Using Old Egg Cartons in the Garage and the Garden

Egg cartons are a bulky item that can take up a lot of room in the trash can, but they don't have to be sent to a landfill. Reusing egg cartons is a smart way to make sure that the energy used to produce them isn't wasted, and it will save money as well. There are many uses for old egg cartons in the garage and garden.

One of the first uses for old egg cartons that comes to my mind is reusing them for new eggs. We keep a small flock of chickens, and, though you can buy blank egg cartons at feed stores, we find that reusing egg cartons from other people and having our egg customers save and return the cartons is a convenient, eco-friendly way of packaging our hens' new eggs. If you buy farm eggs, ask the seller if they would like you to return the cartons. And if you have a number of cartons from store bought eggs, check around for a free range flock in your neighborhood and ask the farmer if you can trade the cartons for a sample dozen. You'll love the taste of fresh eggs from happy, well cared for chickens.

A very important thing to remember is that egg cartons should never be kept in the refrigerator with the empty cracked eggs in them. Even if you plan to recycle the cartons, instead of reuse them, this is a dangerous practice because eggshells are permeable, and the bacteria that can breed inside the old shells might make its way into the whole eggs next to them.

Egg cartons are good to use in the workshop and garage as well, since they will sit flat, and help to hold and divide small items. I like to use them to hold all the small pegs and screws, fasteners and bolts that you have to sort and count when you're assembling a new piece of furniture. They are also good to have around when working on cars, since bolts and nuts can't roll away when they're safely inside an old egg carton.

Filled with potting soil, the small cups of a reused egg carton are ideal for starting small seedlings. If the easily degradable cardboard kinds are used, the cups can be planted into the ground or larger pot, right along with the seedlings. The lid can be kept closed until the seeds sprout, then when they need more light and air circulation, it can be cut right off, making the "flats" of seedling very easy to line up and transport.

When planting seeds, egg cartons are a nice way to count and divide them ahead of time, before my hands are wet and dirty. This way, the seed packets don't get soiled, and the seeds that are leftover stay dry and safe, to be planted in a few weeks or saved for the next season.

I've found that it is always worth saving old eggs cartons in order to reuse them. They are useful in many ways outdoors in the garden and in our garage as well.