Re-Using Your Coffee Grounds

I LOVE coffee, but I might love my leftover coffee grounds just as much. Here are some uses that might even surprise you:

1) Turn Your Hydrangeas Blue: Hydrangeas can be blue or purple depending upon your soil Ph. Acidic soil begets blue hydrangeas. Coffee grounds, when brewed, are acidic. Use them as a top dressing on the soil around your hydrangeas, making sure to scratch the coffee grounds into the soil and you’ll enjoy blue bursts of color.

2) Coffee Grounds in Your Compost: Everyday, we use our coffee grounds as fertilizer. Most people put them in their compost along with their kitchen scraps. They’re a great source of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur.

3) Coffee Grounds Provide Shine to Your Hair: I haven’t tried it, but word is out that if you work some wet grounds into your hair they’ll help create a beautiful shine. They’ll also give you some great brunette highlights. Be careful though because coffee grounds down the drain can cause clogs!

4) Deodorizer: If your freezer or fridge are smelly, put a bowl or 2 of dried coffee grounds in there and the grounds will absorb the odors. Add vanilla for a different scent.  This also works in vehicles, closets, drawers, and musty basements.  Anywhere that could use a light scent....  as long as you love the scent of coffee!  Just tie some in a bit of old tshirt or tie up one of those socks that is missing it's match and toss them anywhere.

5) Furniture Scratch Remover: Cover up furniture scratches by rubbing them down with wet coffee grounds that match your furniture’s color.

6) Easter Egg Dye: Dye your eggs with coffee grounds for a pretty rust brown color.

photo from Revolution from Home

7) Ant Repellant: Ants don’t like coffee grounds. Sprinkle them along their path.

8) Tool Cleaner: Coffee grounds can help clean up your tools as an abrasive rub and gunk remover.

9) Vintage Wood Stain: Use wetted coffee grounds for a lovely finish on wood furniture.

Get Instructions from What Else Michelle

10) Meat Marinade: Add a teaspoon of coffee grounds to your steak marinade and impress your favorite coffee lover.

11) Secret Dessert Ingredient: Making dessertss for the grown up?  Here are a few coffee-licious recipes from Taste of Home!

Do you know of any great alternative uses for coffee grounds?

Setting My Goals 10/27

Today is going to be a whirlwind of accomplishment!  I am fully determined to whip this house back into shape after a busy weekend and be fabulously frugal as well!

Be Mindful of Gratitude
Babysit for an hour and a half in the morning
Call Dept of Education - Ali's home school form
Get soup in the crock pot
Send Ali off to mom's
List 9 things
Dehydrate apples
Clean main floor
Sophea and Clara Dentist

What do you have planned today?

Gratitude Journal - 10/26

It's been a wonderful day with no real pressure to get much of anything done.  I love Sunday's for that.  Although it's looking like tomorrow is going to be a busy day trying to get my tornado of a house back under control.  Here are the things that topped my gratitude list today.

Beautiful weather - kids played outside today shoe and jacket free in late October!  How wonderful is that?

Groceries - That was the highlight of my day.  I spent more than I was planning but the money was there to do it and I got a lot of great deals and meals for at least a week and a half plus a lot of new things for Sophea's lunch box and ingredients that will last quite a bit longer and save on future grocery lists.  I'm especially excited about the oatmeal ingredients.  I found quite a bit of dried fruit and grains.  I'm also going to try a recipe with lentils this week and I've never had them but so many of my friends swear by them. 

Unexpected money - Travis was able to go and do a couple tattoos last night and that added to the amount I was able to spend on groceries this week!  Thanks hubby!  You are going to be eating good this week :)

A wonderful offer for Ali's senior pictures - I was asking on facebook if anyone knew someone locally that does great pictures and I got an inbox message from someone we are familiar with who is looking to build their portfolio and is going to give us a great deal.  Very exciting.

Hannah and Ali coming home - it is always so nice to have their energy back in the house after they have been away for a couple days.  This picture is 2 years old!!!!   I really need to get a picture of them together that is more recent!

Messy painted fingernails - littles had fun painting their nails with the polish they got as one of the prizes at the school carnival yesterday.  They worked on their nails for nearly half an hour!

Frugal Each Day - 10/26

Didn't get the pictures I wanted to take today but wanted to share my frugal accomplishment anyway.  It was a good day.  The end is wearing long though and my kiddos are ready for supper and bed.  And I'm ready for bath and a book, and maybe some walking dead with my husband :)

Saved gas by ad matching at WalMart for the Coborn's and County Fair sales.

Got Hunts spaghetti sauce 10/$8 and Bartlett pears .99/lb.  4 Colgate toothpastes at a .25 money maker deal and 2 10 pack's of Capri Sun juice for Sophea's lunch for $2.  And the best deal was 5 lbs dehydrated blueberries at $2/lb (right now they are about $8/lb fresh)

Got groceries including stuff to make make your own oatmeal packets instead of buying the expensive oatmeal that we like.

I did overspend the grocery budget by about $50 for this week but I got 1.5 weeks worth of groceries and a lot of the things that I got will last for months and decrease the grocery bill in future weeks.  So I feel like I was right on budget.

Asked around on facebook for Senior picture options and had an offer from someone trying to build his portfolio.  His pictures are wonderful and he is excited that Ali wants something more creative than standard, so he is giving us an amazing deal!  I always say it pays off to do some looking around before making a decision and this is definitely one of those cases.

Fridge Organization

A disorganized fridge can be a meal planner's worst nightmare.  Family going to the fridge to grab a snack never know what is off limits because of a recipe and leftovers get lost and forgotten.  Not to mention the missing ingredients when you go to cook a meal!  Today marked the end of fridge disorganization for our family once and for all.  It is going to be so nice to be able to quit answering the "What can I eat, mom" and know that when I cook all of my ingredients will be available!

The bottom crisper drawer is now off limits.  In it I am storing meal ingredients and the things that I have set aside for lunches and for Sophea's lunch box.

Top crisper drawer will be a snack drawer where I keep the fresh fruits and veggies that are available for snacking.

Bottom shelf of the fridge will be food that's available for eating.  This includes leftovers and whatever we have that can be made into a quick snack or meal on the go.

Next shelf up will be off limits and for components that I need in making meals.

The largest shelf right above that will be for drinks.

And then the top shelf will be for condiments and ingredients that can be used by all! 

How do you organize your fridge?

Setting My Goals 10/26

Sunday Sunday, day of rest and a short goal list!  We are in search of a church right now and planning on visiting a new church but I would like to wait until the teenagers are back before we head there.  It's important to me to go for the first time together.  I'm really hoping that it will be a good fit for all of us.  So we are going to be staying home this morning.  I'm hoping my only trip out will be to the store with the little ones!

Do family Bible study time
Go coupon shopping at 3 stores
Organized Fridge
Paint nails with girls
Extra reading time with kiddos and for myself
Time with hubby

What are your goals today?

Pictures to FaceBook!

Just got done loading all of my June through September pictures to facebook and that was quite the project!  I really need to get it done more often.  I love that family and friends that aren't nearby can still be a part of the things we've been up to.  It was fun looking back and seeing all of the fun we had this summer.  Here are some of my favorites