Perfectly Practical #8 - Coffee Grounds

Since last week we looked at the virtues of coffee filters, I thought this week it was only appropriate that we take some time to talk about coffee.

Mmmmm....coffee...

No, this isn't a "Madly in Love Monday" post about the drink of the gods, no it's to talk about what you do with the grounds after you have lapped up all their caffeinated juicy goodness....sigh....need more in my cup....be right back...okay, with a refill taken care of, we can discuss the other benefits of coffee.

For the Garden:  This is the bulk of the list. The grounds our so stinking good for your garden it's unreal. If you want your hydrangeas bright blue, sprinkle coffee grounds around them. If you want nicer carrots, roses, camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons, and radishes, sprinkle coffee grounds around them. If you want to grow your own mushrooms, grow them in coffee grounds. Fertilize your indoor & outdoor plants, make your wormery, repel ants, slugs, snails, fungus, gnats, root maggots, and cats in your yard with coffee grounds. The stuff is amazing but wait, there's more...

For the Home:  Freshen up your kitchen drain with a sprinkling of grounds and a WHOLE LOT of boiling water to push the grounds through or else it will clog. Touch up scratches in furniture with some coffee grounds and a Q-Tip. Sprinkle wet grounds over fire place ashes as a dust inhibitor. Put dried grounds in an old butter tub with some holes poked in the top and use it as a fridge/freezer deodorizer. Alternatively, put the dried grounds in a old pantyhose, tie it off and use it as a closet sachet. Use wet grounds to dye fabric, paper, or Easter eggs, or use as an abrasive cleaner. Dried grounds can be used to fill bean bags or pin cushions.

For Your Beauty Regimen:  With a little olive oil, warm wet grounds become a spa inspired cellulite treatment. Rub it into your "problem area" and wrap with plastic wrap for a few minutes before showering. While you are in the shower in between shampooing and conditioning, rub some grounds in your hair (dark hair is better since it will most likely dye blonde hair) for shinier and softer hair. It is said to even give dark hair highlights and improve the scalp's condition therefore preventing dandruff. Mixed with an egg white, the grounds become an exfoliating face mask.

For the Kitchen:  Rub grounds on your hands to get rid of pungent odors like onions. When doing some research for this article, I noticed lots of people said to use leftover coffee as a meat tenderizer. Sounds great but who has leftover coffee?! I always put a little coffee in my chili; it just makes it slightly richer. Use a little bit of the grounds in chocolate baked goods. Coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate - Ina Garten says that coffee in her chocolate recipes is her secret ingredient. Well if it's good enough for the Barefoot Contessa...

For Fido:  Apparently, coffee grounds are a natural flea deterrent although there is no hard evidence to back this up. What you can do though, is bathe Fido with coffee grounds to again, promote skin health and make his coat shiny.

So there you have it folks, coffee, the great multitasker which makes it perfectly practical.

Part of Works for Me.