Many of us rely on our morning cup of coffee to get the day started. These valuable grounds however, often get thrown in the trash.
However, those old grounds can be used for a variety of creative, all-natural functions. Before tossing your grounds, consider the following uses:
Gardening
Flowers such as azaleas, roses, hydrangeas, rhododendrons and camellias do very well with some coffee grounds added to their soil, as the acidity and nutrients that the grounds provide helps them to flourish.
When planting carrots, mix carrot seeds with dried coffee grounds before you plant to amplify your harvest.
Keeping unwelcome critters away
Making a ring of coffee grounds around your plants helps keep pests such as ants, snails and slugs out of your garden.
To discourage cats from eating and trampling your flowers, mix dried coffee grounds with orange peels and make a border around your plants.
If you have an ant infestation within your home, sprinkle coffee grounds in the areas where they lurk to help clear up the problem. They can easily be vacuumed up later.
Deodorizing your fridge
A bowl of dried coffee grounds placed in the back of your refrigerator or freezer can neutralize nasty odors.
Scrubbing stuck-on foods
Add a couple of teaspoons of grounds to a cleaning cloth to scour away any residue sticking to your cookware or silverware, and to soak up any grease.
Coffee grounds can even remove lingering food odors from your hands, such as garlic. Simply rub them into your hands and wash as normal.
Dyeing eggs and fabrics
Coffee grounds soaked in hot water are great for dyeing Easter eggs, fabrics and even paper. Using them as a dye results in a warm, sepia hue. If you soak just the edges of paper briefly in the dye and lay flat to dry, it results in a beautiful, antique look.
Exfoliating your skin
Mix coffee grounds, organic coconut oil and a teaspoon of coconut crystals together to create a magnificent body scrub. Massage all over face and body, and rinse in the shower.
With all of the multifaceted uses that coffee grounds can provide, can you believe you ever threw them away?!
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/stories/20-ways-to-reuse-coffee-grounds-tea-leaves
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20593892,00.html
