Do you know how much coffee the average person drinks per day? 3 cups! That means there are a lot of used coffee grounds that go….well in the bin mostly!
But what if instead of being quick to throw them away, we considered the different use cases for this fine ground powder!
From sorting out your house, your garden or even your body and hair, there are a wide range of different ways you can make use of your used coffee grounds.
So whether you’re a coffee drinker yourself or live with someone who is, start saving up those grounds and get recycling!
Even if you’re not a coffee drinker, ask around in your local coffee shops. Plenty will be happy to give you their used coffee grounds for free.
What can you do with used coffee grounds?
- Freshen your fridge
- Eliminate odours
- Clean your fireplace
- Unblock a sink
- Freshen clothes
- Fight pet fleas
- Repel insects
- Fertiliser
- Cockroach trap
- Fortify plants
- Use it as mulch
- Create compost
- Clean your hands
- Caffeine soap
- Body scrub
- Helps with Acne
- Fights cellulite
- Natural hair highlighter
- Removes dark eye circles
- Strip product build up in hair
- Create antique paper
- Coffee candles
Used coffee grounds in the house
If you’re like many house-proud people you’re always looking for innovative nifty ways to keep your house smelling nice, clean and tidy! The versatility of coffee grounds makes them applicable for a range of tasks, let’s see more!
Freshen your fridge
How many times have you opened your fridge to be horrified of the smell? My food smells how bad.
By simply placing a bowl of dry used grounds in your fridge or freezer, you’ll be able to neutralize the smell of stale or spoiled food, keeping your fridge fresh without having to clean it daily.
One of the greatest things about coffee grounds is it absorbs all the smells nearby. That’s why it’s a good idea to always keep your coffee bag closed so your coffee only tastes like coffee and not the mysterious smells around your house.
Clean tools
You know how quickly your tools get dirty covered in grime. Add a few teaspoons of used coffee grounds to a cleaning rag or cloth and scrub away the grease and grime. Perfect for metals, saws, drills and more.
Once you’ve finished scrubbing, rinse with warm water to clean away any excess residue.
Remove furniture scratches
Often find your wooden furniture is prone to scratching? With your used coffee, you can ease the harsh look of the scratch.
Simply mix one tablespoon of coffee grounds with a teaspoon of virgin olive oil. You can also experiment by using coffee grounds with vinegar or water. Use a cotton swab or bud to rub the paste into the scratched surface.
You want to be gentle here. Don’t apply too much of the mixture and be sure to test on a hidden area first.
Once you’ve applied the paste, allow it to sit for about 10 minutes before wiping away with a soft rag or wipe.
Create antique looking paper for arts and crafts
When you were at school did you ever used an old tea bag to stain paper? You probably did when you wanted to create an old or antique looking document.
The same process can be achieved with coffee grounds. Simply mix the grounds with water. Allow them to fully combine for about a few minutes and then add it to your paper.
If you plan to write on the paper after you’ve stained it, be sure to leave it to fully dry.
If you plan to write on the paper first, be sure to use an ink that won’t run.
Coffee candles
For most coffee lovers, the smell of fresh coffee in the morning is what gets them out of bed. But what if you could harness that smell throughout your house at any time of the day? Even when you’re not drinking coffee.
Well, you can by using your old coffee grounds to make a natural coffee scented candle.
Take a small paper or glass cup. This is where your candle will sit.
You’ll also need:
- Wax candles ends
- A wick
- Scissors
- Something to melt the wax in
- Glass mixing bowl
- Coffee grounds
Heat the wax and once melted add the coffee grounds. The more you add the stronger your coffee flavour so think about what you’d like.
Add your wicks and candle ends and then pour the mixture in.
Eliminate odours
We’ve already mentioned that you can use coffee to soak up the odours and bad aromas in your fridge, but what about using it throughout your whole house.
Place dried coffee grounds in a small cup or vase and place it in rooms you’d like to smell nice and fresh.
This process works because used coffee grounds contain nitrogen which helps eliminate and absorb smells.
