We all love to start our day with a cup of coffee. We all love to relax with a cup of coffee in the evening. We all love to invite friends over for coffee, or go out with friends for coffee. But when the drink is drunk and all that remains are the used coffee grounds, what can you do with them? Probably more than you’d think….

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1. Use as a Clothing Dye

Your coffee grounds can be used as a cheap and easy colour dye. To make the dye, soak your used grounds in warm water for a few minutes. You can either apply the dye to clothing finely with a brush or spatter it on to create a messy look. If you want clothes to appear drenched, heat up the grounds in a large bowl of water and dip the clothes into this.

2. Dealing with Garden Pests, Part 1: Cats

Sprinkling your garden with coffee grounds is an excellent way of stopping cats from burying excrement near your plants. Cats do no not favour the smell of coffee, so you can use your grounds to protect the garden that you worked so hard on.

For a greater effect, try mixing the grounds with the remains of citrus fruits, such as oranges and limes – also offensive smells to cats, believe it or not!

3. Dealing with Garden Pests, Part 2: Slugs, Snails and Ants

Unfortunately, slugs and snails love to feast on your precious plants. However, coffee grounds are both acidic and abrasive, which will ensure that these creatures don’t even think about going near your flowers. Construct a protective barrier around your perennials in order to deter the slimy vermin.

Coffee grounds are also great for keeping ants at bay. If you have an unwanted nest in your garden, sprinkle grounds around this.

4. Clean the Fireplace

Coffee grounds can make cleaning the fireplace a much easier job! All you have to do is sprinkle the fireplace with damp grounds before you start your regular cleaning process. This will prevent ashes from rising, allowing you to complete the task without breathing in an unhealthy fume of charcoal.

5. Soothe the skin

Used coffee grounds can also be combined with olive oil to soften up areas of dry skin. Mix the grounds and the oil together and gently rub this over any rough patches of skin. Leave to soak for a few moments and then rinse away with warm water. This method can also be used to decrease the severity of spots.

So from deterring garden pests to dying your t-shirts, you can see there are plenty of inventive uses for your used coffee grounds!