15 Uses for Used Coffee Grounds

Think twice before you toss those used coffee grounds. Check out these 15 Uses for used coffee grounds. There are some that are super helpful!

I love my morning cup of coffee, but I feel so wasteful just chucking all those coffee grounds into the trash. Did you know there are several ways you can reuse coffee grounds? Check out these 15 Uses for Used Coffee Grounds!

PS: If you have a Keurig you can still totally reuse your coffee grounds. You can snag this great Recycle a K-Cup tool to make it easier to take your cups apart and reuse those grounds.

15 Uses for Used Coffee Grounds

Homemade Fertilizer

Replace your store-bought fertilizer with coffee grounds. Just sprinkle the coffee grounds in the soil around your plants, or mix 1/2 cup of grounds and warm water in a spray bottle to make a fertilizer mist for your home garden. Plants love coffee too!

Deter Pests

The strong smell of the coffee will deter insects and even cats from around your house. Just sprinkle the grounds around your foundation or sprinkle them around your garden.

Compost

Add coffee grounds to your compost pile helps stabilize the pH level, which helps foods degrade more quickly, and more evenly. The coffee scent also helps with the smell.  Don’t know much about compost? Learn more about composting!

Trash Can Deodorizer

Coffee grounds can absorb the strong odors in your garbage. Fill up an old pair of pantyhose with some dry coffee grounds, and hang the mixture on the inside of your trash can lid.

Fridge & Freezer Deodorizer

Keep them in a small container in the fridge instead of baking soda to eliminate strong food odors.
Scrub your hands with spent coffee grounds after chopping onion or garlic to get the smell off of your skin.

Drain Cleaner

The gritty texture of the grounds and the strong scent helps unclog and deodorize your kitchen sink. Boil a cup of coffee grounds in a pot of water, and then pour the entire hot mixture down the drain.

Wood Scratch Repair

You can use coffee to hide scratches on dark wood or espresso finishes. Mix a few grounds with warm water to make a paste, rub the paste over the scratch, and wipe it off with a towel. The grounds stain the wood and make the scratch less noticeable.

Recipes

Used coffee grounds work just as well as fresh grounds in food recipes. You can also add a few grounds to chocolate baked goods for some added flavor. YUM!

Fabric Dye

Steep the grounds in water, strain out the grounds, and you’ve got all natural brown fabric dye!

Scalp Treatment

If you have dark hair, you can massage coffee grounds into your scalp to prevent dandruff. Blondes and redheads, this is not for you, since the grounds can color your roots slightly!

Body Scrub

Coffee grounds have a great texture and some wonderful properties that make them perfect to use them in beauty products.  Use those coffee grounds to make this excellent coffee body scrub!

Pot Scrub

Wet or dry coffee grounds Effectively clean heavily soiled pots and pans. Just toss the grounds on the surface, and scrub with a sponge.

Deodorize Shoes

Stick a sachet of dried coffee grounds into a smelly pair of shoes to get rid of the stink.

Hand Odor Remover

Cooking with onions or garlic leaves a strong odor on your hands than most liquid soaps can’t remove. After cooking, wet your hands and rub a few coffee grounds on them, then rinse with fresh water. This eliminates the odor from your hands and nails.

Craft Projects

Coffee grounds make realistic looking dirt, tree limbs, and beards in art projects. With a little glue, you can add a three-dimensional look to any art project. Kids especially love doing art projects with used coffee grounds. Super fun for a rainy day

Waste not, want not. Do you have another great use for used coffee grounds? Share them in the comments below.