21 Frugal Uses for Coffee Grounds, Filters and Cans
Are you a big coffee drinker? If so, you probably toss a small mountain of grounds, filters and cans into the garbage every week…and into your city’s overflowing landfills as well.
Instead of throwing out the by products of your coffee pot, why not put them to practical use instead? Coffee grounds, filters and cans have scores of uses in the home, garden, workshop and campgrounds.
I have listed twenty one recycling tips to get you started. I bet you can think of dozens more! Why not give them a try?
Coffee grounds:
In the garden, they are great for repelling pests. To keep ants and cutworms away from your vegetables, surround your garden with a ring of coffee grounds. To rid yourself of ant hills, mix one pound of coffee grounds with one quart of hot water, and douse the trouble spots on your lawn with it.
Dump coffee grounds in your garden and flower beds to enrich the soil.
Do you want to start a worm farm? Mix together horse manure and coffee grounds to make a soil your wriggling friends will love.
Houseplants love coffee! Use the grounds to top off your potted plants, or mix them in with your potting soil. If you have left over coffee in your pot (without cream and sugar) use it to occasionally water your plants.
Use steeped coffee grounds and a cotton ball to touch up scratches on your furniture.
Dry coffee grounds thoroughly on a cookie sheet in your oven. Then stuff the grounds into old pieces of nylon stockings and tie off the ends. Put the stockings in your refrigerator, under kitchen sinks, and in musty smelling closets. The coffee is a great natural deodorizer!
Do you want to highlight your brown or black hair? Rinse it with a cooled pot of brewed coffee.
Coffee filters:
Line a planter with coffee filters. It prevents soil from leaking out when you water your plants.
Put filters between your good china dishes to prevent scratches.
Clean your glasses, mirrors, windows and computer screens with coffee filters. They are lint free!
Use coffee filters to recycle your cooking oil. Simply drain it through a filter lined sieve.
Ball up a coffee filter and use it to apply shoe polish.
Polish crystal and glassware with coffee filters.
Use coffee filters to cover dishes in the microwave. It will eliminate splatters and make clean up easier.
Coffee cans:
Fill a coffee can with charcoal briquettes, replace the plastic lid, and punch some holes in it. Place the can in closets and under kitchen and bathroom cabinets to absorb excess moisture.
Store cat litter in a coffee can in the trunk of your car. Use the litter for traction under your wheels when your car is stuck in mud, ice, or snow.
While camping, store your toilet paper in a coffee can. It will keep it waterproof.
Coffee cans are great for transporting live fishing bait. Fill the can with moist soil and worms. Cover with the can’s plastic lid a punch a few small air holes in it.
Use small coffee cans to protect young tomato plants. Cut the top and bottom off each can. Put one can around each plant and step on the end to sink it into the ground. Remove the cans when the plants are a few weeks old.
Grow better melons, with the help of old coffee cans. Sink coffee cans into the soil, bottom ends up. Place the melons on top of each can. The metal attracts heat which quickens ripening and repels insects.
Prevent paintbrush bristles from bending while you soak them in solvents. Fill the can with solvent and replace the plastic lid. Cut a slit in the lid, and push the paintbrush through the top. The snug fit keeps the paintbrush upright while the bristles rest in the liquid.
For more great ideas, try these resources:
Yankee Home Hints
Earl Proulx
St. Martin’s Press, 1993
Wacky Uses
http://www.wackyuses.com/maxwell.html
Cocoajava.com
http://cocoajava.com/java_feature_coffee_grounds.html
Recipecircus.com
http://recipecircus.com/recipes/Harper/TIPSnHINTS/Uses_For_Coffee_Filters.html
Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=b733bae1-1b56-474a-b22b-964766ec8d13)
