Get the most out of your morning coffee, reconnect with Jesus, and help the environment by reusing your old coffee grounds. Whether you like a deep dark roast, a light blonde, decaf, or a flavor-packed brew, you can find so many uses for your old coffee grounds.
Read on to learn seven uses for old coffee grounds and help the environment one cup of coffee at a time.
One of the most common uses for old coffee grounds is as a natural deodorizer. The nitrogen in the grounds reacts to sulfur-like smells in the air and traps the odor refreshing your space.
Fight back against old food smells in your fridge with a bowl of used grounds or deodorize that smelly gym bag with an old sock filled with used coffee grounds. Your spent grounds are a great alternative to baking soda for odors and a good way to reuse common household materials.
Coffee grounds are a great exfoliant for your skin. By combining the grounds with water or coconut oil, you can easily scrub away dirt, clear your pores, and remove dead skin cells from your body and face.
To make your mixture, add ½ cup of old coffee grounds, ½ cup sugar (any kind), and ¼ cup of water or coconut oil. Old grounds can also make a great lip exfoliant. Make your balm by mixing your used coffee grounds with honey and apply the mixture to your lips.
Scratches on wooden furniture can be a frustrating and expensive fix. Before you race to the store for those expensive repair products, try some of your used coffee grounds.
Mix your grounds with water and dab the mixture on the scratch with a cotton swab. Let the mixture sit for an hour, then rub it away to see the resulting stain. If the stain is too light, repeat the process until you reach your desired shade.
Show off your green thumb and revitalize your garden with your old coffee grounds. One of the best uses for old coffee grounds is for garden fertilizer. Coffee grounds contain key minerals for plant growth—nitrogen, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and chromium.
Sprinkle your used coffee grounds on top of your soil and around your plants. The grounds will add plant-boosting minerals and can also decontaminate soil by absorbing heavy metals. Plus, coffee grounds can attract worms, which are great for growing your garden.
Composting is great for the environment and your garden! Composting is a natural process that transforms organic items—like food scraps and yard debris—into a dark, rich material called compost.
One of the most eco-friendly uses for old coffee grounds are creating or adding it to a nutrient-rich compost. In addition to used coffee grounds, herbs, egg shells, stale bread, fruit and vegetable trimmings, grass clippings, leaves, bark, and shredded newspaper are ideal for composting. Avoid composting meat and fish scraps, dairy products, and grease.
Nothing is more annoying than a pesky fly or biting mosquito! Keep bugs at bay with old coffee grounds. Pour your used grounds into a bowl or around your outdoor furniture to repel bugs.
For your garden, sprinkle grounds in a circle around your plants. The acidic nature of coffee grounds will repel slugs and snails and create a circle barrier they won’t want to cross.
Cooking is a delicious and eco-friendly use for old coffee grounds. With its natural smoky flavor, coffee is a great meat rub for brisket, ribs, and even steaks!
Rub your old coffee grounds on your desired meat and let it marinate for up to 24 hours before you cook. The coffee will infuse its flavors into the meat as well as break down and tenderize the meat.
A cup of coffee can kick start your day, reconnect you to Jesus, and help the environment by reusing your old coffee grounds. Next time you’re brewing your morning cup of coffee or afternoon pick-me-up, consider one of the resourceful uses for old coffee grounds we described above.
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