12 top ideas for reusing coffee grounds

March 13th, 2012

Appliance Talk Coffee Machines & Accessories

Slightly acidic, abrasive and aromatic, old coffee grounds have a surprising variety of uses, from reducing cellulite to helping your garden grow.

If you’re partial to a cup of joe, don’t let the daily grind pile up on you! Here are 12 beans of wisdom for reusing coffee grounds.

Personal coffee ground care

• Grounds are a cellulite buster, says Curbly.com. You could spend hundreds of dollars on creams and potions OR have a cup of joe. Then mix a quarter of a cup of the still warm grounds with a splash of olive oil and slap it on your dimply parts. Wrap yourself up with glad wrap and leave it on for a few minutes.  Repeat twice a week. But beware, your body can absorb caffeine through the skin so best to avoid this one at night.
• Face scrub. The abrasive quality of old grounds is ideal for a gentle exfoliation, for your face or your body. Leave the mixture on for a bit longer and you have a coffee mask.
• Brunettes are known to use coffee grounds as a rinse to soften and add shine to their hair. It can also highlight the hair so unless you’re looking to darken, it’s not recommended for blonds.
• Rub coffee grounds in your hands to get rid of unpleasant smells from chopping things like onions and garlic.

Coffee grounds in the garden

• From grounds to ground! Old grounds are particularly useful for alkaline soils. You can add them to your compost or sprinkle directly onto the garden.
• Coffee beans are full of nutrients and make for a great fertilizer. Mix old grounds in with seeds such as carrots, radishes, rhododendrons, and camellias.
• Repel ants and pesky leaf eating bugs by sprinkling the area.
• Shoo cats away by placing old grounds in the garden.

Coffee grounds in the house

• Grounds will absorb smells so partly fill an old pantyhose with dried grounds and pop it in the cupboard, fridge or freezer. Adding a drop of vanilla is an option, too.
• Use grounds to scrub the bottom of pots or benches – they will leak and dye so only use on dark surfaces.
• The natural dyes in coffee can be used to touch up scratched wooden furniture.
• Or you can soak the grounds and use the water as a brown dye for linens.