10 Surprising Uses for Coffee Grounds
By now, you've gotten the gist of making coffee at home like the experts. You're saving big bucks grinding and brewing your own beans instead of patronizing your local coffee shop every morning. If you've gotten into composting, something that's recently on our radar, perhaps you're already putting the used grounds to work.
As luck and nature would have it, turns out there's a whole slew of other productive uses for the has-been beverage. Now, instead of overpaying for body exfoliant or shelling out for a new coffee table, you just have to make sure you have a stash of old grounds at your disposal. We admit it might take a little self-cajoling before you start massaging your head with the coarse material, but after the initial shock wears off, and the soft, shiny hair compliments start rolling in, you'll be glad you took the jump.
Bet you didn't know your cup of joe was such a sneaky little multi-tasker! We barely needed another reason to love our morning brew, but with the amazing and surprising uses we discovered, we are positively over-the-moon with appreciation--as are our wallets.
Check out the following ten awesome and unbelievable ways to use coffee long after the caffeine has kicked in.
-Got ants? Before you head to the hardware store for chemical-based traps and sprays, try sprinkling used coffee grounds in problem corners. Supposedly the grounds repel snails and slugs, too, so if you're looking for a natural outdoor insect repellent, you can stop your search here.
-Rid your fridge of that funky smell resulting from bad fruits, vegetables or spills from leftovers. Deodorize the interior with a bowl of used coffee grounds in the same way that you'd rely on a box of baking soda.
-Adding some used coffee grounds to indoor plant dirt will help fertilize and keep plants healthy. Considering how it does wonders in a composting bin, which ends up frequently in outdoor gardens, we have no trouble getting on board with this simple practice.
-We know it sounds kind of messy, but it really works. Save the money you'd spend on a special glossing product from the salon, and instead, when washing your hair, rub coffee grounds through the ends, rinse and prepare for softer locks.
-As you light the last of your winter fires, keep a can of used grounds next to the fireplace and when you go to sweep the ashes, first add a little sprinkling of the coffee. It will help with clean-up and cut down on airborne dust.
-Lemons work great for ridding your fingers and hands from persistent kitchen cooking smell, most notably raw garlic, but why waste a lemon when you can rub your hands together with coffee grounds that you would otherwise have tossed following your morning cup of joe?
-Musty closets and smelly mud rooms filled with dirty and dank shoes don't stand a chance against a satchel filled with the coffee bean remains. The coffee scent will be subtle, but the funk will just disappear.
-While you'll probably want to test this out on less-loved pieces of furniture first, legend has it that if you steep the used grounds in some hot water and then apply a cotton swab dipped in the warm liquid to the table or chair scratch, it will lessen its appearance greatly.
-Don't just start rubbing your body all over with coarse coffee grounds; instead, try mixing some of the leftovers with a cream-based body wash, pat on skin with a washcloth and gently exfoliate your most-calloused areas.
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