This post is by Bernie Carr, apartmentprepper.com
As you know I love a good cup of coffee in the morning and brew my own on a daily basis. I’ve learned how to brew coffee without electricity; I’ve even set aside coffee for emergencies to make sure I can get my daily dose. But what do you do with the used coffee grounds?
Here are 5 uses for used coffee grounds that really work:
- Make more coffee the next day. This sounds weird and might offend coffee aficionados. I thought the same thing until I tried it. Here’s how I do it: On day 1, leave the used coffee grounds in the basket. Refrigerate for maximum freshness. The next day, use half as much fresh coffee grounds as you normally use and add it to the previous day’s coffee grounds. Brew with the same amount of water. The coffee comes out decent tasting and you are using less. Do the same thing the next day, until your filter basket is full. Use those coffee grounds for something else and start over.
- Freshen your refrigerator or freezer. I found out used coffee grounds are even more effective at removing refrigerator and freezer odors than baking soda. The ice cubes from my apartment freezer were tasting and smelling stale even though I had a box of baking soda in there. I placed a bowl of used coffee grounds in the freezer. The next day, the odors were gone and the ice cubes did not retain any of the staleness. Amazing!
- Use as scouring powder for pots and pans. Instead of Ajax or Bon-Ami, use your old coffee grounds to scrub your pots and pans. Rinse well. As you know, you are not supposed to use harsh detergents on your cast iron pots. Wet the pot, add a teaspoon of coffee grounds and use a soft sponge to scrub it. Throw the scrubbed grounds in the trash after you are done.
- Remove odors from your hands. Scrub your hands with old coffee grounds before washing with soap and water.
- Keep animals off your lawn. We had a small strip of grass in front of our unit that occasionally got pooped on. (Irresponsible pet owners are mainly at fault for letting their pet run loose but don’t get me started on that) I started throwing used coffee grounds on the grass. I had read that cats do not like to get the grounds on their paws. I think dogs don’t like it as well. This actually worked on keeping animals out of the grass. Once it rains you will need to reapply.
There are other uses for used coffee grounds such as adding it to compost, fertilizing plants, repairing furniture scratches, using as a dye for Easter eggs and paper etc. but I have not tried these uses personally. Please share in the comments below your favorite uses for coffee grounds.
The worms in our vermicomposting farm love, love, love coffee grounds. And it helps with any smell if we’ve gotten the compost balance off. We’re not coffee drinkers but we just go to the local pusher, er, cafe and they are happy to give us a big bag anytime.
Great points here. There’s so much you can do with coffee grounds besides just coffee! I actually didn’t know they were good for scrubbing cast iron pots – will have to try that out!