Simple Ideas for "Greening" Your Coffee and/or Tea Habit

Go Green in 2014: Week 30

Ahh! The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafts through the house....

We enjoy drinking coffee and hot tea in our house, as many of you probably do. And like with many other aspects of life, there are various ways to "green" our coffee and/or tea habits.

First, you might want to consider where your hot beverages came from. Maybe you've never thought about it, but coffee and tea can be acquired from organically- and sustainably-grown sources. And hopefully it is fair trade. It's not always easy to find products that fit all these requirements; I won't claim that everything I buy has these certifications. Not even close...but every little bit helps.

Let's go over some of the reasons why it's a good idea to look for these certifying logos.

Why choose "organic" and "fair trade"

• Organic farming relies on techniques like crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control, rather than harmful fertilizers and pesticides. Look for the USDA Organic seal on the packaging to be sure a product is actually organic.
• Fair trade is a system of exchange that ensures farmers and workers are justly compensated for their products and services (source). Look for the fair trade logo on packaging to be sure a product is fair trade-certified.
• Additionally, a product might be advertised as being "sustainably grown", which basically means it was produced without harming the eco-system. Sustainable agriculture reduces the risk of topsoil depletion and groundwater contamination, the decline of family farms, the continued neglect of the living and working conditions for farm laborers, the increasing costs of production, and the disintegration of economic and social conditions in rural communities (source).

Ideas for reducing coffee and tea waste

Another aspect of going green is trying to reduce waste every way we can. When it comes to our hot beverages, reducing the amount of wasted packaging is a huge step in the process of "going green". And believe it or not, we can actually reuse those old coffee grounds and tea leaves in various ways, as well.

Ways to eliminate packaging waste

• Rather than using disposable cups at home, use washable mugs - and if you like to pick up coffee at the gas station, make sure to have a travel mug along so you can reduce waste (and maybe even get a discount on your coffee??).
• Buy larger containers of coffee grounds and bigger boxes of tea to reduce packaging waste.
• Instead of buying individual K-Cups (for Keurig brewers), get a reusable mesh filter (affiliate link) that you can fill with your own grounds and wash between uses.
• Invest in a tea ball or loose leaf infuser (affiliate link) that can be used for straining tea leaves; this is a great way for tea enthusiasts to reduce packaging waste.
• Look for products with biodegradable packaging, and add them to your compost pile.
• Compost your coffee filters.
• Recycle packaging where you can: plastic containers and coffee tins, plastic wrapping, and cardboard boxes.

Ways to reuse coffee grounds

• Compost your used coffee grounds.
• Reuse coffee grounds in homemade body products, such as body and facial scrubs.
• Remove odors from your hands by rubbing used coffee grounds between them before washing with warm water and soap.
• Keep pests out of your garden by sprinkling coffee grounds around problem areas. This also helps keep cats away from your plants.
• Fertilize plants, inside and outside the house, by sprinkling used coffee grounds in the soil where they grow. It may seem strange, but plants love coffee!

Ways to reuse tea leaves

• Compost your used tea leaves.
• Soothe tired eyes with cooled tea bags; simply place them under the eyes for as long as it is enjoyable.
• Use cooled tea bags as a cold compress for the relief of bug bites, burns, and bruises.
• Or, use them as a hot compress to heal pinkeye, canker sores, and fever blisters. They can even help treat plantar warts by drawing out the infection.
• Feed your plants with used tea leaves. Sprinkle them in the soil around houseplants or in your garden to help it grow.
• Absorb odors in the fridge with used tea bags.
• Soak in a bath of warm tea; run the bath water over several used tea bags and soak for at least twenty minutes to soften your skin.

Now that we've gone over a few simple ideas for "greening" your coffee and/or tea habit, which to you prefer: coffee or tea? What are some of your favorite ways to reduce waste or reuse old coffee grounds/tea leaves?

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*Disclaimer: Although this post may contain affiliate links, all opinions are my own.

Your challenge: This week, think about the ways you can go green with your coffee and tea and consider giving them a try.

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**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**

How to Start Composting

Go Green in 2014: Week 22

In this post:

* Indoor/outdoor compost collection containers
* What can and cannot be composted
* What to do with your homemade compost

In this post about how to reduce food waste, I mentioned that I hadn't yet started composting, but that I planned to start. Well, I can finally say that we have started a compost pile!

To get started composting, you will need an indoor collection container and a larger one outdoors. You will need to learn what can and what cannot be composted. Finally, you will need to figure out what you're going to do once the compost is ready.

Indoor collection container ideas

You can use anything with a lid to collect your kitchen scraps for the compost pile. I like the idea of using a decorative bowl with a cover to sit on the counter, but until I find one I like, we are using a mason jar as an indoor collection container. You could also use a food storage container, an empty pickle jar, or even an aluminum can with something to cover the opening. You probably won't want to use anything that doesn't have a cover, due to the smell and the fact that it might attract fruit flies.

Outdoor collection container ideas

You will also need somewhere to dump the kitchen scraps and yard waste where it can all decompose. My husband built me a homemade outdoor collection container using a small slab of concrete and some bricks that were lying around. He built three walls with the bricks, and left the fourth side open so we can easily turn the compost each time we take out our kitchen scraps.

As the pile has grown, it has become slightly more difficult to turn the compost; I have been using a shovel to move it from one side to the other. It does take a bit of strength to get underneath the compost!

If you build your own compost area, you will want to make sure that water is able to drain after it rains. If you like, you could even section off an area of the yard where you want to plant a garden and use that area to build your compost pile. Then, after a couple months, your garden should be ready to plant.

Or maybe you would prefer to buy a plastic compost bin, rather than making one. A large barrel will make it easy to turn your compost on a regular basis because it can be rolled over with little effort.

Tip: When turned regularly (at least once a week - preferably every day), you compost could be ready to use within a few months. If it is never turned, it will take two years to decompose.

My homemade collection container is inside an old dog kennel on our property

What can be composted

• leaves
• grass clippings
• hair clippings
• popcorn
• produce peels
• eggshells
• paper napkins
• paper towels
• brown paper bags
• peanut shells
• chicken/rabbit manure
• earthworms (to speed the decomposition process)
• and more...

163 Things You Can Compost (link)

Tip: For richer compost, add a mix of both kitchen and yard scraps to your pile.

What cannot be composted

• bread products, baked goods
• pasta, rice
• cooking oils
• diseased plants
• human or pet feces
• meat products, bones, fat
• dairy products
• sawdust
• personal care products
• walnuts
• stubborn plants (dandelions, ivy)

What can you do with compost?

Once your compost pile has finished decomposing, what exactly are you supposed to do with it? First, you should know how to tell when your compost is done: When it's ready to use, your compost will be dark brown, and it will smell earthy. You might still have twigs and bits of eggshells, but you can either remove them or simply leave these larger pieces in the compost.

Of course, you can always use up your compost to fertilize a vegetable garden. But it can also be used to grow indoor plants, feed your fruit trees, feed your lawn (mature lawns only; newly seeded grass can be scorched by compost), and to mulch flower beds and shrubs.

Do you already have a compost pile? What have you done with it in the past? Please share your composting experience in the comment section below.

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Your challenge: This week, consider starting a compost pile for your food scraps and lawn trimmings.

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**This post is part of a weekly challenge {Go Green in 2014}, during which the author has challenged herself - and you - to find 52 ways to lead a greener life in 2014. You can follow the weekly posts on this page.**