Used Coffee Grounds

I bumped into one of my colleagues during our yosi break and he had this plastic bag full of “used coffee grounds” from Starbucks. I didn’t really pay that much of attention until he said that he was to use it for his kid who at that time was sick. As a mom, I couldn’t help not get interested since it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of coffee grounds being used for sick kids. So to dig deeper, I asked more about it and got really excited with the information he gave me. According to him, he’s been doing it for a long time now, whenever his kid gets sick he’d drop by Starbucks to get those coffee grounds, brings it back home and he then would use it to massage his kid’s back (I keep on saying kid, cuz I forgot to ask if he has little girl or boy). Not knowing anything about the stuff, I asked for the price just to find out that it’s actually for free and that there is a specific section/corner in Starbucks or any coffee shop that has it. I don’t why I never knew about it guess I wasn’t paying  attention to those things and really, it’s for free? I thought everything has a price nowadays even the used stuff.

So after discovering about this which I think is not only cool but could be really helpful, I decided to research more about it and to my surprise there’s actually more than just a benefit from it. Used coffee grounds can be used in a lot of other ways too! Check it out!

(When I googled about it, it came up with a lot of entries but I decided to go with this one.)

Top 10 Uses For Used Coffee Grounds

10. Deodorizer. Dry them out on a cookie sheet and then put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer, or rub them on your hands to get rid of food prep smells.

9. Plant food. Plants such as rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreen and camellias that prefer acidic soils will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. Also, grounds can add nutrients to your compost bin.

8. Insect repellant. Sprinkle old grounds around places you don’t want ants, or on the ant piles themselves. The little buggers will move on or stay away. Used grounds are also said to repel snails and slugs.

7. Dye. By steeping grounds in hot water, you can make brown dye for fabric, paper and even Easter eggs.

6. Furniture scratch cover-up. Steep grounds and apply a bit of the liquid to furniture scratches with a Q-tip.

5. Cleaning product. As they’re slightly abrasive, grounds can be used as a scouring agent for greasy and grimy stain-resistant objects.

4. Kitty repellent. To keep kitty from using the garden as her personal powder room, sprinkle grounds mixed with orange peels around your plants.

3. Flea dip. Follow up Fido’s shampoo with a coffee ground rub down, working them down to his skin. Not only are the fleas suppose to vamoose, but puppy’s hair will feel soft too.

2. Dust inhibitor. Before you clean out the fireplace, toss wet coffee grounds over the ashes to keep the ash dust under control.

And, finally, the #1 use for used coffee grounds....drum roll here....

Cellulite reducer. Mix 1/4 cup warm, used coffee grounds and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. While standing over an old towel or newspaper, apply the mixture to your "problem areas". Next, wrap the areas with shrink wrap and leave on for several minutes. Unwind the wrap, brush loose grounds off your skin and then shower with warm water. For best results, it is recommended to repeat this procedure twice a week. A little weird to be sure, but as high priced cellulite creams have coffee in them, it just might work.

Hell yeah! Isn’t number 1 the most interesting? Haha! I know! And what makes it more interesting is the fact that you can get it for free!!! So there, as much as it fascinated me I hope it does the same for you and hope it helps! For more info, you can read through this source: http://www.curbly.com/users/diy-maven/posts/1881-top-10-uses-for-used-coffee-grounds Reading the comments makes it twice the fun cuz apart from the 10 uses we have here the list just goes on and on. Seems like there are actually a lot of people who finds it useful.

Lesson learned: Next time I drop by Starbucks, I might just get myself a bag of used coffee grounds! J