10 Brilliant Household Uses For Eggshells
After you’re done enjoying your delicious eggs whether you love them scrambled, fried, or hard-boiled, don’t throw away the shells! Here’s 10 brilliant uses for eggshells so that’ll make household tasks so much easier to do!
1. Eggshells uses: quickly sharpen dull shears.
The last time you reached for your trusty kitchen shears to chop up fresh herbs for pasta sauce, you found that the blades did more crushing than slicing. No need to replace them! Instead, simply use the scissors to cut up a few eggshells. The hard, rough shells will sharpen the blades as they cut, leaving your kitchen shears as good as new again.
2. Mellow out bitter coffee.
You nabbed a new brand of coffee on sale at the grocery store, but find it’s a bit too acidic. To make it more palatable, add 1 teaspoon of clean, crushed eggshells to the coffee grounds before brewing. The alkaline shells will neutralize the acidity in the java, without compromising flavor.
3. Eggshells uses: easily eliminate stubborn stains.
You love a cup of hot tea in the afternoon but could do without the dark tint the liquid leaves behind. To eliminate the stubborn stains, simply place a few broken eggshells in the mug, fill with hot water and let sit until morning. The porous eggshells will help absorb the tea’s remaining pigments, so you can get the mug squeaky clean sans scrubbing — just one of the multiple uses for eggshells to make cleaning a breeze!
4. Improve a pup’s bone health.
Here’s a vet-approved way to ensure Rex gets all the calcium he needs. Simply bake 12 clean eggshells for 5 minutes at 300 degrees. Then let cool and grind into a powder. Every day, sprinkle 1 ⁄4 teaspoon per 15 pounds of body weight atop your dog’s meal. Shell remnants are loaded with calcium and plenty of other nutrients to keep your pup healthy and happy.
5. Eggshells uses: help heal dry, cracked cuticles.
The all-natural secret to revitalizing cuticles: Break an eggshell into several pieces and tape them over cuticles (membrane side down). Leave in place for a few minutes until the pieces start to feel dry. Membranes on the shells contain nutrients that help soften cuticles, leaving your nails beautiful.
6. Avoid a clogged kitchen sink.
Whenever you hand-wash dishes, chunks of food end up clogging the drain. To prevent this, leave a few larger eggshell pieces inside the sink strainer before you start. Food solids will be trapped by the shells, and you can just toss them when you’re done.
7. Eggshells uses: attract birds to your yard feeder.
Nothing brightens your day more than seeing happy songbirds in your yard. To entice more to visit, simply rinse empty eggshells, then sterilize them by baking on a cookie sheet in the oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes. Crumble, then add to a bird feeder or sprinkle on the ground. Birds, especially females who have recently laid eggs, will come to nibble on the pieces for a calcium boost.
8. Ensure a recipe is shell-free.
Oops! While cracking eggs for your homemade brownies, you accidentally drop a piece of the shell inside the bowl. To remove it, use the other half of the shell (ensuring it has no cracks in it) to scoop out the floating piece. The broken bit will slide right into the larger piece of shell to toss, saving you time and frustration like many of the other uses for eggshells on this list.
9. Eggshells uses: naturally soothe cranky joints.
Your daily walks have really been lifting your spirits — if only you weren’t feeling so sore and achy! To get relief, try this: Add the pieces of a broken eggshell to a glass jar, then cover with apple cider vinegar and close shut. Let sit for two days. As the vinegar dissolves the shells, their joint-healing nutrients like collagen, glucosamine and chondroitin will become infused in the liquid. Once the shells have dissolved, rub the solution onto sore spots for quick relief. Aah!
10. Get a jump-start on your seedlings.
Eggshell ‘pots’ make transferring plants easy! Ensure your spring is off to a good start by “planting” your seedlings in eggshells! Simply fill clean shells with potting soil, add seeds, and place them in egg cartons. Then set near a window. Once the seeds sprout, transfer shells to a pot or your garden. Proteins in the shells will help nourish the seedlings so they grow big and strong.
