As more and more attention is focused on recycling and green living, you’ve found that the term recycling means much more than putting some newspapers in the recycle bin and taking your aluminum cans to the scrap metal place. Almost everything in your home can be recycled in some way shape or form, including the spent coffee grounds that are still lying in the filter of your automatic coffee machine.

That’s right. Even something as trivial as coffee grounds can be used again and again, making both your money and your green living resolution go farther than you ever imagined. Check out a few of the things you can do with your coffee grounds long after your pot of coffee has been forgotten.

Coffee grounds, like just about any other organic material, can be added to your compost pile. This not only gives your compost an extra boost, but it keeps pests like ants away since many insects do not like coffee. You can also sprinkle coffee grounds around the perimeter of your home to keep many pests away.

Spent coffee grounds contain compounds that your vegetables and flowers will simply love. By soaking the grounds in plain old tap water for 1-2 days, you can create a potent liquid fertilizer for your indoor and outdoor plants. Incorporating the grounds themselves into the soil will affect the same result.

Dried coffee grounds make an excellent natural odor eliminator. Placing small containers of coffee grounds in your cabinets, refrigerator, school lockers, trash cans, or anywhere else odors may linger will effectively remove the odors and keep your house smelling fresh.

Coffee grounds make an excellent furniture stain. Simply steep the coffee grounds in boiling water for several minutes and use cotton tipped applicators to apply the colorant to the scratch.

Who knew there were so many uses for a substance that many people just discard in the garbage every day. The next time you go to throw away your used coffee filter and spent coffee grounds, think again.

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