Coffee Cache

Why throw your used coffee grounds away when there are so many uses for them? Check out the list below to see if there are any ideas you can use for your old coffee grounds instead of just tossing them in the trash.

• Household
  1. Sprinkle coffee grounds around the edge of your house to repel ants.
• Plants. Add coffee grounds to your plants. This works in two ways:
  1. Fertilizer. Mix the coffee grounds directly in with the soil or soak them overnight in water. I used about 1/8 of a cup of grounds with 32 ounces of water – I let them sit in a plastic coffee container – then watered the plants. I have seen mixed claims as to whether coffee grounds are acidic or not. I will be looking into this further and I will post the results in the future. I have used this on coffee, banana, and evergreen plants with success.
  2. Insect repellent. Use the coffee grounds like the previous idea for fertilizer to also help keep bugs off your plants. My banana plant had tiny bugs and looked like it was going to die. I mixed some coffee grounds into the soil and used coffee water last week; I no longer see any bugs and the plant and already has 3 new sprouts.
• Smells. Coffee is a good odor absorber, and if you’re like me, it’s a good air freshener as well – although that’s more of the unused coffee grounds.
  1. Wash your hands with coffee grounds after you are done cooking with smelly foods like garlic or onions.
  2. Place 1-2 cups of dry coffee grounds in the refrigerator in an open container, such as a bowl or spread over a plate.