and leave it wet. Crack open one egg and whisk it until it's even and smooth.
Mix one tablespoon of olive oil to the egg. If you want a sweeter fragrance, you can substitute olive oil for baby oil. Then, combine the mixture with one cup of lukewarm water. Run the conditioner through your hair, and leave it for five minutes. Then rinse your hair with cool water.
Remove The Yolk With A Water Bottle
There's a reason why egg whites cost a lot on their own. Removing egg yolks is a hassle, especially when the yolks break and you waste an egg. Instead of tossing your yolk with eggshells, you can use an empty water bottle or turkey blaster to remove the yolk cleanly.
Crack your eggs into a shallow bowl. Then lightly press an empty water bottle against the yolk. By squeezing the bottle, you will neatly suck the yolk into the container, leaving the whites behind. Refrigerate your eggs beforehand if you don't want the yolk to break easily.
Keep Your Eggshells And Throw Them In The Garden
Once you've cracked an egg open, don't throw away the shell! Throw them into your compost. Eggshells offer a lot of calcium, a nutrient that helps plants build cell walls. To help your plants grow faster, you can toss the eggshells straight into the dirt. Over time, they'll decompose naturally into the soil.
Some people believe that raw eggshells will contaminate the soil with salmonella, but this is a misconception. In reality, there isn't enough egg left in the shell to infect the soil. And if your garden is outside, the sun's heat will kill any potential bacteria. If you're concerned, however, you can rinse the shells first and bake at 200°F for 20-30 minutes before putting in compost.
Whiten Your Clothes In The Laundry
Have your white clothes grown grey or yellowish over the years? If you throw eggshells into the wash, they'll whiten your clothes naturally. Clean your eggshells, let them dry, and place them in a cheesecloth or mesh laundry bag. Then toss them into the laundry. For extra power, include some lemon slices too.
After you wash your clothes, you should notice that they appear whiter than before. Don't worry about using white or brown eggs. According to Consumer Reports, the only difference between brown and white eggs is which feed the chickens are given.
Revitalize Your Nails
Say goodbye to cracked, frail nails. Egg's fatty acids smooth cuticles, prevent cracking, and promote nail growth. If you've just removed false nails, you can use this method to repair your nails and remove all leftover stickiness.
Beat one egg with a whisk, and mix in 1/4 cup of warm milk. Like eggs, milk contains substantial amounts of calcium, which is necessary for healthy nail development. Soak your nails in the solution for about ten minutes. Afterward, you can rinse off your fingers with cold water to uncover nourished, shiny nails.
Create An Eggshell Household Cleaner
If eggshells feel sharp, that's because they're naturally abrasive. Their texture can scrub stains off of the tiniest nooks and crannies. Because of this, you can transform your leftover eggshells into a natural, non-toxic household cleaner.
After you clean and dry your eggshells, crush them in a food processor. Then add baking soda: one tablespoon of eggshells per three tablespoons of baking soda. Add some water to turn it into a paste. Once you're done, you can scrub your stove, pots, and shower walls with the solution. It'll scrub off hard-to-remove stains.
Pests, Begone!
Just as eggs can aid plant growth, they can also keep pests away from your plants. Snails, slugs, and cutworms will stay away if you mix ground eggshells into your soil. With their sharp corners, the shells will leave tiny cuts in the pests, which will cause them to dehydrate and die.
You can crush your eggshells by tossing them into a food processor for a few seconds. You can also use a mortar and pestle or rolling pin, but clean your tools thoroughly after crushing the eggshells. You don't want to cross-contaminate your food.
Replace A Bottle Brush; Clean Your Water Bottles With Eggs
If you don't own a bottle brush, then it's hard to scrub all those hard-to-reach water stains. Eggshells are abrasive, but not enough to scratch the bottle permanently. You don't even need to use a sponge; just drop some shells in and shake the bottle.
To start, wash your eggshells and crush them. Then drop the remains into the water bottle. Fill it with warm water and some dish soap, and swirl the mixture around. Or, you can screw on the cap and shake the bottle. The eggshells will scrape off the stains and leave no water marks behind.
Did You Know That You Can Flavor Hard-Boiled Eggs?
Many people don't eat hard-boiled eggs without a pinch of salt or pepper. But there's more than one way to flavor a hard-boiled egg. If you have leftover pickle juice, for instance, put it to good use. Soak your hard-boiled eggs in the juice overnight, and enjoy a salty treat in the morning.
You can also create tea-flavored eggs. Although it may sound weird, you'll end up with beautiful and unique snacks. Hard-boil your eggs, but don't remove the shell. Gently crack the shell instead. Simmer your egg in the tea of your choice for 30-40 minutes, and you're done!
For Coffee Stains, Try This
If you're a coffee drinker, you likely know the pain of coffee spills. For coffee stains on the carpet, your clothes, or even the inside of your mug, you can use eggs to clean the spot. After you clean the dirty area, use this technique to remove the stain.
Pour about two tablespoons of warm water into a bowl. Add a splash of rubbing alcohol to the water. Then, separate the egg yolk, and pour the whites into the mixture. Using a brush or a rag, rub the solution into the stained area until the spot lifts.
Shine Your Leather Shoes
Instead of spending more money on a special leather cleaner, you can polish your shoes or handbag with one egg. Egg whites remove dirt, protect leather, and provide a stunning shine. All you need is one egg and a sponge, but you can add a few drops of essential oil if you want.
To start, separate the yolk from the egg whites (you can use the water bottle method from earlier). Dip a sponge into the egg whites, and rub it onto the leather surface in circular motions. Since eggs are abrasive, they'll remove the dirt without leaving an odor.
Make Glue At Home
Did you know that you can create homemade glue? For cracked ceramic or ripped paper, you can use egg whites alone. Use a Q-tip to apply the egg whites and use them in the same way as glue. To make a thicker paste, whisk your egg whites with flour and a small amount of water.
When you're baking, you can use egg whites to create sugar glue. Whisk the whites until they're fluffy and bubbly. Add one cup of confectioner's sugar for each egg you use, and beat the solution. To test the glue, hold the bowl upside-down over a sink and see if it sticks.
Trade Microbeads For Eggshells To Exfoliate Your Face
As of 2017, microbeads were outlawed. Microbeads were often mixed into beauty products to exfoliate the skin, but the tiny bits of plastic aren't safe for the environment. Eggshells produce the same effect and decompose naturally. Mix some into a face mask to safely exfoliate your skin.
First off, dry and pulverize eggshells. Mix them with egg whites to create a simple egg face mask. For a sweeter smell and thicker consistency, add half a teaspoon of honey to the mixture. Then leave the face mask for about ten to fifteen minutes. Wash it off with warm water.
Eggs Can Repurpose Any Leftovers
As long as you have eggs available, you can make your leftover dinner even better. You can whisk eggs into a frying batter to fry leftover potatoes, chicken, or vegetables. If you have doughy leftovers like pizza, you can even bake a pizza bread pudding (although leftover pizza is great on its own).
When in doubt, you can scramble leftovers or bake them into a pie. To scramble, you only need to toss your leftovers and eggs into a pan. For a pie, pour the eggs and leftovers into a deep-dish pan, and bake it for 20 minutes.
