Egg Shells Are Great For Gardens!

5 Ways to Use Eggshells in Your Garden

 

Photo credit: Darny / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

 

1. You can add crushed eggshells to planting holes. (Especially good for tomatoes, peppers and eggplant because they are susceptible to blossom-end rot because of calcium deficiency. Although at times, blossom-end rot is do to improper watering, putting egg shells in your garden will give them the calcium they need and nourish your soil and plants.
2. Wash out your eggshells, then use them as seed starters. After breaking your eggs and cleaning it out, place back into egg carton and fill with soil and plant your seed. When they begin to grow, just put the whole starter in the soil– eggshell and all.
3. Crushed eggshells are known to deter slugs, snails, and cutworms. Because of these pest’s soft undersides, the sharp eggshells will deter them from bothering your plants.
4. Add your eggshells to your compost. This will add calcium to your compost and will be great for your garden!
5. If you have bird feeders in your garden, put some crushed eggshells close to the feeder. Female birds, especially those about to lay eggs or have just laid eggs, require extra calcium. They will love you for it!

 

 

Added bonus–

If you boil eggs, use the water you boiled them in to water your garden. The water becomes enriched with calcium! Why waste the water when your garden would love it!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find Out If Your Eggs Are Bad

If you’re like me, I love a good deal on my groceries. Lately, eggs have been SO cheap! Of course, I stocked up. Now the time is rolling around to clean out my fridge. So, which eggs should you keep and which should you toss? We all know that sometimes the “expiration” date or “sell by” date isn’t as accurate as we once thought. Why throw out completely edible food!? I’m here to show you a little trick so that next time you see that date on the carton you can be your own judge. Waste not. Want not.

• Grab your eggs and fill a large glass bowl full of cold water.

(The temperature is important. If you try this with warm/hot water you may cook your eggs a little and we do NOT want that. Also, you need a larger bowl so you can tell the difference between if it sinks or floats. A glass bowl will help you determine this as well.)

• Grab an egg and slowly place it into the bowl of water. 

• Now is when you will determine whether to KEEP or DISCARD the egg. 

IF THE EGG SINKS — Your egg is fresh and is definitely worth keeping.

IF THE EGG SINKS BUT STANDS AT AN ANGLE (STANDS ON IT’S POINT)– Your egg is still capable of eating, but do so soon. These are especially great when baking.

IF THE EGG FLOATS— Discard. It’s NOT good for consumption.

Of course, if there is an odd color to the egg or it has a foul odor, please toss in the trash. Obviously, those are NO good.

I hope this helps! Next time be sure to test your eggs before tossing those good deals in the trash!

Cure Hair With Household Items!

Remedies For Your Hair 

• Budweiser Beer CONDITIONS hair!

Make sure it’s room temperature. Wash hair like normal, skipping the conditioner (if you use it regularly). Poor a little bit of beer at a time onto your scalp, making sure to rub it in until                  you use the whole can/bottle. Let sit for about a minute, the rinse like normal.

POOF, soft hair.

I don’t know about you, but I would have a hard time wasting beer on my hair. Soft or not, I’ll be wanting to drink it instead. Maybe I’ll use half on head and chug the rest while in the     shower. Two birds. One beer.

• Cool Whip conditions hair in FIFTEEN minutes! 

I’m not a huge Cool Whip fan. The only time I ever buy it is if I want a healthier alternative to ice cream. Yeah, you heard me right. Throw that tub in the freezer and when you’re craving some ice cream, pull it out and get ya a spoon full. You’ll thank me later.

Anyways, onto the conditioner. I’ve seen people try it both ways. On wet hair after you get out of the shower. Plop that cool whip into your hair and leave it in for 15 minutes, then go rinse. I’ve also seen some people to put it on dry hair and leave it for 15 minutes. Your choice. Find what works best for you.

• Mayonnaise will KILL lice and will also condition hair! 

Chemical Lice Treatments can be pretty pricey. To save money– try Mayonnaise first.

Believe me, I know what you’re thinking. You don’t want to “try” anything, you want those nasty creepy crawlers GONE and NOW. I don’t blame you. But, what could it hurt? Condition your hair while killing lice in the meantime? I’d give it a shot. If it doesn’t work (which tons of researchers say it does) then just jump in your car and run to the store to get the real chemicals.

But if you’re like me, I want to have the LEAST amount of chemicals in my body or on my body so next time (which I hope is NEVER) I will be trying this.

If you want the details of the process, eHow has the answers. Here is the link:  How to Get Rid of Lice with Mayonnaise.

