What to do with used coffee grounds

Don't let your enormous (but well-meaning) pile of old coffee grounds next to your kettle scare you — if you don't know what to do with it but are on a mission to be less wasteful, read on for four tried and tested ideas.

Feed your houseplants

Save some old coffee grounds in a pot and mix a small amount of them (around a tablespoon) into the soil of any of your acid-loving houseplants. Let's repay our houseplants for bringing us plenty of joy when we were stuck inside during lockdown!

Make a deodorant for your hands & fridge!

Coffee is a brilliant deodoriser and will absorb all sorts of smells. Keep a jar of grounds handy in the kitchen, and scrub your hands after cutting smelly items like garlic or onion! And keeping an uncovered jar of grounds at the back of your fridge will eliminate any funky smells.

Make a coffee face scrub

2 tbsp. of waste coffee grounds, 1 tbsp. coconut oil and a spoonful on honey. Mix together and scrub away! Wash away with warm water.

WARNING: You will smell slightly of delicious coffee at first, but will be glowing. 

Natural coffee wood stain

Skip the queues at B&Q and use your grounds instead!

Just use:

• 1x tbsp. Coffee Grounds
• 2x cups White Vinegar
• 2x pieces fine steel wool
• 1x Large Mason Jar with lid

Got all the ingredients? Nice. Here's the how-to:

1. Pour your white vinegar into a Mason jar. Add steel wool into the mason jar too. Then add 1 tablespoon of coffee grounds to the mixture too!
2. Close the lid and leave the mixture to sit for 3 days giving it a good shake every day.
3. The steel wool will gradually dissolve into the mixture. The longer the mixture sits, the darker the natural coffee wood stain will turn.  Ensure to give the closed jar a good shake before using. When applying the coffee wood stain, use a foam or bristle brush and if some coffee grounds appear, simply wipe away with a clean cotton rag.
4. The DIY wood stain will look very light and even have a green tinge to it when first applied to the wood. But as it dries, the colour will darken into a smooth, rich, coffee colour.  The vinegar helps to develop the tannins in the wood, which produces a darker colour after it’s stained. 

See ya next time,

Al & Kirsty