8 Things to Do With Eggs — Besides Eat Them

Sometimes it can feel like you never actually seem to leave the supermarket. There's always a reason to run in and get something, especially when it comes to the basic household foods. These are things like flour, sugar, and seasonings, but for most people, they also include eggs. Eggs are incorporated into almost every recipe because of the way they can bind ingredients and toast the edges of baked goods.

It's not always a reality that you're going to eat all the supplied that you buy, so instead of wasting your money, find ways to use what you have leftover! Eggs are easy to get creative with, so check out a few things you can do with eggs besides eat them. You'll have a couple of fun crafts to do, and you might even find that you want to continue doing them in the future.

1. Make Candles

Using a toothpick, you can poke a small hole in the top of the raw egg where there's the air patch. Carefully crack the shell until a third of it is gone. Gently pour out the egg and melt organic beeswax, then let the beeswax begin to form into a solid inside the shell. Put a small wick in there and you've got an all-natural, biodegradable candle.

2. Keep Bugs Away

If you're thinking about starting a garden this Spring, start saving the eggshells you'd normally throw away. By crushing them up and

scattering them around your flowerbeds or garden, you'll deter bugs that crawl, like slugs and snails. The fewer bugs you have around your plants, the better they'll thrive and bloom long after you first plant them.

3. Make Your Own Face Mask

Eggs are known for being healthy, but they're even good for you when you're not eating them. What makes up an egg can do wonders for you skin, so try making your own face mask. Eggs have an enzyme called lysozyme, which kills acne-causing bacteria, and the protein in the egg will help firm your skin. Saying goodbye to wrinkles and acne without spending any extra money? Sounds like a win!

4. Decorate Biscuits

OK, so you'll be eating the eggs eventually, but who could turn down an easy way to decorate biscuits? All you need to do is combine two egg yolks and two teaspoons of water and blend with a fork. Add some of your preferred food colouring and you'll have an edible paint you can put on baked goods. Everyone will want to stare in wonder as they cool on a baking rack because you'll look like you just graduated as a professional baker.

5. Chase Deer Away

Seriously, you can use eggs as a deer repellent. The smell of the egg will keep them away and the egg will double as a fertiliser.

6. Colour Them For Fun

Dyeing or colouring eggs is something that's traditionally done around Easter, but that doesn't mean you can't do it any other time of the year too! If you think decorated eggs will go well with your interior decorating — maybe you have a country-chic home — you can dye them and decorate them on a rainy afternoon. Arrange them as a centrepiece on a table or counter and you'll have a new decoration. Just remember to replace them when they start to smell bad.

7. Give Birds a Snack

Lots of homes have bird feeders in their gardens, because it's fun to see what kind of birds will end up visiting. Before you pour the same store-bought bird feed out for them again, think about throwing some eggshells in there too. They provide calcium for nesting females and are good overall for the digestive health of all birds. Bake at 160ºC for 20 to 30 minutes to kill any bacteria and then spread the crushed shells over the bird feed or even your pavement. They'll soon fly in to grab a quick snack!

8. Clean Dirty Pots

Sometimes you want to make something delicious for dinner that ends up getting burnt on the bottom of your pan. You can leave it to soak overnight, filling your kitchen with that horrible, sour smell of old food, or you can take care of the problem right away. Keep dried, crushed eggshells in a jar in your kitchen so you can pour a bit into any pot or pan that has burnt food on it. Scrub away with your sponge and soap and you pan will be free of dried food in no time.

It's all about learning to get creative and try new things. Those eggshells might attract new birds to your feeder or cause your plants to grow better. You never know what could happen, so try using your eggs in a new way. You might even find that how you use them will become your new routine, since eggs can do so much more than just provide a tasty meal!