• Raw eggs to condition hair! 
  

If you have normal hair, use the entire egg– yolk and all (egg whites only for oily hair) and apply to clean, damp hair.

Use about a 1/2 a cup, of the egg mixture of your choice, and apply it to your hair. Wait 20 minutes then rinse thoroughly.

IMPORTANT: Make sure to rinse with cold or cool water or the eggs will “cook” in your hair and it’ll be VERY difficult to rinse out.

Shampoo immediately after.

According to Women’s Day, “Whole egg and yolks-only treatments can be applied once a month; whites-only treatment can be applied every two weeks.”

Who knew all those egg fights you had as a child was benefiting your hair! We should have more egg fights. FOR THE SAKE OF OUR HAIR, of course.

Women’s Day has a lot more easy hair remedies that you can do at home:

FOR DULL HAIR:

Styling products (as well as air pollution) can leave a film that both saps moisture and dulls shine — but dairy products like sour cream and plain yogurt can help reverse this damage. “Lactic acid gently strips away dirt while the milk fat moisturizes,” says Lisa Belkin, author of “The Cosmetics Cookbook”.

TO USE: Massage 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt into damp hair and let sit for 20 minutes. Rinse with warm water, followed by cool water, then shampoo hair as you normally would. Treatment can be applied every other week.

FOR ITCHY SCALP:

To fight flakes — brought on by poor diet, stress and climate, among other factors — try a lemon juice and olive oil mixture in your hair. “The acidity in lemon juice helps rid your scalp of any loose, dry flakes of skin, while the olive oil moisturizes the [newly exposed] skin on your head,” says Cox.

TO USE: Mix 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons water, and massage into damp scalp. Let mixture sit for 20 minutes, then rinse and shampoo hair. Treatment can be applied every other week.

FOR LIMP OR FINE HAIR:

To add body to hair, reach for an unlikely beauty beverage: beer! The fermented drink contains generous supplies of yeast, which works to plump tired tresses, explains Cox.

TO USE: Mix 1/2 cup flat beer (pour beer into a container and let it sit out for a couple of hours to deplete carbonation) with 1 teaspoon light oil (sunflower or canola) and a raw egg. Apply to clean, damp hair, let sit for 15 minutes, then rinse with cool water. Or add flat beer only to a spray bottle and spritz onto dry hair. “When the liquid evaporates, the remaining protein residue (from the wheat, malt or hops) continues to strengthen and structure hair,” says Belkin. Treatments can be applied every other week.

FOR DRY OR SUN-DAMAGED HAIR:

Whatever your hair-dehydrating demon — hard water, sun overexposure, your trusty flat iron — nature’s sweetener can help. “Honey is a natural humectant, which means it attracts and locks in moisture,” says Cox.

TO USE: Massage approximately 1/2 cup honey into clean, damp hair, let sit for 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water. You can also add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil to loosen the honey for easier application. For extremely sun-damaged hair, trying mixing honey with 1 to 2 tablespoons of a protein-rich ingredient, like avocado or egg yolk, which will help replenish the keratin protein bonds that UV rays attack. Treatment can be applied once a month.

FOR OILY OR GREASY HAIR:

“Used properly, [cornmeal or cornstarch] is an inexpensive way to remove oil and grease,” says Belkin.

TO USE: Pour 1 tablespoon cornmeal or cornstarch into an empty salt or pepper shaker and sprinkle onto dry hair and scalp until you’ve used it all. After 10 minutes, use a paddle hairbrush to completely brush it out. Treatment can be applied every other day.

FOR FRIZZY HAIR:

Home beauty experts swear by avocado — and not just to repair damaged hair. Its oils (which are light and moist like our own natural skin secretions) and proteins boast the best combination of nutrients for smoothing and weighing down unruly hair, explains Cox.

TO USE: Mash up half an avocado and massage into clean, damp hair. Let sit for 15 minutes before rinsing with water. Amp up moisturizing power by combining mashed avocado with 1 to 2 tablespoons of a hydrating ingredient, like sour cream, egg yolks or mayonnaise. Treatment can be applied every two weeks.

FOR RESIDUE-RIDDEN HAIR:

“Nothing eats through product buildup like baking soda,” Cox says. Sodium bicarbonate essentially breaks down anything acidic.

TO USE: Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons baking soda with small amounts of water until a thick paste forms. Massage into damp hair and let sit for 15 minutes. Rinse with water, then shampoo hair. Treatment can be applied every two weeks.

**The Women’s Day article was written by Brynn Mannino and can be seen  here.