The average American drinks two cups of coffee every day, and I am no different. I’m a coffee lover through and through, and apparently the rest of the country is too. Two cups every day will make a lot of old coffee grounds, right?
A big part of being frugal is not wasting things. If we can use every part of something or create new uses for old things, why wouldn’t we?! Up-cycling is one of the most basic ways to save money, and with that being said, today I would like to go over a few different ways you can put your old coffee grounds to use!
Cleaning the House
Since coffee grounds are so gritty, it makes them great for scrubbing! Just add some old coffee grounds to your washcloth and you’ll be able to scrub EVERYTHING including the grill! Just make sure not to chip away at any surfaces.
Cleaning Yourself
Not only are coffee grounds good for scrubbing household surfaces, you can also use them on your skin and hair! Grounds help stimulate blood flow and get rid of dead skin which also make them a great addition to facial scrubs. You just add them to a carrier oil (coconut, vitamin E oil, etc) and scrub on! You can get an awesome coffee scrub recipe here.
Alternatively, if you tend to use a lot of hair product, coffee grounds might be the perfect solution for you. You can massage coffee grounds directly into your hair to get rid of any gross residue. Plus, for brunettes, it’ll give a little color boost!
In the Garden
If you garden, you’ll probably benefit the most from your used coffee grounds. A lot of people simply add their grounds to their compost bin when finished, which is a great idea because they will increase nitrogen, potassium, and magnesium— which every plant needs.
You can also sprinkle grounds around plants that like high acidity, like roses or hydrangeas or in areas that you don’t want insects and pests in, like slugs and ants. If you add orange peels, you might even be able to keep away cats!
Keeping the House Smelling Good
Coffee grounds are similar to baking soda in that they’re great for absorbing odors. So, after brewing your morning pot of coffee, instead of throwing the old grounds away just keep them in an open container in your fridge. As long as the grounds are good they’ll trap in odors, and once they lose potency just throw them in your compost! You can also make candles with coffee grounds, and it’s a great natural way to keep your house smelling good! Check out a step-by-step breakdown here.
I definitely don’t recommend using your refrigerator grounds in candles or in your hair, so you’d want to plan that out a little bit in advance. You can always throw your extra grounds in Tupperware with a lid to keep odors out, if you need to save some up!
Are there any ways you guys up-cycle your coffee grounds instead of throwing them away?! Share with me in the comments below!