A Nice Cuppa

With coffee being the #1 drink in much of the world, there has to be an awful lot of coffee grounds out there going into the trash. What do you do with yours? From Badgetts’s Coffee Journal (www.aboutcoffee.net) a web site dedicated to all things coffee, comes some amazing and very handy tips.

Most people know that coffee grounds and used filters make for excellent composting. The grounds release nitrogen into the soil which is highly beneficial but there are many, many other options for grounds too in other applications such as beauty products, household use and crafting ideas.

Grounds for Yard and Garden:
-Acid loving plants such as berry bushes, hydrangeas and pine tree will benefit from having coffee grounds mixed into the soil where they are
-Use coffee grounds in worm composting
-When fishing with worms, they can be kept readily in a container full of coffee grounds.
-Mix grounds with potting soil when transplanting houseplants, or just sprinkle them on top of the soil
-Coffee grounds can be used on icy sidewalks to provide traction and don’t damage concrete or deck material like corrosive salts, plus when the rain washes them into the grass, the grass benefits. Just be sure to wipe feet when upon entering the home.

Ground for Beauty:
-coffee grounds make for a gentle exfoliation product for your skin
-steeped in hot water, coffee grounds can be an effective rinse for covering gray hair
-a muslin bag full of coffee grounds can be used as a loofah in the shower
-a quarter cup of grounds mixed with an egg white makes a toning and firming facial mask; rub into the skin and allow to dry then rinse off. Follow with moisturizer.

Grounds for Household Use:
-dried coffee grounds in a nylon sock can be hung in a closet to absorb odor or placed under a car seat for the same purpose.
-coffee grounds can be used as a mild abrasive to scrub grills, ovens, pots and pans.
-dry or wet coffee grounds can be used to scrub gunky, greasy pans
-dried coffee grounds can be used to absorb spills in the garage such as oil, antifreeze and gasoline.
-dried coffee grounds rub into your hands will absorb and eliminate strong odors such as onion and garlic and can be sprinkled over carpets and then vacuumed for odor elimination. This apparently works very well in helping alleviate pet odors.
-coffee grounds kept in shallow containers in the refrigerator help absorb strong odors.

Grounds for Crafting:
-coffee grounds steeped in water can dye eggs tan for Easter, or create a parchment look to paper that is dyed with the liquid.
-Non toxic and gluten free Play-Doh can be made with 2 c. well dried coffee grounds,
½ c. salt, 1 ½ c. cornmeal and enough water to make a pliable dough.
-A Halloween “beard” can be made by pressing dried coffee grounds onto a layer of facial cream or shortening.
-dried coffee grounds can be used to fill in any shape or form for a non-rusting pincushion for needles and pins.

And if that isn’t enough, how about all those cans leftover once the coffee has been consumed. What do you do with those?
-Storage containers are the top use for old coffee cans.
-cut an ‘X’ in the cover of a coffee can and keep plastic bags inside such as those that newspapers or groceries come in.
-use a coffee can to keep toilet paper dry on a camping trip.
-use coffee cans in the garden to lift pumpkins, melons and squash off the ground; insert the open end into the soil and place the fruit on the solid end
-protect young plants in the garden by cutting both ends off a coffee can and inserting it into the soil around the young plant. It will help with cutworms as well
-a used coffee can is excellent to keep in the kitchen to hold waste for a compost bin
-a plastic coffee container can be used to hold yarn while knitting or crocheting.
-use empty metal cans in the yard for smokers to deposit their cigarette butts into
-an empty metal can, with both ends removed can be used as a charcoal chimney; stand the can in the bottom of the grill and place wads of paper inside with their edges trailing under the can. Fill the can with charcoal, a squirt or two of starter and then light the paper. Use tongs or pliers to remove the hot can when the charcoal is ready.
-a metal coffee container by the stove can be used as a grease depository. Keep the lid on to help eliminate the odor, and toss in the trash when full.

Now there can’t be any excuse about not knowing what to do with coffee grounds besides composting. In an effort to encourage the population to ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ these tips can be kept close at hand for use at home. And should anyone want even more grounds for these uses, Badgetts Journal suggests contacting a local coffee house or even the closest Starbucks and asking if you can take their grounds off their hands. Who knew that such a widely used beverage could also be such a widely re-used commodity at the same time?