12 Clever ways to reuse eggshells

If you have chickens you probably dispose of a lot of eggshells. I know I was throwing out dozens and dozens a week until I started looking for ways to reuse them. Luckily there are a lot of ways to reuse eggshells. The shell of an egg is made of calcium, so they make a great calcium substitute for animals, plants and people. They can also be used as pest repellent, cleanser and even toothpaste!

how to | reuse eggshells

In all I have a dozen different ways you can reuse those eggshells instead of throwing them out!

Cleaning:
Clean your hummingbird feeder: because of their narrow opening hummingbird feeders are difficult to clean, but when they're filled and sitting in the sunlight for days they can grow mold and lots of other bacteria. To clean, empty feeder and rinse with warm water. Add a tablespoon of crushed eggshell and fill halfway with warm water then shake vigorously for a few minutes. Rinse well.

Scrub pots and pans: mix powdered eggshell and water into a paste and use it like soft scrub cleanser.

Toilet rings: if you have lime rings in your toilet you can also use the eggshell paste to scrub the ring away. Just drain the water from the toilet and rub the paste into the stain with a rag.

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In the garden:
Calcium supplement in plants: in Feed your garden we talk about using eggshells under the roots when planting vegetable starts as a calcium supplement. You can hand crush them but grinding them to a fine powder with a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder will help them be more easily absorbed.

Add to the compost: adding eggshells to your compost adds calcium and trace minerals to everything you grow.

Seedling cups: start seedlings in eggshells and just plant the whole thing when it's ready for the garden! Just crush the eggshell slightly before planting so the roots can find their way out. You can even let the kids draw faces on them first making funny egghead planters.

Deter pests: imagine you're a small soft bodied slug. Would you want to crawl across sharp eggshells? Crush eggshells by hand and place around plants to deter slugs. Cat's don't like stepping on the sharp shell pieces either so if you have a problem with cats and slugs you can get rid of them both with some crushed eggshells!

Indoor plants: put a few eggshells in a mason jar and cover with water. Use to water houseplants for a calcium boost. Store in a cupboard or other dark area.

As a calcium supplement:
For your hens: feed crushed eggshells back to your hens instead of buying expensive oyster shell supplements. Complete instructions here

For you: soak the shells for a few seconds in warm soapy water then rinse clean. Bake at 350 till dry. Grind to a fine powder and add to smoothies or fill empty capsules. Take 1 teaspoon a day.

For your pets: as a calcium boost, a pinch of powdered eggshell can be added to your dog or cats food. 

For your teeth: I've read you can add eggshell powder to your toothpaste but I haven't tried it yet!

Here's an interesting thought: an egg shell is made of calcium carbonate, which is also the main ingredient in some antacids. So, does that mean that powdered eggshell would work for an upset stomach or heartburn? 

I don't know...but I plan on finding out!

Related reading: How raising chickens saves you money!

~L 

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16 comments:

  1. Great tips! I would love you to share this at Smell Good Sunday http://jaytriedandtrue.blogspot.com/2017/04/smell-good-sunday-15.html

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  2. Nice post! I've used egg shells as a calcium supplement and in the garden but never tried them for cleaning. Thanks for the great ideas, found your post at Awesome Life Friday.

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    1. I love that hop! Thanks for stopping by!

      Lisa

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  3. Awesome tips! I thought I was the queen of using egg shells since I receive about 17 to 22 eggs a day from my chickens. I did not know about getting rid of lime in the toilet! I guess you are never to old to learn! Shared this one!

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    1. Wow....that is a lot of eggs every day! Try the toilet ring trick, you'll be surprised how well it works!

      Lisa

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  4. Wow! I had no idea egg shells had so many uses. How helpful. Pinned.

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  5. I'm going to try your tip for using them on toilet rings - I have the hardest time getting rid of those!

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    1. I was really surprised this worked! We have well water and get really bad rings in the toilets. I figured, might as well try it and was thrilled that it worked! Give it a try.

      Lisa

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  6. Great tips! Thank you Lisa for attending the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty. I shared your post on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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  7. Thanks for sharing at the Pleasures of the NW DIY party

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  8. Oh my goodness,who knew you could use egg shells to clean a toilet. Brilliant! So glad I saw this over on our Simple Homestead Bloghop!
    Tracy Lynn

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  9. We use ours in the garden...well for compost anyway. Occasionally we'll feed them back to the chickens too. I never thought about the cleaning uses for eggshells. Thanks for sharing on the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop!

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  10. Such great tips!! You will be featured in our To grandma's house we go link party that starts tomorrow morning! Thanks for sharing with us!

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  11. I already feed the baked shells back to my hens and have used them as a slug deterrent but I will certainly use some of your other ideas now. I especially like the idea of a calcium supplement for pets as my dog is now getting on a bit so could do with this help to keep her bones strong. Thank yo so much for adding this to my #GoingGreenLinky and I hope you can join in again when the next one opens on June 5th.

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    1. Thanks! I add it to my dogs food and she's doing great even though she's getting up there in age too!(sorry I just saw this)

      Lisa

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