HappyLifestyleJournal
Usually the first association to the word -coffee- is the morning routine, the smell of coffee spreading through the apartment and the satisfaction you get after that first divine sip.
But did you know that this godly fluid has many more uses than just keeping you awake? Let’s find out what they are.
1. Powerful body scrub
First, what I like to do after I make my coffee is make sure that the coffee grounds that I just used are not thrown away. With this substance, after it is partially dried and damp just enough so it does not drip, you can make a powerful body scrub. Mixing one table spoon of damp, used coffee grounds with one table spoon of baking soda, you get a healthy, good smelling scrub. What is interesting, this scrub can not only remove dead skin cells, but it also affects hair growth. It is an unknown fact that coffee mixed with baking soda can penetrate to the hair follicle and the acids it releases substantially reduces hair growth. Just take a handful of this mixture and rub it in your skin circularly, in the opposite direction of the hairs.
2. Dyes hair
If you have naturally brown hair or you regularly dye your hair brown, this can be a helpful trick. Coffee, when brewed, is known to leave stains. Like the ones you have on your coffee table if you’re not careful. Just like that, coffee also stains your hair. It‘s not a long term solution, because coffee does rinse out after a couple times of washing your hair. However, it is a healthier solution, because after the coffee treatment, your hair will be shinier and a lot less dry, not to mention that you won’t have as much split ends as when dyeing your hair with hair color. And the steps are really easy, too. Just make yourself some coffee, leave it to cool, and you can either put it in a spraying bottle or pour it directly on your hair. But be careful, if you use spraying bottle, make sure the coffee is filtered, and if you pour it, make sure you do it above the bathtub or else everything will be stained.
3. Fixes furniture
Pet owners know what it’s like to have scratches all over the furniture. The dark wood furniture suffers more from scratches, because they are more visible. But, there’s an easy trick that will erase all the bumps and scratches. Just take a coffee bean, and wherever you see a crack, nick or gouge, gently rub in the coffee beans. It will act just like a coloring pen, but it won’t damage your furniture. There’s also another trick – the effect is the same, just the coffee shape is different. Take 2-3 tsp of instant coffee and mix with water to get a thick paste. Apply that paste to the spots you want to cover, leave it to dry and then remove all excess with a damp cloth and wax if needed.
4. Removes odors
Freshly ground coffee beans are the best solution for removing bad smells. If you spend a lot of time in your car and it has that smell of fast food or cigarettes, or just dust, you can easily remove it by placing a small open container with freshly ground coffee beans. It will absorb all the smells and voila, you have yourself a nice smelling car again. Same thing goes for kitchen: if you are cutting onions or garlic, preparing strong scented food like fish or Mexican, just repeat the same steps as for the car.
5. Fertilize plants
If you like having healthy and beautiful plants, but yours just don’t want to grow, here is a helpful and rather easy trick. Coffee grounds provide acidity and aeration plants just love, as well as nitrogen, phosphorus and trace minerals to enrich the soil plants grow from. Just put a 34 of a cup of whole coffee grounds in the soil, near the roots, repeating this step once a month. But be careful not to overdo it, because high level of acidity can kill your plants.
6. Dye Easter eggs naturally
If you like having things done naturally, here is another great trick you can use. Just like with hair, coffee will stain the eggs just enough to give them the glossy brown hue, without leaving the marks on the egg whites if the egg cracked while boiling. Depending on how much you’d want your eggs to stain, put freshly ground coffee in the boiling water and watch eggs get beautifully colored just the way you want them to. So, if you have small children, have no fear, because coffee is coming to the rescue! It doesn’t contain any artificial colors, so it will be perfectly safe to eat.
