15 Creative Egg Carton Storage Hacks For A More Organized Home

What's even better than keeping a bunch of egg cartons out of the landfill, you may ask? Discovering a bevy of hacks to help you organize and store clutter. We've come up with 15 different items you could store or organize inside empty egg cartons, from crafting supplies to sports equipment. Many of these tricks will work with paper pulp, polystyrene, or clear plastic cartons, so you can use whatever's left after eating all your eggs. Some of these ideas make use of the entire egg carton, while others focus solely on the egg-shaped side. Before you begin, however, we have a word of caution about which egg cartons to keep and which ones to toss.

Since safety always comes first, only reuse egg cartons that have stored clean, dry eggs. If one of the eggs was cracked or you see noticeable egg residue inside, regardless of the type of egg carton, throw it out. Why? Eggshells can indeed contaminate egg cartons with Salmonella, according to a 2021 article published in the Journal of Applied Poultry Research. If you want to be extra safe, you can clean polystyrene and plastic cartons thoroughly with soap and water. Since paper pulp is similar to cardboard, you can spray those types of cartons lightly with a disinfecting spray before handing them. Just be aware that the scent of the spray may linger for a while. Then, when you're ready, let the egg carton organizing begin.

You can store golf balls that have been thoroughly cleaned in containers. This will help you avoid losing them and also protect them from damage so they won't get beat up and/or moldy. While you can certainly spend money on specially-designed golf ball storage containers at your favorite pro shop, egg cartons offer economical alternatives that are easily stackable. Being able to write the brand or label a carton as practice balls using a marker directly on the outside of the container is also an organizational bonus. 

Whether you create your own heavenly scented bath bombs or just love to buy them from vendors at farmer's markets and craft fairs, storing these fragrant balls until you're ready to use them can be a bit challenging, as they can get damaged by moisture. Further, you may want to keep track of all the scents. So, what should you do? Store them in an egg carton. This will keep them from rolling around in bathroom drawers or cabinets, and you can write the name of each scent inside the top of the carton like the flavor guide on a box of chocolates. 

There are lots of fun things in life, but digging around a cluttered desk or drawer looking for a paperclip isn't one of them. However, messy desks don't have to be the norm if you make use of empty egg cartons as drawer organizers. You can use the entire egg carton opened up for organizing office supplies of different sizes. For instance, place your ruler, stapler, markers and pens on the open side, while erasers, paper clips, push pins, binder clips, rubber bands, and other small items can go in each of the egg-shaped cubbies. This is one egg carton hack your home office desperately needs.

Whether you're keeping fragile family heirlooms safe for future generations or just trying to preserve a passel of cute little Christmas ornaments you've collected while vacationing, egg cartons can oftentimes be perfect storage solutions for smaller decorations. If you want to get really organized, write the type of ornament on the top of the container with a marker to make finding what you're looking for while you're decorating easy. Then, when you're ready to safely stow your treasures away for another season, your designated storage container will be ready to go.  

Have you ever considered how an old egg carton could change the way you organize your fridge? It's a genius idea and so easy. Simply cut the top off a clean egg carton and place it in your refrigerator. Then place condiments that are often hard to dispense like mustard, ketchup, squeeze bottles of mayo, and thick dressings upside down in the cups with the lids on. The egg-shaped cubbies will hold the sealed bottles in place, and storing them on their caps will keep the contents ready for quick use. 

You may be thinking, who would organize jewelry in an leftover egg carton? Well, anyone who values reusing something disposable for a practical purpose rather than putting it in the landfill. Further, the little cubbies in an egg carton are perfect for storing small items like pairs of earrings that can easily be misplaced or pendants on dainty chains that you want to keep from tangling. Decorating the carton with your family to turn it into a jewelry box can also offer a teachable moment about the importance of upcycling.

Trying out a crafty new hobby? Whether you're giving embroidery a go, making wreaths, or learning to crochet, you'll probably have thread, ribbon, yarn, and other materials left over from your various projects. These items would be right at home when stored in egg carton cubbies for safekeeping until you need them again. Further, you can cut small holes out of the tops of the carton's compartments and thread the materials through the holes to make them easy to access when crafting. 

Even if it's just for sewing a button back on from time to time, most households keep basic supplies like needles and a few different colors of thread on hand. Replace enough buttons and you'll probably spring for a thimble, too. Measuring tapes, straight pins, and other basic sewing necessities tend to get accumulated over time as well. A full blown sewing kit or basket might not be necessary if you don't use these things regularly, but you can certainly justify organizing them in everything-at-your-fingertips fashion with an egg carton. 

You now know you can create a clever little sewing kit using an egg carton, but have you ever wondered what to do with all those extra buttons that come with clothing until you might need them? If you tend to also save cute buttons from ruined clothing that has to be tossed, you've probably got a few more laying around in a dish somewhere. So, yes, you'll want to save another egg carton, because they're perfect for stowing away small items like these that can easily get lost around the house. 

Do you cringe every time you open one of your cosmetics drawers? If you just nodded yes, it's time to set aside an egg carton or two and get organized. Nail polish bottles can be propped into egg cartons for grab-and-go ease. Small tubes of lip gloss or balm will also fit into the small compartments. And how great would it be to find your favorite single pan of eye shadow without having to dig through 15 others? Egg cartons may not solve all your beauty dilemmas, but they can certainly help keep small items organized.

Are small toys constantly being misplaced in your household? It's frustrating for your kids when they can't find their favorite playthings and a big waste of time for you to be looking for them constantly. To fix this problem, teach your kids the everything-in-its-place organizing lesson using leftover egg cartons. They're great for holding things like cars, building bricks, action figures, and doll accessories. And unlike all those lost toys you keep replacing, empty egg containers come cheap with something you probably purchase week after week to feed your family. 

If you frequently use acrylic paints in your home — whether for your own projects or crafts for the kiddos — you've probably discovered that you can use the egg-shaped side of an egg carton to hold different colors while you're actually working. But did you think about organizing your paint bottles with an egg carton as well? For this storage solution, simply cut the bottoms off the egg wells with a precision utility knife and insert the bottles with the caps upward. Adding a dot of paint to the top of the cap makes grabbing the color you need easy-peasy. 

We're just going to come out and say it: you should be keeping an egg carton with your tools. Even if you're really good at sorting all your miscellaneous nuts, bolts, and screws into jars by size, there are times when you just don't have a few minutes to stop and take care of organizing tasks while you're in the middle of a project. An empty egg carton on your workbench will help you store an extra washer here and an extra wire cap there until you can make time to put them away later. 

Egg cartons are great options for storing all types of small objects — even items you've collected — until you can organize them in a more orderly fashion. Once you get around to that task, separating small objects into categories is a breeze using even more egg cartons. For items like rocks and seashells that you or your kids have picked up on vacay, for instance, each unique item will have its own little cubby for safekeeping. You can also write on the egg cartons to label what's inside. 

Jewelry making is a fun pastime, but when you first start out, it's easy to accumulate so many varied components and beads that a few simple projects can turn into an organizational nightmare. And especially with kids, you may want to hold off on investing in pricey sorting and storage solutions until you know it's a hobby they're going to stick with for the long haul. Enter the empty egg carton. Using one for colored beads, another for clasps, and yet another for other components will help you get everything sorted in a jiffy.