It’s easy to imagine eggshells as a stumbling block between you and the liquid gold inside. And what happens when those little bits and pieces sneak into your mixing bowl unnoticed? Ugh.

Goodbye, perfectly smooth omelet! Eggshells can be difficult to peel and time-consuming to remove, making it even more difficult to get to the good stuff that lives beyond the shell.

But be prepared to be corrected. This crackly outer layer is more valuable than you realize, offering far more benefits than drawbacks. Eggshells are 93-97 percent calcium carbonate and contain two grams of calcium per shell.

Plus, they’re packed with nitrogen and phosphoric acid, armed with all the nutrients your garden needs to thrive. Here are six reasons to hold on to your eggshells instead of tossing them out.

6. Reuse To Grow Seedlings Indoors

This spring, get an indoor head start by planting little seedlings in the leftover egg cavity. Simply fill with a few tablespoons of soil and add your seeds. When the seedling has outgrown its comfy eggshell home, place the whole thing directly into the dirt outside. The shell will eventually decompose and fertilize the surrounding soil.

5. Make Compost More Nutrient-Rich

Rather than correcting acidity problems with lime in your compost (the main ingredient in lime is calcium-carbonate), use your Sunday brunch’s leftover eggshells. Loosely crush and add them straight to your compost.

4. DIY Fertilizer In The Garden

Plants love their nutrients and need calcium, phosphorus, sulfur, and potassium to grow big and healthy. Coincidentally, eggshells have all that, and they’re just sitting around waiting for a second chance! Grind them up in a blender into powder form and integrate really well into the dirt with your hands or shovel.

Watch the video below for the remaining tips that show the household advantages of keeping eggshells around after your breakfast burrito.