The packaging that prevents your eggs from cracking open and breaking into a gooey mess can easily be recycled and reused around the house. Made of cardboard, egg cartons can be used to make a number of creative and useful things that come in handy around the house. It is really easy to work with egg cartons; just drill holes, cut out shapes, glue things and paint on them. Also, their shape with hollow cups adds to their utility value. Here are a few ideas to put egg cartons to use:
1. Use again
A functional shape with a row of hollow pouches slotted in a cardboard base makes it easy to reuse egg cartons. You wonât even have to work on them much, just daub some paint or glue colored paper on them. Turn them into an ice tray or a color palette for painting. Make taco starters as the tacos will fit right into the grooves in between the hollow compartments. Craft seed starters by boring a hole at the center and filling in soil.
2. Lights
To make lighting fixtures just cut out the cups from the carton. Make incisions or slits to design the hollow cups around the rim. You can bore holes through them and pop in wires to create either a string or cluster of redesigned cardboard cups. Now slot in light bulbs and enjoy the glow. Such lights look better in the relaxed and rustic back yards or gardens. Also, you can roll over the entire carton to make a tubular disc and then fit a bulb inside. Create a trail of tubes joined together with wires. You can also use it as a candle stand.
3. Items for your pets
Make bird feeders or plates in which you feed pets. You can also make a bed for your pets by fastening several egg cartons together. Bundle them one on top of another.
4. Paintings and wall artwork
Hang a bulletin board on the wall; you can easily pin anything on these cardboard cartons. Paint flowers, fruits, faces on the cardboard background. The cups that pop out add to the 3D effect of your artwork.
5. Furniture
You will need hordes of egg cartons for this. Just cut out different shapes like circular discs, squares, or rectangles and stack the cartons over each other. Create furniture like stools, settees, loveseats, and tables. Add cushions and pillows on top.
6. Household uses
Just tear up the cardboard and stuff it inside a package you want to ship or courier. It will protect the object from damage. Fill them inside shoes and bag stashed in your closet to retain their shapes. You can use them as a mold when you are making jelly, cookies, candy, cupcakes, etc at home.
7. Costumes
You can make eye masks, head bands, bunny ears, etc from them. Faces of clowns and animals can be carved out of the cardboard. Join many pieces together with pins or duct tape to make a dress or a super hero costume.
8. Organizers
The little pockets inside egg cartons can be used to store knick knacks that otherwise just lie around the house and get misplaced. You can make an easy desktop organizer from egg cartons and store paper clip, stapler pins, cartridges, pen caps, etc in them. You can also repaint and turn it into a desktop organizer in your kids room. Throw in the crayon tid bits, erasers, pencil sharpeners, etc in here that kids tend to look for every now and then.
9. Crafts
Cardboard is quite stiff paper and can be used for crafts. If you have artistic children then get them busy with egg cartons. Cut out the cardboard and work on it with glue, tapes, paint and paper. Cars, animals, bells, boxes, flowers, trees, etc can easily be made from egg cartons. Lego like structures of homes, bridges and towns can also be created using these.
10. Holders and containers
They can also be used to hold a number of everyday items. Coins and pennies lying around the house can be stored in these Рmake an attractive and colorful piggy bank for your kids. Hold your tiny jewels like brooches, ear studs, chains, bracelets, necklaces, and safety pins in here. Make a sewing kit by placing needles, threads, thimbles and pins in the hollow cups of egg cartons. Other things you can store in them are golf balls, elastic rubber bands, yarn, nails, bolts, Christmas or party d̩cor, etc. You can also store food items like dates, lemons, seeds, and nuts in them.
