Hi there! It’s Wendy. Your resident queen of repurposing. You know I’m always looking for ways to give things a second life. And one thing I love as much as reusing things…is coffee. Oh sweet coffee. If only our coffee intake counted as water consumption. I’d be the most hydrated person on the planet! But throwing away those coffee grounds everyday? I found myself wondering if I could reuse those little brown crystals of happiness for something other than waking me up in the morning. As it turns out, there are lots of ways to reuse coffee grounds. From pest-deterring to skin-softening, there are so many things that can be done with old coffee grounds. Now THAT is incentive to clean out those little K-Cups. And bonus….cleaning them out means you can recycle them as well.
And if you’re a tea-drinker, well there are lots of things you can do with your used tea as well. Some things you can leave the tea in the bag for, others require loose-leaf tea. If that’s the case, you can just open the bag and lay the leaves out to dry. Careful though, tea leaves stain so don’t do this on a delicate surface.
So here you go…9 things you can do with used tea leaves and coffee grounds.
Give Your Flowers A Boost
Some breeds of plants love acid and will benefit from coffee grounds. Use them as mulch for plants like roses, azaleas and hydrangeas, which will thrive from the nutrients released into the soil.
Tame The Ants
Ants don’t like coffee? I knew those guys were sketchy. Sprinkle coffee grounds around an area that has ants and it will make them go the other way. Word on the street is that it also deters snails and slugs.
Clean The Fireplace
If you sprinkle your still-damp coffee grounds in the fireplace before you clean it, it will quell those crazy ashes and elimate the cloud of dusts we all love.
Keep The Cats Out Of The Garden
Grab some orange peels and mix them up with coffee grounds. Now put them around your plant roots in the garden and it will keep kitty away.
Plant Some Carrots
Unlike those shady ants, carrots LOVE coffee. Mix dried coffee grounds with carrot seeds before you plant them and watch your carrots thrive.
Soften Your Skin
If your skin feels like a dry lakebed, coffee can help! Make a homemade scrub from coffee grounds, coconut oil and a touch of brown sugar, and your skin will be soft and smooth. Be careful not to use too much coffee at one time because the grounds are hard on your drains.
Clean Stubborn Dishes
Coffee grounds have natural abrasion, so put some in a pan before you scrub it and watch those dried-on food parts vanish. Just remember not to dump too many grounds down the drain!
Soothe Stings Or Burns
Bug bites and minor burns, even sunburns, don’t have to ruin your day. Just place some cool tea bags on those bad boys for instant relief.
Quell Pet Odors
Dried tea leaves have odor-reducing qualities. Spread them in the litter box or anywhere else you have stinky smells and watch that unpleasantness disappear. It works in the fridge, on your cutting board, even your hands after cutting garlic. The last two can be done with wet tea bags as well as dried leaves.
***BONUS this is great for carpets that have pet odor. Crush the dried tea leaves lightly and let them sit on the carpet for about ten minutes, then vaccum up! It freshens your carpet AND your vaccum.
