Alternatives uses for your leftover coffee grounds

If you’re like me, you drink a lot of coffee, both at home and at work. At Joyride, we compost all of our delicious grounds we are left with, but at home, it’s a different story. If your home isn’t equipped to deal with compost, here are my 5 quick tips for how to handle your leftover coffee grounds:

Treat Yo’Self: Make a quick coffee-based scrub or mask! The possible ingredients and variations are endless. My personal scrub go-to is a mix of grounds, oatmeal, and a tiny bit of turmeric. Grab a handful when you’re stepping in the shower and start scrubbin’. Your face will be baby smooth! (great for dry skin) For a mask, mix a ripe avocado and grounds together, put on your favorite sitcom, and slather it on. Wait 10-20 minutes before washing off, and enjoy your brand new smooth and refreshed skin.

Garl-ICK: How many of you love to cook?! How many of you love garlic and onions?! Me me me!! These basics give your meal that extra delicious touch, but after chopping, your hands may carry those scents for a day or two. Yuck! Don’t worry, coffee has got your back: take your grounds and a squeeze of your dish soap; scrub those hands and BOOM you’re back in the fresh smelling biz!

Help That Green Thumb: Coffee can help you achieve your plant parent goals!! Take a bit of grounds and use them as an extra treat for your house plants. Don’t use too much, but a spoonful of that nitrogen rich goodness will make every plant sing!

Grill-icious: Dreams of becoming The Grill Master? To add an edge to your barbecue game, take your grounds, mix with a healthy dose of salt, pepper, garlic, and massage it on your steak! Let it soak for an hour or two before grilling. If you’re not in a rush, do it the day before. The result? Friends will suddenly start suggestion cook outs… at your house. Yummmm!!

And Then There Was Light: Love the scent of your morning coffee? Make a candle with your extra grounds! Take a paper coffee cup, and place a wick (buy at any craft store) in the center of the cup. Sprinkle some coffee grounds around the wick. Next, take 1 cup of candle wax and melt down using a heat safe glass bowl. Pour the first half of melted wax in the cup and let it harden for 20 minutes. Then sprinkle another round of grounds into the cup, and pour the rest of the wax in. After the candle has hardened cut away the paper cup, and voila! You have your very own homemade candle.

So there you have it! The possibilities for your excess coffee grounds are endless. Next time you’re about to throw yours out, consider re-using them in any of these fun, easy to do activities.

By Kat Krieger, Head of Marketing