You've just had a really detailed lesson on how to grind your coffee for cup perfection. In honor of our recent celebration of our beloved planet Earth, we'll share some common and not so common ways you can reuse your coffee grounds around the house. We would love to hear which of these surprised you or any other suggestions you may have in the comments below!
Reuse Your Coffee Grounds Around the Home
- Wash those tough to clean dishes or pots and pans. Because of the rough texture of the coffee grounds, they work as a great gently abrasive. Just add coffee grounds to your sponge or put some coffee grounds in your dishrag, twist it up, and rubber band the ends for a do-it-yourself cleaning sponge. Be sure not to use on anything that can stain.
- Stinky shoe remedy. Do your son's basketball shoes smell like they came from the dumpster? Now you can keep them fresh by just placing some coffee grounds in them overnight and shaking them out in the morning.
- Smelly hands from cooking? No more. Keep a small dish of coffee grounds at your sink to rub your hands with before washing. This works well with garlic, onion, and fish smells.
- Keep your refrigerator fresh. Coffee grounds act as a natural deodorizer like baking soda. You can just place some grounds in a bowl or to prevent accidental spills you can put some coffee grounds in a small mason jar. Rubber band a paper filter over the top and poke some holes. You might even want to use this in your bathroom too.
- Disguise your trash cans. What good is a clean refrigerator if your smells like a garbage can? Sprinkle the coffee grounds inside your can or fill up a pantyhose stocking with some coffee grounds and place at the bottom of your can. You can also do the pantyhose trick with your trash can on the curb by hanging it on the side of the can.
- Repair wood scratches. Yes, you read that right. You've got kids and a brand new table just doesn't make sense. Hide the wear and tear with a little DIY all natural stain for dark woods. Mix a pot's worth of used coffee grounds with 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup vinegar , shake and let sit for about 60 minutes. Use a rag to rub the mixture into scratches.
- Bug repellent for your outdoor party. Not everyone likes the smell of citronella, but we haven't met a person that doesn't like the smell of coffee. You can burn a bowl of completely dry coffee grounds at your next outdoor party to keep it insect free (and probably impress some friends too).
- Did you know fleas don't like coffee? If your dog or cat has fleas, then a coffee ground rub after rinsing off their shampoo will take care of the pests in their fur. After shampooing your furry friend, run the used coffee grounds through the fur. As you rinse away the coffee grounds, you rinse away the fleas and create barrier against future fur critters.
- No Bake Energy Bites. Get a second boost from your coffee grinds by adding them into these tasty and healthy snack bite. Source: HerCampus.com
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry whole grain oatmeal
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1.5 tbsp. coffee grounds
- 1/2 cup creamy almond butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 chocolate chips
Directions
- Stir your oatmeal, flaxseed, and coffee granules together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed, and then add your almond butter, honey, and vanilla. Once well-combined, fold in your chocolate chips and cranberries. Stir well! Let chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Once chilled, roll into balls.
