Coffee Grounds – Who Knew?

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What is better than that first cup of coffee in the morning?  The perfect flavor, the right amount of sugar, and one of my addictions – Cafely’s liquid creamers.

A few weeks ago I realized how many coffee grounds I was throwing away and decided there had to be good use for them.  Or, was I just drinking too much coffee?  I had always heard a few uses around but the only thing I had used them for was in dyeing fabric and eggs.  Who knew there was so many uses?

I recently went to  using a Keurig since I’m the only one in my house who drinks coffee on a regular basis.

But I still love my Folgers so I use the My K-Cup most of the time.  Not only have I saved a lot of money on coffee, but I get that fresh taste with every cup.

After doing some research, I found that there were many ways to use these in your home, for beauty treatments and more so in your vegetable and flower gardens.

If you are not going to use them every couple of days, it’s important to dry them to prevent molding.  I have found though when emptying my K-Cup, the grounds are almost dry, but not completely.  A couple of easy ways to dry them is in your oven.

Just place on a baking sheet (no more than an inch deep) and place in your oven which has been set at 200 for about 20 – 30 minutes, stirring about half way through. Or if you want to save some energy, just place your baking sheet in the hot oven after you have used it.  Turn the oven off and let them set.  Let cool completely, then store in a closed container such as jars, glass containers, and even zip type bags, anything air tight.

Here’s a few of my favorites, but I do need to say that all of these haven’t been tried by myself, but so many people posted on Hometalk.com also, they would be worth trying.

For your garden and yard:

• I have two beautiful azalea bushes in my back yard that are pretty much in full bloom at the time. These, along with roses, rhododendrons, evergreens, hydrangeas and camellias love coffee grounds for the natural acidity and nutrients they add to the soil. Beware though, not all plants are acid loving so do a little research on your plants before mixing in the soil around them.

• They are also great for your carrots. To boost a carrot harvest, mix seeds with dried coffee grounds before sowing. The extra bulk makes the seeds easier to manage, while the coffee aroma can nourish the soil and help repel pests.

• Do cats seem to bother your plants or garden? Mix some of your old coffee grounds with orange peels then shake it around your plants and this will keep the cats away. I mixed the peeling from one orange to approximately 32 ounces of used grounds and let it set for about 2 – 3 days before using. Now if I could figure out how to keep this on my car hood so neighborhood cats would stay off my car.

• For pesky animals and bugs: I hate ants. Sprinkle old grounds around places you don’t want ants, or on the ant piles themselves. They will either try to find a new place to live, or hopefully stay away completely. Used grounds can also repel snails and slugs.

• Throw them into your compost pile.

In your home:

• About once a month, place a small bowl of grounds in your refrigerator and freezer to use as deodorizer.

• To remove smells on your hands such as onion and garlic, while prepping food, rub a small amount on your hands then rinse off. Always use caution to not let too many grounds go down your drain.

• Since they are slightly abrasive, they are great to use for removing stains and stuck on food on your smooth top stove.

• Before cleaning the fireplace, sprinkle with dampened used coffee grounds, which will weigh down the ash and thus eliminate clouds of smoke-flavored dust.
• Soak used grounds in hot water and use as a dye bath for Easter eggs, fabric and paper for a lovely, soft brown tinge.
• Make a sachet with old pantyhose and hang in your closet to prevent any musty smells.
• Use dried coffee grounds to make a homemade pin cushions.

Beauty:

• Exfoliate with a body scrub made of coffee grounds, coconut oil and a little brown sugar. Gently massage it on in the shower, rinse, be soft.  Caution, I’m always careful about how many coffee grounds I put down my drain as to prevent them clogging.
• If you make your own soap, adding some to this will give you an exfoliating and deodorizing feature to it.
• This is one I’m surely going to try – mix ¼ cup grounds with an egg white to make a face mask.  It will act as a natural exfoliate.

By the by, even if you don’t drink coffee, you can ask your local coffee shops and other places that serve coffee for their grounds, and start reusing them. The environment will thank you!

For many more ideas and comments, check out my Hometalk.com post.  http://www.hometalk.com/3505914/leftover-coffee-grounds

Let me know if you have any other great uses for them too.

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