With Easter around the corner, many of us will sit in our kitchens, dipping hard-boiled eggs into food colouring solutions to create a vibrant centrepiece suitable for the Springtime holiday. But what to do with those left over containers?

With a dozen convenient compartments, egg cartons are perfect for a dozen convenient household tips and techniques.

Store your sewing accessories
Store and organize small sewing doo-dads with ease, such as extra and loose buttons, safety pins, threads, bobbins, and fasteners

Never have a screw loose
For the handyman, use the compartments to tackle the small nuts and bolts, screws and washers lying around on your workbench

Capture your change
Cut off six sections of the carton and leave it on your dresser for your change, keeping two for the plethora of pennies

Get the grill going
After candles have reached their end, place the scraps in a double boiler. Melt, then fill each carton up halfway with sawdust, and top with melted wax. Let cool, then use to as a fire starter.

Start seedlings indoors
Fill each compartments with soil, and plant a few seeds in each one. Once the seeds have sprouted, cut out each compartments, and plan the seedlings outdoors, cardboard and all.

Send to a friend
The separated compartments are the perfect size to house a few cookies. Line each with tissue, then drop in a few favourites, for a crumble-free way to ship.

Perfect painter’s palette
Got a crafty kid? Use them to separate the colours with the easiest clean-up. No kids at all? Donate to a local school or teacher – they’ll love you for it.

Syanora to Styrofoam
The stiff but lightweight design of egg cartons are a great alternative to (eco-hating) packing peanuts.

Separate the scrapbooking supplies
Scrapbooking, along with cardmaking is a craft loved by many, but all of the extras can get a little pricey. Use egg cartons instead of plastic containers to separate the small stuff, like brads and loose stickers.

Justify your junk drawer
Finally sort the sucker, using a few trays to keep everything tidy, making the search a lot smoother for next time.

Create a better Christmas next year
Nothing is worse than opening your box or ornaments to see them crushed from last years careless packing. Use them to separate layers of Christmas decorations while in storage.

Tidy small toys
Are your children Lego or Polly Pocket fanatics? The small pieces add right up. Fill and stack containers on their toy shelves, while teaching them some primary organizational techniques.

Check out our post on dyeing eggs this Easter without a chemical in sight!
Explore CBS’ article on going green this Easter
Better Homes and Gardens offers tips on greening your Easter basket

Join the conversation on the Ecoki Facebook page
Follow us on Twitter
Become an Ecoki Author
How to request a hands-on review
Join the Ecoki Kiva Lending Team to help people around the world!