Making use of coffee grounds for more than brewing has been around for long, long time but now as the world begins to live with a much more contentious awareness of global warming we are recycling old recycling methods and these 15 tips are just that. Here’s how you can make your life even more eco-friendly with coffee grounds.
1. Use old coffee grounds to keep ants, snails and slugs away. Spread used coffee grounds on anthills or any place where ants might be entering your house. Toss a handful of coffee grounds in your yard and garden to keep slugs and snails away from your plants.
2. Old coffee grounds have been found by farmers to produce some of the biggest melons, tomatoes and carrots. Coffee grounds add minerals, vitamins and nitrogen to the soil so that the vegetables are stockier and less prone to insect infestation.
3. The next time you go to shovel the ashes from your fireplace try sprinkling used wet coffee grounds on top of them first. The wet grounds will settle down any dust from the ashes and make them easier to scoop up.
4. Sometimes its hard to keep cats from tromping through your garden or using your yard as a bathroom. Spread around a few orange peels and a handful of coffee grounds to solve that problem.
5. Freshen up your autumn wardrobe by washing all your fall brown clothing in old coffee. Add a pot of freshly brewed coffee and the grounds to a load of wash, toss in any brown material and walk away. The coffee stains the material but does not last forever so adding coffee to the wash every time will keep clothes looking great.
6. Brunettes can benefit from rinsing their hair in coffee. Darker redheads can also use coffee to rejuvenate the color of their hair. Steep the days used coffee grounds in 2 cups hot water for 15 minutes or so and then rinse through hair for a darker, more vibrant shine.
7. You may be not able to get rid of cellulite without some hard work and exercise but you can spread it around a little to confuse the eye into not noticing it with the help of day old coffee grounds. Mix an egg white with the day’s used coffee grounds warmed up in the microwave (be careful not to over heat, grounds should be warm to the touch) and spread on thighs and butt. Wrap up tightly in saran wrap. Run rolling pin over the area a few times and let sit for half an hour.
8. Another way you can use coffee grounds in your hygienic ritual is to exfoliate with. Since the caffeine in coffee is a stimulant it helps stimulate skin cells and promotes healthier, tighter skin. Simply add mineral oil, vitamin E oil or jojoba oil to coffee grounds and apply to skin with a loofah.
9. Here’s a cool way to rejuvenate your summer tan without damaging your skin with the sun’s harmful rays. Add a cup of water to the day’s old coffee grounds and boil. When it is cool to the touch rub it all over your body, you can even put it in a sprayer, get in the shower and soak yourself down that way. Let your skin absorb the coffee for about twenty minutes and then rinse in cool water. The coffee will stain your slightly to give your tan an extended life.
10. Deodorize your refrigerator by sprinkling putting your used coffee grounds inside. A margarine butter dish is perfect for holding the filter and grounds thus eliminating any mess that might come from taking the grounds out of the filter.
11. Here’s a simple recipe for creating your own invigorating coffee ground body scrub. Add ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 cup aloe vera oil to the day’s used coffee grounds. Mix ingredients together to form a pasty cream and rub all over body including the face.
12. Coffee grounds can turn a stinky ashtray into an aromatic vessel. Empty the ashtray, sprinkle around some ashes and use a soft cloth to scrub out the yuckies. Rinse in hot water.
13. Cut the leg off an old pair of nylon stockings. Dump a bunch of coffee grounds inside. Use an eyedropper and drop two drops of vanilla extract on to grounds. Tie off leg so that grounds are in a tight little ball and cut off excess length of leg. Toss ball into your car for an easy deodorizer that will leave your car smelling as good as Starbucks.
14. Beards for Halloween costumes can be easily made with a little honey and coffee grounds. Warm up a little bit of honey in the microwave. The trick is for the honey to be warm and runny but not so hot that it burns the skin. Spread the warm honey over the face in the pattern of a mustache and beard. Spread coffee grounds that have been dried out over the honey. Warning – child may be tempted to eat his own face and will most likely return home with his beard appearing to have been shaved.
15. Coffee grounds are great for making homemade play dough. Mix a bunch of old used coffee grounds with ½ cup of salt, 1 ½ cups of cornmeal and add enough water to moisten it into a dough. You decide how sticky and wet you want your play dough.
In this day and age of technological improvements it would be easy to forget to conserve especially when everything around us comes super sized but simple techniques like the 15 listed above can help us eliminate waste and hopefully help our planet continue to stay self sufficient.