Contain ashes in the fireplace
Having a fireplace seems like a good idea until you have to deal with keeping it clean. You’ll know that the ash can very quickly go everywhere.
Keeping your fireplace clean is simply if you use coffee grounds. It speeds up the entire process and leads to a much less messy process.
To stop this, add damp grounds to your fireplace ash to cut down the amount of airborne dust that blows around your house as you sweep them all up. This works because the damp coffee grounds weigh down the ash making clearing up a much easier task.
Unblock the sink
Your sink pipe is a haven for grease and odours. As much as you try to avoid putting anything (that isn’t water) down there, it often happens.
The good news is that you can use a few tablespoons of coffee grounds followed by two drops of soap and boiling water straight down the drain.
What this does is break down the grease, clean your pipes and remove any foul smelling odours.
What you do want to avoid is accidentally clogging your drains yourself, so be sure to make this a monthly rather than daily exercise.
Freshen clothes
Despite washing your clothes after use, have you ever opened your wardrobe, picked out a t-shirt to find it smells…musty?
You’re not alone.
Simply add some dried coffee grounds to an old sock or small jar and leave it in the back of your wardrobe and your clothes will stay fresher for longer.
What’s more, when the coffee stops working, simply replace it with fresh grounds.
Fight pet fleas
As a pet owner, you’ll know the issues with dealing with fleas. The first step is prevention but in the chance, you’re unable to do that you need to tackle the flea problem.
Many pet owners like to avoid using unnatural products. Not only is it time-consuming and can produce unwanted side effects, but it can quickly become costly too.
That’s where coffee grounds come in.
Fleas dislike coffee….A LOT. So it makes sense that it’d be useful as a natural treatment.
Give your dog a good shampoo and once clean, rub the grounds through the fur. Leave to sit for a short time and then rinse it all off and dry your pet as you normally would.
There’s an added benefit to this in that it could also make your pets coat super shiny.
*Disclaimer* This is not health advice. If this method does not help with the flea treatment, please seek out medical support from your veterinarian. Do not feed your dog the coffee grounds, they are meant as an external aid.
Used coffee grounds in the garden
If you’re an avid gardener or keen to improve the way your garden and flowers look, it’s time to start considering your used coffee grounds, from insect repelling to compost to mulch, there’s a use case for coffee grounds in your garden or outdoor area!
Repel insects
There’s one truth that might excite you. Insects hate coffee. Sprinkle any old grounds around places you normally have ants and you’ll find they are repelled.
This also works by sprinkling the grounds directly onto ant hills. You can also use these to combat snails, slugs, mosquitos, fruit flies and beetles.
You can also add bowls of coffee ground around your outdoor areas to keep the pests at bay. This works because certain bugs dislike the smell of coffee so they avoid coming anywhere near them.
If you’re recently into gardening and want a great way to keep your plants safe from bugs, coffee grounds will be your best friend.
Grow flowers as a fertiliser
Certain flowers are really receptive to coffee grounds. If you have hydrangeas, roses, azaleas rhododendrons or camellias consider mixing old coffee grounds with dead grass and spread it around your plants.
This works because these plants love acidity.
It also adds nitrogen and potassium to the soil giving plants an extra chance to stay healthy.
And remember coffee grounds repels insects. So not only will your flowers bloom, but they’ll stay safe and sound from insects too.
Make a trap for cockroaches
If you’re unlucky enough to have to deal with cockroaches, there’s a high chance you’re keen to find a way to get rid of the pests!
If you fill a can or glass jar with around two inches of moistened coffee grounds and line the neck of the container with sticky tape, you have created a trap that will entice cockroaches to check out.
Unlike other insects, cockroaches are intrigued by the smell of coffee and will explore it further.
Fortify and strengthen plants
When you’re just starting out with your gardening journey add seeds to soil, you want to give them the best possible start.
One way to do this is to add your coffee grounds to your watering can and mix with water.
This gives the seeds a much-needed nitrogen boost that they just don’t get from soil naturally.
Use it as mulch
When you start to get serious about your gardening efforts you will probably start to consider mulching.
