8 Things You Can Do With Coffee Besides Just Drinking It

Drinking a cup of coffee isn’t all about satisfying your taste buds, it’s also got to do with stimulating your brain with some energy to help you kick-start the day. For a majority of us, a cup of filter coffee or black coffee or that steaming hot espresso shot is what makes our morning bright. We swear by the notion that caffeine fixes everything!

But there’s a lot more that we can do with our coffee beside pouring it down into our pie hole. From being the drug to be anti-lazy to being a secret addition in our cooking recipes, coffee is definitely much more than just a morning ritual. We can do really cool things with coffee otherwise as well. Have a look!

1. Hand Deodorizer

Put your hands up in the air, if you’re one of those who pause by a coffee shop just to inhale the fresh aroma. And why wouldn’t you, the smell of coffee is magical! It uplifts our senses (1). Aromatherapy isn’t just about sniffing coffee. Did you know it could be used as a hand deodorizer as well?

Use ground coffee to get rid of the pungent smell of garlic and onions. Just rub the powder between your palms and fingers, rinse off with water. And ta-da! That’s your hand deodorizer.

2. Face Mask

Coffee promises skin benefits too. Hell yeah! Even your skin loves it. The antioxidant content in coffee helps the skin become wrinkle-free and it also removes dead skin cells (2). How? Well, you could buy those skin care beauty products or make a DIY mask mentioned below and see for yourself if it worked or not.

• Take some ground coffee powder and add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to it.
• Mix the ingredients well and apply it to your face.
• Leave it on for a good 20 minutes and wash your face with warm water.
• Moisturize your face and observe the results!

3. Coffee Compost And Fertilizer

DIY compost and fertilizers stink, right? But we found you a hack that could be a boon for those of you who have home gardens. Consider using coffee as compost! This is because it grows bacteria that worms enjoy (they are the key ingredient of a compost). Also, coffee contains magnesium, nitrogen, and calcium; you can add it as a layer on the topsoil as it can serve as an excellent (chemical-free) fertilizer (3).

4. Clears Drain Clogs

The grease buildups are irksome and nightmarish. And we end up calling for help to get it cleaned (which also empties our pockets). But worry not! Coffee, like always, comes to our rescue. Make a mixture of dish soap, coffee grounds, and some boiling water, and pour it down that clogged sink. It works like magic and flushes out the drain.

5. Fridge Freshener

There’s no denying that we Indians have an amazing cuisine. But, as much as all the spices we use are aromatic, once we store it in the fridge, the smell of our food turns pretty strange. And it’s happened to all of us — we open our fridge and definitely know that our fridge smells weird. What can we do? We definitely can’t spray in some room freshener, it will turn our food toxic. But if you have any leftover coffee, place it in the fridge. Coffee will absorb all the strong odors and it will leave your fridge smelling way better.

6. Hair Treatment

As much as coffee does wonders for our skin, it works great on our hair too. What does it do? Well, it leaves your hair looking all glossy, and in addition to this, it even stimulates hair growth leaving your hair nourished and softer (4).

DIY Coffee Hair Pack:

• Brew enough amount of coffee that will cover your hair.
• Let the coffee cool. Apply the cold coffee onto your hair.
• Massage your scalp in circular motions to help coffee do its work better.
• Leave this hair pack on for a minimum of 20 minutes.
• Rinse off with lukewarm water.

7. Natural Insect Repellant

Since we have established the fact that we humans definitely get lured by the smell of freshly brewed coffee, let’s move on to other beings. In contrast, our little creepy crawlies — the insects like bugs, mosquitoes, ants, and much more, hate the smell of coffee. So, sprinkle some coffee grounds in your home to make it a bug-free zone. Coffee becomes your secret weapon against the little creepy fellas (still talking about the insects) when you run out of insect repellants at home (5).

8. Cover Your Sidewalks With Coffee In Winter

It’s winter time, yay! But there’s a blanket of snow everywhere, nay! Although winters are fresh and beautiful, it’s a headache to clear the snow that accumulates on the sidewalks, in front of our homes and the streets we use. We even get tired of paying for that street salt as it definitely doesn’t clear off the ice completely. Did you know that coffee could help here? Sprinkle coffee grounds on the sidewalks covered with ice! It tends to melt the ice, keeping your sidewalks slip resistant.

You are amazed, right? Now, we have many more reasons to bow down to this ultimate bean, coffee! Have you used your coffee grounds in any other way? Do let us know in the comments below.

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