5 REAL Uses For Coffee Grounds – I Tried Them Out!

There are multiple websites and tons of pins on Pinterest touting the many benefits of coffee grounds. Some work, some do not. For example, several sites say that used coffee grounds repel ants. Not the ones I saw crawling over the grounds I'd spread in my porch. I think I even saw one scoop some into a teeny weeny cup.

So for my benefit and yours, dear reader, I decided to wade through the mounds of “Uses For Used Coffee Grounds ” and let you know which practices are true which did and did not work, at least for me: 

 

1. Use To Scrub Pots And Pans - Yes, using a handful of grounds does substitute for toxic abrasive cleaners, BUT coffee grounds can also clog your sink!  If you're going to try this, do the scrubbing on a towel or some newspaper that you can clean without flushing the grounds down the sink.
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Use Coffee Grounds As A Household Deodorizer – Yes, you can place some in a jar or dish to absorb odors from refrigerators and freezers, BUT you can also put a bowl of them in a musty basement or garage to help with smells. And, they're great at the bottom of trash cans (especially in the bathroom) to get rid of those nasty odors!
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Plant Food – It's true that rosebushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, and evergreens love acidic soil. I collect my grounds in a used coffee can (of course) and sprinkle them around my rosebushes. They love the grounds and I love the roses! 
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Shoe Deodorizer – Junior's sneakers are an environmental hazard, so I grab a pair of old knee-high panty house, filled each sock with coffee grounds, and place them in each sneaker. Okay, so the odor doesn't fully disappear, but at least now I don't want to pass out each time I pass Junior's shoes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Use When Shopping For Perfume Or Cologne – The last time I went to Bed, Bath & Body Works, my daughter and I had a blast trying on new scents. Unfortunately, it was difficult to really get a sense (pun intended) of the new scent when the old one was still in the air and on our arms. I had packed a tablespoon of coffee grounds in a little Ziploc bag and we took a whiff of the coffee between fragrances. The coffee scent actually cleared our noses of the previous smell.

Coffee grounds are one of those substances I always look at and think, “they HAVE to have more uses than just for coffee” and they do. 

Some work, some don't, but if you drink coffee and you have the grounds around anyway, why not try some of the uses above? They worked for me!

Thanks for reading!

Note:  Photos are courtesy of Pixabay.

6 Amazing Uses For Seltzer

1 of about 8 bottles of seltzer Junior drinks each day!

My son is a “seltzer-a-holic.” When he was little, he began drinking plain, old, carbonated water.  Sure, he'd rather have soda, but since his dad and I don't drink soda ourselves, the Teen has adopted seltzer as his main drink. Friends and family know he loves it and, surprisingly enough, he's has actually converted some of his friends who used to drink soda to this healthier alternative. But seltzer isn't just for drinking! Here are three amazing uses for this cheap, calorie-free beverage:

1. Remove fabric stains. Just pour club soda over the stain and gently scrub. The bubbles work wonders in getting stains out of fabric and carpet.
   
   
2. Clean counter tops. Pour seltzer right onto stainless steel counter tops, ranges, and sinks. Wipe with a soft cloth, then rinse with warm water and wipe dry. Unflavored seltzer's acidity breaks down dirt and bacteria. Don't let the surface air dry, however, or you might get water spots. 
   
   
3. Substitute club soda for milk or water in pancakes, waffles or scrambled eggs. The carbonation yields a lighter, airier texture.
   
   

   

   Use seltzer to get the salt out of your hair.

   
   

4. Use it to clean your car's windshield. Keep a spray bottle of seltzer in your car and use it to help remove bird poop and bugs from the windshield. The carbonation means no scrubbing.
   
   
5. Use it as a hair clarifier. After going in the ocean or pool, rinse your hair with a bottle of seltzer. Again, it's the carbonation that's the miracle worker here – it gently removes chlorine and salt.
   
   
6. Remove rust with seltzer. Loosen rusty nuts and bolts by dowsing with club soda which bubbles rust away.

Another discard!!!

And if you think the plain stuff is too boring to drink, add a little fruit juice to it. Again, it's calorie-free and doesn't have the many chemicals that diet soda contains. Like my son, you'll become a “seltzer-a-holic” too!

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Thanks for reading!

15 Uses For Old Books

Got old books? Here's how to re-use them!

 

So you've got a pile of books you and your kids haven't read in a long time. You've donated some to the local library, hospital or nursing home. Now what? Never fear! Here are 15 uses for those old tomes:

1. If they're textbooks, sell them on Amazon, Ebay, or at Cash4Books. 
2. Make a Book Safe – Cut out the center of old books to hide valuables (you can find instructions here. A word of caution: I made this as a present for my son and although it was time-intensive, Junior is now able to hide some of his valuables from his little sister by merely placing the safe among the books in his bookshelf.
   
3. Use Modge Podge to decoupage a table top, lamp shade, etc. The illustrations in many children's books are especially good for this.
   
4. Stack them to add height to a lamp (see photo). We
   

   

   Use books to increase a lamp's range.

   needed more light in this area, so we stacked books underneath. The result:  more light and a great look!
   
5. Use them as trivets. I'm always bringing warm pans to the table, but don't want to harm the surface. Old books work great to protect tabletops from too-hot plates, pots and pans.
   
6. Make a picture frame from an old board book (you can find instructions here). What a great, unique gift!
   
7. Make shelves to hold small knickknacks or other books. This is a wonderful craft (the how-to is here, especially since you can match the shelf to your room's décor.
   
8. Re-use the pages as kindling, mulch, packing material, or as wrapping paper.
   
9. Make a unique night-light. These instructions from craftster.org list this project as a “lamp,” but I think the amount of light given is really more suitable for a night-light or accent light. 
   
10. Make coasters. Take inexpensive ceramic tiles (the kind you find at Home Depot), a few book pages, decoupage using Modge Podge, and varnish. You could even add a photo or two.
    
11. Decorate a notebook. I'm always using salt-and-pepper notebooks I pilfer from the kids. They take on a more adult-look when covered with pages from a book.
    
12. Make a clock. Take a beloved book, glue the pages shut, cut out room for a clock mechanism and numbers (available at local craft stores) and you've got a clock which subtly reminds us to “Take Time For Reading.”
    
13. Decorate a portable calendar. I buy the inexpensive appointment calendars from the Dollar Store. Decoupage book illustrations or passages from an old book for a “classier” look to your calendar.
    
14. Turn an old book into a purse (find instructions here).
    
15. Make a planter for succulents (click here for the how-to).

Yes, your old book can be a planter!

Do you have any other uses for books? Please comment below! I'd love to hear from you!  And, as always,

Thank you for visiting!