Most people need a cup of coffee (or several) before they’re ready to start the day. But if you want to make the most of your coffee, don’t throw away the grounds.

You can recycle coffee grounds in your garden or even in your home by making fragrant and exfoliating soap!

What to do with used coffee grounds

1. Compost – If you have coffee grounds, you can use them to add acidity to your compost pile. Doing this helps attract worms and repel pests. Keep in mind that the ratio of green matter and brown matter must be equal, and coffee is counted as green matter. Since coffee is full of nitrogen, it can help your compost cure properly. To boost the phosphorus or potassium content of your compost, add some banana peels.
2. Fertilizer – Coffee grounds contain nitrogen and potassium, two of the three major components of fertilizer. Grounds can boost the magnesium content of the fertilizer, which can make your plants grow strong. Some lime and wood ash will also boost the phosphorus and calcium level of the fertilizer.
3. Worm farming – If you use worm “tea” in your home garden, you can use coffee grounds to feed worms, which need gritty substances for their digestion. Grow worms in an upcycled container with some garden soil and coffee grounds.
4. Carrot “superfood”– Rubbing carrot seeds in coffee grounds and adding some grounds to the soil when planting the seeds will help you do two things: it will help the carrots grow (the coffee grounds will help the vegetables grow bigger), and the grounds will help keep underground pests away from the carrots before they’re ready to harvest.
5. Insect repellent for plants – Sprinkle some coffee grounds around your plants to keep harmful insects away, like ants and slugs. Coffee grounds are suitable for “acid-loving plants.” But don’t overdo it with plants that require “more alkaline soil” because if it rains, the grounds could get mixed with the soil.
6. Deodorizer – You can use some coffee grounds to eliminate unpleasant smells in the fridge or freezer. Just put a few cups of coffee grounds in an open container and set it inside for a week or two to counter the odors. If your hands smell like onions or garlic, take some coffee grounds, rub some on your hands (like sand), splash a bit of water on it, and keep rubbing your hands to remove the smell.
7. Natural scouring “pads” – Since coffee grounds are abrasive, you can use them as makeshift scouring pads. Grounds can also be used as standard cleaners since they’re not scratchy. Use grounds to remove the grease and grime from dishes and minimize the chemical products in your homestead.
8. Rejuvenating soap – Coffee grounds can be added to homemade soap. The grounds will help “exfoliate dead skin cells,” and the caffeine in the coffee will also be absorbed via your skin for an extra energy boost. Using homemade soap with coffee grounds can also help get rid of eye bags.

According to the National Coffee Association, “coffee should be stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place.”

Be careful where you store your coffee. Avoid cabinets by the stove, which might be exposed to direct sunlight. Store coffee in your pantry or in a storage closet.

When stocking up on bulk containers of ground coffee, don’t forget that they can only last for a year or two until they lose their flavor and turn rancid.

To extend the shelf-life of ground coffee, store it in sealed plastic bags with oxygen absorbers. Place the plastic bags in a sealed bucket with more oxygen absorbers to make the coffee grounds last even longer.

Sources:

BioPrepper.com

JBBardot.com