Mulching is super beneficial for plants and flowers. However, in order to do it, you need compost, straw or organic matter.
This is often time consuming or expensive.
However, using used coffee grounds is an excellent workaround. Simply add it to your soil in small measures and see how your plants perform.
Compost
If you don’t need to use your fertilizer right away, you can actually just add your coffee grounds to your compost heap. Not only is this a great natural “green” way to insert more nitrogen into your compost, but it’s also a great way to produce a richer compost.
Be careful not to add too much coffee though as you’ll ruin the balance between green and brown matter compost needs to thrive.
Used coffee grounds on your body
Your coffee grounds can be used in a number of ways on your body and hair too. Who have thought, what once used to go in the bin could now become your best-kept beauty secret!
Clean your hands
Keeping your hands soft is difficult, especially in the winter and it’s even harder as you get older.
Take a small scoop of coffee ground and rub them between your palms (the same way you would with moisturizer).
This helps remove any dead skin, eliminates strange odours (helpful if you’ve been cooking fish or garlic) and keeps your hands softer for longer.
Caffeine soap
If you’re into natural products, why not consider making your own coffee soap. Melt together the old (unfragranced) soap alongside the coffee ground and anything else you’d like to add (perhaps vanilla extract) and then pour it into a mould until it’s hard.
Body scrub
The same way you can use coffee grounds to keep your hands free of dead skin cells, you can do it for your whole body too.
The caffeine in the coffee promotes tighter skin. To do this, simply mix coconut oil and coffee grounds and massage it onto your skin in the shower. It works well because the coarseness of the coffee grounds exfoliate the skin and remove dirt and dead skin cells.
Be sure to wash it off before you get out, or you’ll come out with slight staining.
You can also think about adding vitamin E oil or Jojoba oil too.
Helps with acne
If you suffer from acne or uneven skin tones, instead of spending endless money on toner, why not try to use coffee grounds as a natural approach to toning and cleansing?
The antioxidant properties in coffee grounds make it great for keeping your skin fresh.
Add a spoonful of coffee grounds with milk to create a paste-like consistency.
Rub it on your face for a minute and then let it sit for 20 minutes. Once the time is up, rinse it clean.
After a while, you should find that your skin looks and feels healthier.
Fights cellulite
Mixing coffee grounds and coconut oil is a great way to naturally eliminate all the signs of cellulite.
Once you’ve made your concoction, rub it into the problem areas most affected by cellulite.
You’ll want to do this every day for about two weeks before you start to see a difference.
Natural hair highlighter
How often do you look at your hair and think about how dull it is?
If you’re brunette or even a darker redhead, you might be looking for ways to keep your hair shiny.
Why not try rinsing dry, clean hair with strong cooled coffee. Add your used grounds to two cups of hot water and leave it for 15 minutes to cool down.
Rinse it through your hair if you want a slightly darker and vibrant shade. Because of the slight chance of dye, you want to avoid this technique if you have blonde or lighter hair.
Remove dark eye circles
Coffee wakes you up in the morning, you know that, but it can also make your face look more awake by reducing the dark circles under your eyes.
If you wake up in the morning with puffiness under your eyes, you should give this a try.
Mix up the coffee grounds with some warm water and make it into a paste. Smear it on the affected area and let it rest there for 15 minutes.
In this time, make yourself a nice cup of actual coffee.
Strip product buildup from hair
One of the issues of using hair styling products every day is that your hair eventually becomes clogged with residue.
In an ideal world, you’ll remove that build up and one of the best ways to do this is to use old coffee grounds to give your hair the lift it needs and restore its natural shine.
The caffeine in the coffee will help break apart the product residue but won’t damage your hair.
To do this, massage the grounds into your hair before you use your normal shampoo.
What’s more, caffeine has been known to stimulate hair growth. So if you want those locks long and flowing why not give this technique a try once a week.
So what will you do with your used coffee grounds first?
Now you have an idea of some of the interesting things you can do with your leftover coffee grounds, it’s time to start working on it.
What will you make first?