Savvy Secrets – Coffee Grounds

Yes, a second set of Savvy Secrets this week but we never get tired of sharing helpful secrets!  Look what we found out!

Most households, if not all, have a coffee maker and make coffee fairly often.   And what to do with the leftover coffee grounds?  Well, Christine Poletto of Today.com offers this:

Freshen up your closets

Coffee is a natural deodorizing agent. Grind up coffee beans very fine, and place a few scoops into a cheesecloth sachet or reusable brew bag. We hang these easy-to-make sachets in a closet to clear up musty smells — just dangle from a hanger for a day or two. Other places worthy of these deodorizing pouches include stinky shoes, the refrigerator and the car.

Get rid of the garlic smell from your hands

Love to cook but hate the smell it leaves on your hands? Keep grounds in a dish near the kitchen sink and scrub with them whenever you want to rid your hands of strong odors from fish, onion or garlic.

Fertilize plants

Enrich the soil of flower beds by working coffee grounds directly into the dirt. This practice works especially well for beds containing roses, azaleas, rhododendrons, evergreen, camellias and other acid-loving plants.

Expert tip: Coffee grounds can actually create hyper-blue hydrangeas. The grounds increase the acidity of the soil, which helps them absorb aluminum and creates the vibrant blooms.