For those of us that make a pot of coffee in the morning, having leftover, cold coffee and wet used grounds is a daily occurrence. Most of the time we’ll toss out the grounds and pour the cold coffee down the sink – but as it turns out, we should be saving them for these incredible uses.
These 16 fantastic ideas for reusing coffee grounds will save you time, money, and make your life a whole lot easier.
We knew coffee was amazing – but these awesome uses take the wonder-bean to the next level!
1. Carrots absolutely love coffee grounds
When you’re planting carrot seeds, mix in some coffee grounds as well; you’ll be blown away by the quality and quantity of your harvest.
2. Clean greasy, dirty pots and pans
Scrub your grease-laden pots and pans with used coffee grounds before you rinse with soap and water. The grounds will help absorb grease and grime that would normally get all over your sponge and hands.
3. Remove strong odors from hands
When cooking using potent ingredients like garlic or onions, they can leave their strong smelling odors on your hands – sometimes soap can’t even get rid of the smell. Just rub your hands with some used coffee grounds and you’ll be odor-free!
4. Keep your fireplace clean
Cold weather months are the perfect time to have a fire in the fireplace, but cleaning up the ash can be a serious mess. Sprinkle coffee grounds at the bottom of the fireplace before your next fire, then again before you scoop the ash, it will help prevent a whirlwind of ashy debris.
5. Keep cats out of your garden
Create a mix of orange peel and used coffee grounds then sprinkle it all over your garden. The strong smell and icky texture will deter cats from wanting to use your garden as a nap place or litter box.
6. Add it to your compost
Adding coffee grounds to your compost will add nitrogen to the mix – this is excellent for your future batch of fertilizer. Get ready for a healthy garden!
7. Deodorize your fridge
Baking soda isn’t the only way to absorb smelly odors from your refrigerator. Place dried out used coffee grounds in a small container (used coffee pods are perfect), and place them on a shelf for instant odor absorption.
8. Deter slugs and other creepy crawlies
Slugs, snails, and lots of other beds don’t like the acid found in coffee. Sprinkle used coffee grounds around your plants, flowers, and veggies to keep your garden flourishing.
9. Attract worms
Unlike slugs and snails, worms actually love coffee grounds. They are also wonderful critters for your garden because they churn and fertilize the soil.
10. Make ‘mud’ playdough
Have some homemade fun with this simple play dough recipe that actually smells much better than the stuff you played with as a kid. Find the recipe at The Maven blog.
11. Cover up small scratches on your furniture
Make a paste out of coffee grounds and use a cotton swab to cover up and fill the scratches. Once it dries, you’ll never know the difference.
12. Air freshener
Place coffee grounds in a sock, piece of pantyhose, or cheesecloth and tie with a rubber band or a ribbon (get creative!), then place the bundled grounds over your heating vent or near a window and let the delicious coffee smell fill the room.
13. A yummy smelling pincushion
Freeze coffee grounds in a cute little container and use it as a fresh smelling pincushion. Plus – the coffee helps prevent your needles from rusting. How cool is that?
14. Make a homemade coffee scented candle
Fill a bowl with coffee beans (okay, this one doesn’t use coffee grounds) and place a tea light on top. The warmth of the candle will release the yummy aromas of the coffee beans. It will make your home smell like a coffee shop.
15. Dye your hair naturally
Want to dye your hair but don’t want to damage your strands? Use coffee grounds instead! Head over to Glow Pink for the step-by-step tutorial.
16. Reduce the appearance of cellulite – watch the tutorial below.
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