I like mornings. It's still cool outside. There's a nice breeze drifting in through the open windows (aided by the attic fan). The babies are still asleep. The husband is still asleep. The dog doesn't know I'm up yet (he's old and kind of deaf). The neighbors are quiet.
The day is fresh and I can't wait to get to work. I flip open my laptop, grab my notebook and calendar and review the day's agenda. Lots to do, lots to write.
I need lots of caffeine.I drink a lot of coffee. It has antioxidants. I feel healthier just thinking about it.
Everyday I drink coffee, and
everyday I have a filter full of grounds. I have a compost pile, and lots of them end up there. There are also more ways to use up the grounds you have at the end of the day.
Add to your compost pile. Okay, I already said this, but it's still a great use. If you have even a small compost pile, throwing in a few paper filters full of grounds every week is a great idea. You can also feed it to your worms, if you have a little worm farm going. I'm not quite there... Use as direct fertilizer. You can sprinkle grounds directly onto your grass, your flowerbeds, your garden. Pile it up around the base of plants, bushes, trees, etc., as an eco-friendly fertilizer. Repel snails and slugs. Sprinkle grounds wherever you have a problem with these critters. I don't know if it's the smell, the texture, or the taste they don't like, but they don't like it. Check out around your doorways, windows, out on your patio or porch, in your carport, and around your garden. Refresh your kitchen sink or disposal. If you have a smelly garbage disposal in your sink, send about 1/2 cup of grounds through it to clean it out and absorb the nasty odors. If you just need to clean a regular sink drain, have about 5 cups of boiling hot water on hand. Pour 1 cup down the drain, then sprinkle 1/4 cup of grounds down the drain, and then slowly pour the remaining hot water after the grounds. 
Dye paper or fabric. Steep the old grounds (tie them up in an old nylon stocking) in hot water to make a dye. Use more grounds for a deeper brown color, fewer grounds for a lighter color. Once the liquid is brown, remove the bag of grounds and put your paper or fabric in the dye. Wet thoroughly; let soak for a few minutes for a deeper dye. Wring out, remove, and hang to dry out in the sunshine. Use the dye to water your plants. Use as an abrasive cleaner. Just be sure not to use on white porcelain or any other stainable surface. Remember that dye job you just did? Yep. Same thing will happen on your pretty white stuff. But any other surface that needs some scrubbing will benefit from a handful of dry grounds, or a paste made from grounds, baking soda, and water, and a little elbow grease from you. Keep cats out. Rumor has it that kitties don't like the odor of coffee, so sprinkle your old grounds around any area you don't want them using as a litter box. Don't think it works for dogs, but you're welcome to try. Shine your dog's coat and repel fleas. After you bathe your puppy, rub some coffee grounds through the fur all over, then rinse thoroughly. The grounds will make the fur shiny and will discourage fleas. Use as a skin scrub. Mix about a cup of grounds with about 1/4 cup of light olive oil or sesame oil and use as a body scrub. Or, for a facial scrub, mix 1/4 cup grounds with 1 egg white or with 1/2 cup of yogurt (your choice!); smooth over face with light pressure, avoiding eyes and lips. Let dry on skin for about three minutes, then rinse off. Make a marinade for meat. You could also make a marinade for veggies, of course, but coffee is such a strong flavor it tends to work well with the flavor and texture of meat. If you're going to grill out tonight, grab your old grounds and pour about 2 cups of hot water over them. Let steep, then remove the grounds and pour the liquid over your meat. Let marinate in the refrigerator until time to cook.Image Credit: Ian Britton, AllPosters.com (Coffee Poster Card for sale).4 Comments so far!!