Have you ever looked down at that mug of warm, comforting, caffeinated delight in your hand and thought to yourself, “If only you could do more for me”? Nope? Neither have I.

Coffee is a saint, a savior, our hero on rainy days, and the silver lining after our sleepless nights. Used coffee grounds, on the other hand are like one night stands: use them once and they’re ready to be kicked out the door before you can add creamer to your first cup of coffee. But what if they could be used for more purposes than just (just?) making your morning come alive with creamy coffee goodness?

Coffee Grounds

Exfoliating Facial
Use coffee grounds to make an easy, DIY facial that’s really beneficial for your skin.
What you’ll need:

  • 1/2 Tbsp used coffee grounds
  • 1 Tbsp honey (preferably raw)
  • 1 Tbsp virgin coconut oil

Coffee Grounds facial

Mix ingredients together and gently massage into your skin. Rinse thoroughly. Coffee grounds exfoliate dead skin cells while also stimulating the blood vessels in your skin. This may cause a slight pink flush.  This means oxygen is rushing to your face and feeding your skin. In addition, honey and coconut oil both have antibacterial and moisturizing properties.

Deodorizer & Air Freshener
Coffee grounds actually help to deodorize bad smells. Try putting some grounds in an unused coffee filter or old panty hose, tie closed at the top, and stick in your smelliest household spots: Refrigerators, cars, closets, that area your kid keeps his hockey equipment in the garage. Bonus: Coffee ground sachets add a nice coffee-tinged scent wherever they are placed. Anyone complaining?
Note: I’d recommend drying out the grounds completely before making sachets to avoid mold growth. Sprinkling out coffee grounds on a sheet of aluminum foil for a few days does the trick.

Compost
Coffee Grounds! It’s what plants crave! Coffee grounds provide vital nitrogen to the plant roots. They also stave off slugs, snails, and bothersome stray cats, while allowing more movement and food for friendly garden earthworms. Simply sprinkle as is into your garden.

Dog Flea Remover
After bathing your furry friend with shampoo, massage the used coffee grounds into your pup’s coat. Rinse, and dry as usual. Not only will the coffee grounds help repel fleas, but coffee-scented dogs might be the greatest thing since the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Talk about man or woman’s best friend!

Dust Pickup
For house cleanup days, sprinkle damp, used coffee grounds onto your hard floor as you sweep. The coffee grounds attract loose dust and dirt particles, bonding and allowing for easy pickup. Also, may cause you to lick the floor after. Or at least consider think about it. If you have a fireplace, this trick also works well for cleaning up ashes.

Those are just a few uses for used coffee grounds. Do you have any more tried and true uses?

Photo Credit: Creative Commons License 5:365 Grounds Of Brown by Nomadic Lass is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
Sources & Citations:
Group III, Dr. Edward. “Are Coffee Grounds Good for Plants?” Natural Health & Organic Living Blog. Global Healing Center, 17 May 2010. Web. 30 October 2013.
Andrew Langley, The Little Book of Coffee Tips, (2005), ISBN 1-904573-33-9 – research source. Quoted in “How to Remove Fleas from Your Dog Using Coffee.” Flea Control. WikiHow. 31 October 2013.

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