Uses for old coffee grounds around your home for health and better living.

We all know how amazing coffee is as a pick me up, for its health benefits and also as a daily social staple in our lives.

Before you throw away the bits of coffee that are left after you make your homebrew, consider some awesome uses for old coffee grounds that are naturally fantastic.

Chemical free, packed with anti-oxidants, minerals, and nutrition, there is a place in every home for leftover coffee grounds. Oh, and you will save money on expensive, chemical packed products by simply re-using your awesome coffee grounds!

Check out these top ideas for using coffee grounds in your home…

1. Natural Body Scrubs

Packed with anti-oxidants, coffee is a perfect part of a body scrub routine. They provide a gentle exfoliation when mixed with a little coconut oil and will give you smooth gleaming skin. Be sure to do the scrub in the shower to keep the mess at a minimum. You can even try mixing the grounds with a little honey for a gentle lip scrub to have the smoothest lips in town!

Coffee is a proven cellulite buster when used topically. The caffeine in the coffee scrub actually helps break down the fat deposits that are trapped between connective tissue in the skin by increasing blood flow and working its magic on dissolving fatty deposits.

2. Soaps and Beauty Bars

Coffee grounds can be made into homemade coffee bars if you do a little research. They are beautiful smelling and antibacterial plus they brighten skin through powerful antioxidants. If soap making is not your thing, you can try one of our gorgeous  Barrister Bars that are hand made with a whole lot of love in conjunction with Redfern Natural Beauty here in Broome.

3. Scalp Cleansing and Hair Growth Stimulation

Working twofold to cleanse the scalp and stimulate hair growth, coffee grounds can be used on your head as well as your body. You can use the grounds by themselves, or add some coconut oil which is brilliant nutrition for hair follicles– of course, be sure to wash hair thoroughly after you use it.

4. Organic, Natural Garden Fertiliser

Knowing how important organic fertilizers are to the garden, it makes sense to use as natural as possible when adding nutrients to your soil.

Soil is the lifeline for all plants that grow in it and the plants draw the goodness out as their food. Soil that contains no nutrients is really just sand and will not hold moisture or offer any goodness to your flowers, vegetables, and herbs. A good organic fertilizer contains magnesium, nitrogen, iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and chromium. And so does coffee!!! Not only a nutrient provider, but it is also able to draw nasty heavy metals from the soil and provides a rich source of food for worms, the heavy lifters of the soil health industry.

5. Pest Control

As well as feeding plants and worms, coffee has the incredible ability to deter the little bugs, pests, and bits we DON’T want in our soil.

Sprinkling a thick border of coffee grounds around your garden bed will deter snails and slugs from wandering across the threshold and into your prized tomatoes. And it looks nice too!

6. Composting with Coffee

Making your own compost from kitchen food waste and garden clippings is a fantastic way to add natural nutrients, nitrogen, and goodies to your garden. Studies have shown that by adding the coffee grounds to make about 40% of your compost boosts the effects of the compost and nitrogen levels in a big way.

Get into the habit of tipping all your grinds daily into your compost waste and you will see some amazing results in your veggie patch. Be sure to continue to add kitchen waste such as egg shells, plant scraps, herbs and stale bread to keep the variety of the compost composition healthy. Avoid meat and fish scraps and oils though as these go rancid in a bad way and won't add any value to your mix.

7. Non Toxic Kitchen Cleaning

Chemicals used in cleaning products are often forgotten toxins when we choose to detox our bodies and homes. We absorb chemicals through our skin when we handle them, they enter the atmosphere we breathe and pollute the waterways.

Bad, Bad, Bad.

But when faced with a day-old pan crusted with burnt rice (it’s true, I cannot cook rice!) the habit of turning to the Jif or the Gumption chemical product is hard to resist.

Next time you need to get down with your Elbow Grease, try scouring your pans and utensils with your coffee grounds. It is gentle, non-toxic, and a better way to clean. Just be sure to not apply the coffee scrub to anything porous as the material will absorb the color and this will make nobody happy.

Give them a good rinse in very hot water afterward too to make sure you remove any residue.

8. Pet Care

This is a new one I've just started trying. Coffee deters fleas and ticks, so you can you're your furry friend and then massage the moistened grounds into their skin and fur after you do shampoo. It will work to add extra cleaning and stimulation (much like on humans) and also deter the nasties from sticking around in the fur.

Be very careful to wash the grinds away completely after you apply them, and definitely do not let the pet lick or consume the grounds. Also, if your pet has a serious flea infestation, you will need to seek help from the vet through medicine. The coffee solution is a great preventative practice but won't work if you have some serious flea issues.

9. Absorb & Eliminate Odours

Coffee contains nitrogen which means it counters and absorbs sulfur gas smells. This is a great trick to practice if your fridge needs a freshen up. Just place a bowl of grinds in your fridge and replace weekly.

You can even fill a pantyhose or thin sock with grinds and hang as a portable deodorizer in your cupboards. Make sure they are dry though or you could regretfully be dripping coffee through your wardrobe!

This one is my favorite – I like to keep a small bowl of grounds by the sink and after chopping garlic or onions I do a little hand scrub with the grounds and some coconut oil, then after rinsing, rub my hands around the metal of the sink. Garlic fingers GONE! Try it and you will never have to have garlicy fingers after making a beautiful meal again!

10. Natural Colour Dye

If you are looking for a natural, vintage style at home dye, coffee grounds are the best. When that favorite white t-shirt has a stain you just can't move, try dying it with coffee to give it new life. The color is a beautiful subtle brown, and you can even try a tie-dye process where you wring the fabric into a twist so the color becomes uneven and textured.

Give the fabric a good wash in very cold water with a gentle detergent before you start the dying process. Simply soak it in coffee ground infused water overnight and then wash again in cold water. You can experiment with the length of time you leave the fabric to sit in the coffee water.

Try dying boiled eggs in coffee for a natural colored style Easter Egg collection or a super special Sunday morning breakfast tray.

Rinsing your hair with a coffee solution will not only add nutrients, but it will also darken your hair slightly. We don't promise grey coverage or the effects you get from a natural Henna treatment, but it will add a little oomph to your existing color without leaving you feeling like you took the hair dye a bit too far!

11. Tasty Meat Tenderiser

Salt, enzymes, and acids break down the proteins in meat making it more tender before you cook it. As coffee grinds contain enzymes and acids it will break down the meat fibers really well, and also add a lovely subtle flavor.

You can use the coffee grounds two ways when tenderizing your meat. Apply as a dry rub with your salt and pepper and let the meat sit for around 2 hours. This will leave a gorgeous black crust on the meat when you cook it and a beautiful flavor.

Alternatively, you can use the grounds as a liquid marinade by adding hot water to them, cooling, then mixing the rest of your marinade flavors in. Rosemary, oregano, lemon and lots of salt and pepper work well. This marinade is best if you allow the meat to rest in it for up to 24 hours, covered, in a non-metallic container, in the fridge.

So there you have it – how to create a better home and garden environment through using your old coffee grounds! Now you understand the benefits of organic, pesticide free living, you may be even more inclined to try our organic coffee (we recommend the AMAZING  Mintaka Organic Blend!) and then use it not only for excellent coffee, but a better home environment! 

If you have any other tips, please feel free to share with our community on our  facebook page!