Don't throw out those cut flowers! Learn how to make beautiful homemade potpourri. They also make excellent gifts!

 
We all love fresh cut flowers. Especially ones we have grown ourselves in our DIY gardens.🌸 But alas, all good things must come to an end. Except for flowers! The next time you have cut flowers, do not automatically throw them in the bin when they are on their last breath. Give those beautiful flora a second life.

Here's how: 
◇Preheat the oven to 200° 
◇Cut the flower heads off of your bouquet from right under the head. Make sure your bouquet is beginning to dry on it's own. Don't ever kill perfectly good flowers! You can also use the leaves to give some pops of green.
◇Lay the flowers out on a baking sheet (parchment paper is optional).

◇Spray the flowers with a mixture of 1 tablespoon of water and 10-15 drops of your organic essential oil of choice, mixed in a recycled spray bottle, then pop tray into the oven. 
◇Leave in the oven for 2 hours, or until the flower petals are dry and stiff, not burnt, whichever comes first. So make sure to check on the flowers periodically. You can spray the flowers a few times with the water/EO mixture during this process. 
◇When they are done, give them another good spray of your water/essential oil mixture, and let cool. ◇Place in your favorite antique, secondhand dish/bowl, or recycled jar, and enjoy!

I love anything that grows from the earth. I almost always have a bouquet of flowers from the garden displayed throughout the house. And I usually take the time to dry them. But most recently, instead of throwing any dead or dried flowers away, I have begun making potpourri out of them!🌻🌿🌺🌼Anyone can do this if you have an oven, it's very easy. You will have your rooms smelling fresh and natural without using any plastic or creating waste! Your finished products also make great, low-cost gifts for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions and holidays.

Beneficial uses of recycling your coffee grounds!

"Conscience keeps more people awake than coffee."

                                                                                                                                      -Unknown

☕My conscience has been more at ease knowing how to recycle and re-use coffee grounds. A lot of people drink coffee. Who am I kidding, almost everyone drinks coffee. Since becoming plastic free, I have consciously and mindfully been sifting through every action I take in life and scrutinizing my daily routines. Living a plastic-free life is all about changing our habits. It is something we can all do, if we put our minds to it. I know, it sounds cliche, but it's true! How often do we rush out of the house to get to work, or rush to take the children to school, or rush to this meeting, or rush to a party or a show? This modern society is influencing us to move faster, and react quicker. And this is not always the best way to live. In fact, it is not a healthy way to live at all.

Okay, let me get back to coffee, more on slow-living later. I recently noticed we were throwing away our organic coffee grounds and filters, (made from recycled material by the way), every day! I used to buy homemade coffee body scrub from a small business located in North Carolina -the packaging was unfortunately plastic and the product was very expensive- so from experience I knew that coffee grounds make an excellent natural exfoliate and moisturizer. So I began collecting our daily organic coffee grounds and bottling them in a recycled glass jar (pictured).

I use the coffee grounds to exfoliate and wash my face. I thought it would dry my skin, but it has done quite the opposite! My skin feels so smooth and unbelievably moisturized. So much so, that there was no need for me to put moisturizer on my face after the shower! Of course, everyone's skin is different. So if you have to apply moisturizer, or incorporate coffee grounds in addition to your regular facial routine, please do so! I love the way they smell, and the grittiness of the grounds really helps to clean out the pores in my face.

🍃Other uses for recycled coffee grounds:

With so much coffee being consumed on a daily basis, it is encouraging to know that there is a productive use for all those leftover grounds. Using your leftover coffee grounds as a fertilizer or compost addition, is another great way to recycle those grounds! Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen which is great for soil, and gardeners swear that worms fed with coffee will flourish. Coffee grounds also help in keeping ideal temperatures in compost piles. This allows the compost to stay free of harmful pathogens that could affect delicate seedlings later. Since coffee grounds are slightly acidic and full of nitrogen, a mineral that aids vegetable and plant growth, used coffee grounds are perfect to spread throughout the garden! Coffee grounds are especially good for tomato plant growth, which thrive on nitrogen. When used for planting, the grounds create a natural acidic form of bacteria, which boosts the growth of acid-loving plants like tomatoes, roses, blueberries and evergreens. Adding coffee to soil increases the nutritional value, betters the texture and fertility of the soil, and helps to attract earthworms. 

🍃☕So make it a habit! Just like making that pot of coffee every morning, next time you do, save your coffee grounds and add them to the soil in your garden! For the best results, make sure you use organic coffee if you are consuming the fruits or vegetables you fertilize, (which I hope you are). 

HELPFUL HINT: You can wash your face with the coffee grounds over a bowl, and use that same water/coffee grounds mixture to fertilize your soil! That way there is zero waste in both processes!