There are few cities in South Africa that are as coffee obsessed as Cape Town. A good-quality cup of java seems to be the lifeblood of the Mother City, and many also stock premium coffees at home for the days when they don’t feel like leaving the house for a cup.
With this, comes a mass of old ground coffee that are simply flushed down the drain. Here are some creative uses for those old coffee grounds:
If you do not need a fertilizer immediately, you can compost your coffee grounds to use at a later stage to feed your pants and grow veggies in your garden patch. Composting is a natural process that turns organic items such as food scraps and yard debris into a dark, rich material called compost or humus. Adding compost to your yard or garden can help the soil hold onto more nutrients and water, and improving the health of your plants.
Compost with coffee grounds has been found to produce the least greenhouse gases and makes the best compost.
De-flea your pets with coffee grounds:
Fleas are a common problem even for household pets, especially cats, and eating this problem can be both time consuming and costly. A cheap alternative to this can achieved by rubbing coffee grounds on your pet’s fur after shampooing.
Simply wash your pet again after allowing the grounds to soak in, and allow them to dry as usual.
Grounds can be used to neutralize odors:
Coffee grounds are a rich source of nitrogen, and can also be used to absorb and eliminate odors. You can place a bowl of coffee grounds in your fridge or freezer to neutralize odors from spoiled or strong-smelling foods.
Exfoliate your skin for a fresh glow:
The coarseness of ground coffee particles work as an exfoliating agent to help remove dirt and dead cells from the skin. Simply mix coffee grounds with a little bit coconut oil and scrub them with your hands directly onto your face and body.
Picture: Pixabay
