With a few simple upcycling projects, you can take those old coffee grounds and expired coffee beans and turn them into some pretty useful DIY products.
Coffee is like the peanut butter to my jelly, the milk to my cookies, the Kim to my Kanye. Coffee is the wind beneath my wings, and I would be completely useless without it. Yet, every day I seem to do away with its waste. Old grounds and beans get treated like second class citizens, and ya know what? That needs to change. My coffee deserves more respect, dammit, which is why I’ve found you these totally cool and useful upcycling projects using your leftover coffee stuff.
1. Under Eye Cream
Coffee-infused under eye cream is said to be life-changing. Apparently, this miracle working concoction will help reduce puffiness, reduce the appearance of dark circles, and help with fine lines.
In addition to the coffee oil, which you extract yourself, it calls for a variety of other skin nourishing carrier oils and butters – almost all of which I have used personally at one time or another and have had nothing but positive results. Soap Deli News shares the tutorial you need to conquer this project.
2. Bar Soap
The next upcycled DIY looks super simple to make and doesn’t require a lot of hard-to-find ingredients, precise measurements, or time. Plus, if you like the idea of French vanilla coffee, then you’ll love the smell of this vanilla extract-infused soap.
With just old coffee grounds, glycerine bar soap, vanilla, and equipment, like a muffin tin, you can create an exfoliating and deodorizing soap to help invigorate you morning, noon, and night. Clearly Natural makes a good bar soap that I’ve used before, and is a glycerine-based product that I think would work well for this project. Check out the full tutorial over at Popsugar.
3. Decorative Balls
Everyone needs a decorative ball or two or ten in their lives, but the storebought types are expensive, and can be kinda wasteful. Instead, I’ve got a hybrid project for you (fully upcycled if you use old tennis balls) that uses styrofoam orbs and old coffee beans.
The blogger actually uses beans for eating, but if you follow her instructions over at Love Sweet Love, then I’m confident you can use the expired coffee assortment you have on hand. It’s basically a layer of coordinating paint (brown in this case), some hot glue, and some patience. Other decorative uses for old beans would be filler for jars, and as a base layer in which to nestle your candles.
4. Scented Candle
Speaking of candles, this DIY project is guaranteed to make your house smell like a vanilla latte all day long. The tutorial from Hello Glow calls for using your own gorgeous glassware, reusing unscented candles (or you can buy wax chips), a wick, whole coffee beans, and chopped vanilla beans. I can’t believe how beautiful these look. They would make awesome gifts and the aesthetic possibilities are endless!
5. Face Mask
Take the benefits of coffee to your face by making and using this simple ground face mask. Yes, it might look a little silly at first, but if it’s true that coffee reduces redness, increases circulation, and exfoliates the skin, then it’s totally worth it.
Beauty Banter uses whole ground coffee beans, but you can simply apply the grounds from this morning’s coffee. Combine these with a few other natural ingredients like honey, lemon juice, cocoa powder, and milk or almond milk, and you’ll be ready for your close-up in no time.
6. Wood Stain
If you’re turned off by the idea of using a stinky, toxic commercial wood stain, then you’ll love this new medium. DIY Vintage Chic has a great tutorial on how to create and use a coffee and vinegar based wood stain. The results are subtle at first, but after allowing it to sit for a week, the finished product is quite impressive. Not only that, but it’s natural, uses your old grounds, and doesn’t emit any noxious chemicals.
I hope you’ve been inspired by these upcycled projects that utilize old coffee beans and grounds. If you go through as much coffee as I do, then you know just how useful these can be. Let us know you thoughts on the EcoSalon Facebook page!
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