Being Green – Many Uses for Your Empty Coffee Can

Before you toss your empty coffee can in the garbage, think reusable and help the environment

Here are some great uses for that empty coffee can.

Easier way to Crochet or Knit
If you like to crochet or knit, your coffee container can provide a tangle free ad clean yarn to work with. Simply place the yarn ball in a clean can and poke a hole in the plastic lid to pull the yarn through.

Don’t Clog The Drain
Keep leftover grease out of the drain by pouring it into an empty coffee can. Put it in the freezer and once full take to the garbage.

Storage for Dry goods and household items
Beads, buttons to nuts and bolts you collect, can go into the coffee can as well as containers for rice, pasta, and other dry goods. Put a label on the can and store.

Do you compost?
Keep an empty can in your kitchen on the counter of under the sink. Add your scraps and the lid will hold in any odor. Once filled take to your compost pile.

Grow Plants and Flowers
Put a few holes in the bottom of the can and add soil and seeds. Use the plastic lid for drainage on the bottom.

Coin Collector or Piggy Bank

Decorate the can and use it as a coin jar for the family or just for you. Toss in spare change for a family project or a new treat for yourself.

Decorate your cans with drawer liner paper, or a project for you and the kids.

Want to know more about Being Green? Check out TreeHugger.com

Photo Courtesy stockimages of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

 

Enhance Your Garden With These Leftovers

Getting through the summer months with a garden can be challenging with the heat in Florida, but with these 3 leftovers your garden can thrive.

Banana Peels for Roses and Staghorns
Banana’s have what roses and Staghorns love, “potassium” and it is the number one ingredient found in rose fertilizer. Bury a few banana peels around your roses and watch for bigger blooms. Throw a banana peel on top of your Staghorn plant and it will stay healthy and grow. Banana peels are also good for keeping away aphid pests that can destroy your flowers and leaves on plants.

Charcoal from Your BBQ
Next time you BBQ, gather some of the leftover Charcoal ash and sprinkle on your garden soil. Charcoal acts as a filtration and drainage to help your plants contain more water in the hot summer months. It also will decrease the acidity in the soil, adding nourishment that strengthens the root system. I used this on roses before and had great results.

Used Coffee Grounds
This leftover creates what every garden needs, a nitrogen rich soil ”. Even though coffee is brown, it is considered “green” when it comes to composting and adding it to your garden. Worm bins also benefit from the grounds and they are good for attracting earth worms and deterring snails and slugs when sprinkled around a plant. They are good for fruit trees and berries because they are acidic and tomato plants love them because of the nitrogen provided. Coffee grounds can also be turned into Compost Tea, see how here. You can get free coffee grounds from Starbucks.

 

Photo Courtesy dan. at FreeDigitalPhotos.net