Valuable Habits: Home Coffee Ecosystem

I love coffee. If you see me with a cup of regular coffee (of any roast type, but NO decaf,  and NO added flavors), you will, more than likely, see a smile on my face. Regardless of the time of day, I can savor a cup of coffee with equal fervor because  caffeine doesn't keep me awake at night like it does others. If anything, it has the opposite effect. So, instead of reaching for a coffee to keep me awake while driving late at night, I reach for something cold and refreshing like a sports drink. 

The fact that I can drink regular coffee at any time without fear of not being able to fall asleep is a gift. I embrace it, and I make full use of this gift daily. With all that coffee being consumed, you can imagine the volume of used coffee grounds I threw away daily. It was a large amount, and it just seemed wasteful. I was forced to rethink my habit. Don't get me wrong, I am not referring to my coffee intake when I say habit (heavens no!). I am referring to the habit of labeling things as waste instead of finding ways to put "conventional" waste to "valuable" use. 

Someone once told me that by placing used coffee grounds in an open container in your refrigerator, you can eliminate odors from pungent leftovers, etc.. So, I thought I'd give it a try. I took a small plastic container, filled it with my used coffee grounds from the day's coffee brew, and placed it in my refrigerator. I didn't currently have any unpleasant odors in my fridge, but I thought it would be a safe preventative step to avoid odors from such foods like kimchi and leftovers that might appear in the future. I felt pleased with myself for taking a step (small as it may have been, but a step just the same) in the right direction. 

That first step was great! I felt like I was turning waste into something useful, something valuable. Not only was I increasing the value of something once seen as waste, but I was also decreasing the amount of waste I created at home. Now, this may seem miniscule to anyone living in a single family detached home in the suburbs where coffee grounds can just be tossed out into flowerbeds, etc. But for those of us living in a condo in a high rise with a trash shoot, it is far from miniscule as we know the value in minimizing our volume of waste going down that trash shoot and/or being carried down to recycling.   This first step was encouraging. And it led to more creative steps.  

This one solution only took care of about a cup of used coffee grounds. I had heaps more, and my brain started churning to find other creative uses for this abundant  resource from my kitchen. If an open container of used coffee grounds eliminates odors from a fridge, then it should be able to do the same in other places where unpleasant odors might emerge. I won't bore you with all the details of my trials and errors in creating this Home Coffee Ecosystem. But I will share with you some of the best practices I learned over the years in doing this at home. 

The Cold Storage

I needed a larger space to store the volume of used coffee grounds I accumulated daily to eliminate all of the grounds going to waste. So, I increased the size of the container used in the fridge. This would allow me to store all the used coffee grounds in a cool, dry place while continuing to eliminate odors in my fridge.  I took the original large plastic container that the ground coffee came in, perforated the plastic top of the container, and used it in the fridge to store my used coffee grounds while also continuing to eliminate odors in my fridge. Not only did that take care of the volume of grounds coming from my daily brews, but it increased the power of the odor eliminator in my fridge, and it turned the original ground coffee container into a valuable cold storage space instead of adding to my recycling. 

The Storage Sachet 

As the cold storage container in the fridge filled up, I needed to figure out other uses for the used coffee grounds. So, I decided to create odor eliminator sachets to place in drawers, shoes or shoe closets, cabinets, etc. Below are the steps to take to create these sachets:

1. Take unused coffee filters (any filter will do, but I find the flat-bottomed filters         work best)

2. Scoop about 1/4 cup of used coffee grounds in each filter

3. Gather the edges of the filter together forming a pouch or sachet

4. Securely tie each sachet off about an inch or two from the filter's edge using an         old string or bread tie. The tied filter sachet keeps the grounds secure while             allowing them to absorb odors wherever you place them. (I replace these after a       few months, and add the used sachet grounds to those used in the other ideas         below.)

I explained this new idea to a friend who was visiting for the day, and I demonstrated the process to him by showing him how to make a sachet. He liked the idea, so we decided to make this an activity we'd do on his visits while chatting and catching up. With two people making them, we had enough for what I needed and plenty for him to take home as well. 

The Taboo Topic

As the cold storage continued to fill, I had to figure out another use for those accumulating coffee grounds.  And brace yourself, the following description may contain language and themes unsuitable for the health conscious Ms. Kravitzes out there. Whether we like it or not, people still smoke. And just like my parents did back in the 70s when they, who didn't smoke, put out free-standing ash trays for guests who did smoke, I make sure I have ash trays ready for visiting guests who smoke.  

Used coffee grounds are useful in three ways when it comes to cigarettes: 

    1. Moisture from the grounds extinguish the cigarette immediately 

    2. Tightly packed grounds secure the cigarette butts in the ash tray preventing             them from falling out or being blown out by wind 

    3. Contained ashes, cigarette butts, along with used coffee grounds in a zip lock            bag prevent the odor of the ashes from permeating the rest of your garbage            when added to other garbage from your home. (Just be sure to take garbage            that you added the ashes zip lock bag to out soon as cigarette odor will escape         before too long.)

Ashes to Ashes to Dust to ...Dirt

OK, so I tried to come up with a creative transition...well, you get the idea. Moving on.

I have a couple of trees and a few houseplants in my condo.  And for years, I'd take the filled cold storage container and scoop coffee grounds into the pots of each of my plants to make room for more used grounds.  But I worried that the coffee grounds might damage the plants and trees by upsetting the soil's pH levels or something. I'm not an expert, by any means, when it comes to plants and trees. But a friend of mine is.  So, I asked him about this over dinner at a party we both attended. I explained what I had been doing, and that I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing harm by adding this step to my coffee ecosystem. To my relief, he explained that, not only would this not harm them, but that it might prove to be beneficial to some house plants and trees. He also commended me on creating such a home ecosystem.  

These ideas take care of the used coffee grounds, but what do you do with the leftover coffee?  Don't toss it out!  Save it, and store it in the fridge.  I have another useful idea that I think you will love in a blog post coming soon!

I hope these ideas are helpful to you. And though you might not be able to implement such an ecosystem in your home for whatever reason, I do hope that by reading this process, and by understanding my thought process in creating this system, you are encouraged to find ways to turn items you once labeled as "waste" into items of "value." 

Please leave any questions you may have about this in the comments section of this blog. Also, if you have ideas or suggestions that you would like for me to try and post about, please include those in the comments too. I value your feedback. 

Thank you!

Ron