[beyond coffee grounds]

My husband & I have early morning conversations over coffee in our lanai before having breakfast. This has been an everyday thing for us since we moved here 3 years ago.

While he cooks our breakfast, I prepare the coffee.

With our use of the coffeemaker, it yields us at least a scoopful of coffee grounds per day. But I don't just toss them in the trash because they can still be put to good use.

Did you know that we can reuse coffee grounds? 

From various information gathered from the Net, I am now sharing to you some ways:

1. Deodorizer.  Put them in a bowl in your refrigerator or freezer. For closets, wrap the dried grounds in cheesecloth or gauze material & hang inside.  To get rid of food smells, rub them on your hands. 
2. Fertilizer. Plants that prefer acidic soils like rosebushes will appreciate the leftovers from your morning cup. 
3. Compost addition. Add to compost piles or bins to help balance pH. If you use with a paper filter, throw them too.
4. Insect repellant. Sprinkle them around places you don’t want ants, or on the ant piles themselves. Used grounds are also said to repel snails and slugs.
5. Dye. By steeping grounds in hot water, you can make brown dye for fabric, paper and other crafts.
6. Furniture scratch cover-up. Steep grounds and apply a bit of the liquid to furniture scratches with a cotton bud.
7. Cleaning product. Because of their slightly abrasive texture, grounds can be used as a scouring agent for greasy and grimy stain-resistant objects.
8. Cat repellent. To keep cats from using the garden as a private toilet, sprinkle grounds mixed with orange peels around your plants.
9. Skin exfoliant. Slightly massage this on your body to exfoliate. (*I've used this myself as a body scrub & I felt smooth afterwards. But I have yet to try it as a facial scrub.)
10. Shoe deodorizer. Sprinkle some dried grounds inside stinky shoes.
11. Hair shine & softness enhancer. When washing hair, rub through wet hair & rinse.
12. Cellulite reducer. Mix 1/4 cup warm, used coffee grounds with 1 tbsp. olive oil & apply the mixture to your "problem areas" while standing over an old towel or newspaper. Next, wrap the slathered-on areas with cling wrap & leave on for several minutes. Unwrap, brush loose grounds off your skin & then shower with warm water. For best results, do this procedure twice a week. (* I haven't tried this but  since it is similar to a hot oil hair treatment &  you'll be using olive oil, I am sure this will yield good results.)

**I have read Pinoy Organics' blog post about getting free coffee grounds from Starbucks.  To be sure, ask the barista if you find yourself in one of their stores.