I love a great double shot as much as the next fella in the lineup, but afterwards you can find some good uses for that steaming clump of Ethiopian, Brazilian medium roasted blend.
Cats and Ants
A great way to rid your gardens from unwanted kitty-cat souvenirs is waiting for you for free. Stop by your local coffee shop and ask them for a big bag of used grounds. Many gives them away bagged for free. Bring them home and grab a few used orange peels and sprinkle this around the outside of your garden/dirt area. Cats dislike the smell of coffee as well as citrus. Double Whammy. Also, ants don’t like coffee grounds either, so if you have had problems with anthills, dump your grounds right on top for a single shot.
Fireplace cleanup
We have an original woodburning fireplace and a pile of wet grounds also do a nice trick to clean up the used ashes after a cozy fire has died down cold. Plus, your neighbors will wonder what kind of exotic Indonesian jungle brew you are making by the shovel load.
Pipe Refresher
Have pipes laid before Sir Wilfred Laurier reigned? Do they hint that he might be in the pipe? Dump a half cup of used grounds followed by 5 cups of boiling water to push the evil away.
You will find these and more smart ideas to keep the beans going as far as possible.
Last modified: April 6, 2009
not to be mr negative and if memory is correct – you may find that coffee grounds, if inadvertantly left on your concrete or stone walk way, will leave a stain that is difficult to remove.
a reader may know how to remove this without creating more problems or better still correct me if i’m having a senior’s moment.