If you enjoy coffee, you will probably indulge in your taste more than once every day. Many people enjoy their coffee hot or cold, and some even like it in their desserts. This leads to a never-ending supply of used coffee heading to the waste each evening.
If, like most of the country, you don’t know what to do with this avalanche of coffee grounds, you’re in the right place! Before getting rid of them, you can use them for many things, and I’ve put together a list of the more interesting ways to consider before heading to the trash.
1. Fertilizer
Coffee grounds contain minerals. These are nutrients that help plants grow. Potassium, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus are good for fertilizing the garden. Coffee grounds can also strip heavy metals from the soil.
Soil can be poor in nutrients. To help your plants take advantage of these minerals, use coffee grounds to fertilize your garden. Add it to the soil around your plants to also get useful worms.
Coffee grounds also make a great substrate. They have the perfect nutrients for mushrooms and have already been sterilized when you boil your coffee.
2. Composting
Composting preserves the minerals in coffee grounds until you need them. Compost coffee grounds during winter. Your plants are still seeds, then. They’ll need nutrients come spring. Coffee grounds will come in handy when the time is right.
Compost refers to combining kitchen waste. It includes fruit trimmings, organic waste, and paper. Coffee grounds make your compost better. They add nutrients that will benefit the soil.
3. Flea Remover
If you’re a pet owner, your buddy probably becomes infested with fleas often. Moreover, you may know that there are many chemicals you wouldn’t want around them in commercially available flea-removal products.
Like other insects, fleas hate coffee. After washing your pup, rub it with coffee grounds, rinse, and allow its fur to dry naturally. The coat will also look healthier and more glossy after the treatment.
4. Smell Neutralizer
Nitrogen is one of the minerals in coffee. When it combines with carbon, it becomes a smell neutralizer, absorbing and eliminating unpleasant odors. To prolong the time between a full fridge purge and cleaning, put a bowl of coffee grounds in the fridge.
Alternatively, use them as deodorizers in your gym bag. To use them as deodorizers, put them in an old sock. Then, add the sock to your gym bag. Grounds can also remove the smell of garlic or onion from your hands. Use them every time you chop these vegetables.
5. DIY Scrubs
Are you interested in DIY scrubs? Try making a coffee ground scrub. Coffee grounds can gently remove dead skin cells from your body. Mix with coconut oil or olive oil and apply them all over. Do this routine before your shower a few times a week.
You can also use coffee grounds alone to clean your sink or polish your cookware. They do a great job without any harmful added chemicals.
6. Simple Exfoliator
Coffee grounds aren’t useful only for making body scrubs, you can use them as a more simple exfoliator. Don’t use any oil. Combine coffee grounds and water until you have a thick paste. Rub this paste gently on your skin. It can exfoliate any area.
For sensitive skin, you can mix them with oil or honey. Use the resulting paste on your lips. The antioxidants in coffee grounds can hydrate and protect your sensitive lips.
7. Skin Treatment
If you have cellulite, like most adult women, you can also use coffee grounds as a cellulite treatment. Coffee grounds can increase blood flow into the affected areas, reducing the appearance of this unseemly condition.
Use the grounds the same way you did to exfoliate your skin. Mix them with water and rub your upper hip or any other area for 10-15 minutes once or twice a week.
8. Eye Circle Treatment
Caffeine and antioxidants are great for the sensitive skin under our eyes. They can reduce the appearance of eye circles and nourish the skin.
For this treatment, combine the grounds with a good oil, like coconut or sweet almond oil. Delicately apply this paste to the under-eye are without rubbing. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then rinse. You can do this daily or as often as you need.
9. Hair Treatment
Exfoliating the scalp is as important as exfoliating your body. It removes shampoo and conditioner buildup and dead skin cells. Grab a handful of coffee grounds and gently massage them into the scalp before you wash your hair.
If you do this a couple of times a week, caffeine may also stimulate hair growth and make your tresses healthy and shiny—all this without any harsh chemicals!
10. Pot and Pan Cleaner
You made a great meal for dinner, but now comes the hard part. Your pot has some burned, caked-on residue on the bottom. What to do? Use the coffee grounds’ coarse texture to your advantage. You can scour the pot with them.
To clean the pot, add coffee grounds and use a kitchen sponge to scrub it. Rinse the pot thoroughly after you’re done. It will remove any leftover coffee grounds.
11. Coffee Dye
Have you ever spilled coffee on yourself? If you have, you know only red wine can leave a more difficult-to-remove stain. Why not take advantage of coffee’s natural dying properties?
You can use coffee grounds to dye paper, rayon, and even cotton. They can make your clothes look distressed or vintage and disguise existing stains. If you have naturally dark hair, you can also replace your chemical-laden hair dye with coffee grounds.
12. Fireplace Cleaner
Cleaning your fireplace is messy. Ashes form clouds as you try to remove them and often land on furniture, making your cleaning more difficult.
You can use coffee grounds to weigh down ashes. When you do, the clouds will not form as easily or travel to other parts of your house. You’ll appreciate the mess-free cleaning they provide.
13. Meat Tenderizer
Coffee contains acids and enzymes that can break down muscle fibers and protein, making meat soft. Coffee grounds and salt can tenderize the meat and enhance its flavor.
You can combine coffee grounds with your favorite dry rub and use it on the meat one to two hours before cooking it. When the grounds cook along with the meat, they form a crispy crust that adds a lovely texture to your meal.
14. Furniture Repair
I love wood furniture. It is durable and beautiful. However, it scratches easily. Instead of spending money on scratch-repair products, I like to use coffee grounds to remove the scratches.
Make a thick water coffee grounds paste and rub it into the scratches with a cotton ball or swab. After 15 minutes, wipe it off using a dry cloth. The furniture will become darker, disguising the scratch. Repeat the process until you reach the desired color.
15. Pest Repellent
Often, caffeine is the reason we drink coffee. We love it, but it is deadly to insects. Because of this, coffee grounds can be used as a bug repellent. If fruit flies and snails plague your garden, you can put down coffee grounds around your backyard or garden.
Additionally, keep it in bowls around areas where you like to sit outdoors. Most insects will give it a wide berth, and you’ll get some peace when you want to relax in your garden.
16. Mosquito Repellent
Mosquitos are also insects and vulnerable to coffee. To keep them away, you can use coffee grounds outdoors in areas where you like to sit, especially late at night. Dry the grounds and put them in a clay pot. If you don’t have one, you can use tin foil.
Burn them, making sure to keep them away from flammable objects. The smoke will keep the mosquitos away regardless of how hungry they are. Win-win for you.
