A latte reasons to save up those grounds!
Don’t just throw out your coffee grounds, use them… again! Once you’ve brewed your grinds, set them aside because you can still use them in a number of ways and reduce your waste!
We’ve found a bunch of helpful and creative ways on how to make the most of your coffee grounds. You’ll find that you can use them for gardening, painting, DIY projects, and many more; check them out below.
Natural Air Freshener
Not only does coffee have one of the best smells ever but coffee grounds help absorb stinky areas. You can place them in a bowl and put wherever needed; you can also put them in your shoes, just put them in a mesh bag with holes small enough that the grounds won’t make a mess.
Playdough
Playdough?? Yup! You can make coffee-smelling playdough! Here’s the recipe from kidsactivitiesblog,
- 2 cups Flour
- 1/2 cup Coffee grounds
- 1 tbsp Instant coffee, if you want it darker
- 1 cup Salt
- 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
- 1 Cup hot water
- 2 tbsp oil
- Glycerin drops, but you can just shave some pieces off from a bar of clear soap
Mix it all up and let it sit to thicken then stir again until you reach our preferred consistency.
Furniture Scratch Fix
If you have some scratches on your wooden furniture, you can use coffee grounds to fix them up. Grab a handful of your grounds, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1/4 cup warm water then shake it in a jar to mix and let it steep for an hour.
You can then use it by rubbing the mixture into the scratches. For wood with a light finish, just make it a quick coat and for darker ones, you can leave it on for up to an hour before wiping.
Fertilizer
You can use your used coffee grounds in the garden as well! Sprinkle some on the top soil of your plants or you can mix it in through the top inches, this helps your plants by improving water retention and drainage, it also helps attract earthworms! You could also mix it in with carrot seeds to increase harvest and keep pests away.
Keep note: If you have pets, make sure they don’t go near areas where you placed the grounds as it’s known to be harmful to them.
Removes Buildup in Hair
Coffee grounds has the right texture for an exfoliant, you can mix it in with your shampoo to help strip excess oil and buildup from your hair.
Abrasive Cleaner For Pots
Ever have stubborn buildup on your pans? You can use coffee grounds along with dishwashing liquid to help scrape them off; this works best with stainless steel and cast iron pans.
Note: Don’t try this for those that stain easily like ceramic.
Removes Garlic Smell
We love us some garlic and onions except for the part when their smells tend to linger long after you’ve chopped them. You can leave a jar of coffee grounds in your kitchen so you can grab a handful any time and rub them on your hands to remove the smell.
Non-toxic Paint
Get even more creative by using coffee as paint. Simply mix the coffee grounds with water, if you want it darker then just add more coffee.
DIY Candles
Thinking of what project to do next? Here’s a simple acitivty you could do, coffee candles! You’ll need,
- 1 small paper coffee cup
- 2 tbsp used coffee grounds
- paper towel
- 1 cup of wax candle remnants
- candle wick
- scissors
- saucepan
- metal or glass mixing bowl (heat-safe)
Directions
- We’ll start with the base of the candle; add 1 cup of the wax remnants to a heat-safe bowl then place this on top of the small saucepan that’s filled halfway with water (similar to how you would melt chocolate); bring the water to a simmer and keep an eye on the wax until it’s fully melted.
- Next, put your coffee grounds on a paper towel then squeeze until you’ve released the extra liquid. Grab your paper cup and place the wick in the center then sprinkle a layer of coffee grounds at the base.
- Now with your melted wax, pour half of it over the coffee grounds you just placed in the paper cup while reserving the rest of it for the top half of the candle, let this poured wax harden, about 20 mins.
- Time for the second layer, sprinkle again more coffee grounds on the cooled wax you just poured then rewarm the remaining wax and once it’s melted, pour in the paper cup.
- Let this cool for at least an hour then once it’s hardened, cut the coffee cup to reveal the finished product. You can smooth out the edges with a paper towel and trim the end of the wick so it fits the candle nicely.
Cockroach Trap
Did you know that coffee is actually poisonous to roaches? Instead of the strong smelling chemical sprays usually used to kill them, you could make your own cockroach trap with coffee!
Just fill up a can or jar with an inch or two of moistened coffee grounds (yup, just straight from brewing) and line the container’s neck with double sided tape, leave this container in a spot where it’s safe from pets and kids.
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Cover image by Tyler Nix.
