The many uses for coffee grounds
- by Anna Sattler on Jul 25th 2007 8:00AM
- Filed under household hacks, miscellaneous, cleaning
Most of the time I throw my used coffee grounds away. This is not a problem in my household since my husband and I drink about 2 pots a day. There are times I save them because they come in handy for many household and outdoor hacks. Here a few alternative ideas for using coffee grounds besides putting them in your garbage.
- Since coffee contains acid, spread the grounds on your flower beds. Flowers such as rosebushes, azaleas and rhododendrons will thank you for it.
- Dry out the used grounds and place in an empty, clean margarine tub with a few holes poked in the lid to absorb odors in your fridge. Repeat every few days.
- After you peel onions, chop garlic, or handle stinky fish, rub a small amount of dry used coffee grounds on your hands to freshen them and remove the odors.
- If you have a kitty who thinks your garden happens to be her area to do her litter box business, put some orange peels in your coffee grounds and place around your plants. Your plants will thank you for not letting them smell kitty droppings. This method also works well for snails and slugs who try to take up residence in your garden.
- You can repel ants by sprinkling used coffee grounds on their ant piles or places where you don't want them to be. They will find a new home or stay away. I definitely need to do this one, as I seem to run over their hill with the lawn mower every time I cut the grass.
- Steeping grounds and placing a bit of the liquid on furniture with a Q-tip will help cover the scratches.
- You can make brown dye for clothing, paper, or even eggs for Easter by steeping grounds in hot water. To find out how to dye your clothing, read this.
- Use grounds for a grease or grime remover on stain resistant objects. They are slightly abrasive, and will aid in your cleaning. Rinse with warm water.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-26-2007 @ 10:28AM
mom said...
thanks
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7-26-2007 @ 10:29AM
mom said...
great artlicel. especially about the stray cat use to thwart them off
your shrubs and plants
Reply
7-28-2007 @ 10:19PM
obo said...
Want more used coffee grounds than you can use? Make friends with a barista. Those big canisters of coffee get brewed every hour to two hours, and the grounds are dumped straight into the trash. It's almost trivial for a barista buddy to divert used coffee grounds to a container instead of the trash. They can tip you off to expired unbrewed coffee that they throw out, too.
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