My friend Ruchi from The Tiffin Kitchen and I have been doing a monthly collaboration posts featuring tea and today we bring you simple, creative ideas to use teas besides drinking it. Tea is the 2nd most widely consumed beverage besides water and most households have some form of tea in the cupboard. Whether you have tea bags, loose leaf tea, or brewed tea leaves in your teapot, we’ve got lots of ideas to upgrade your beauty routine, add nourishment to your plants, and freshen things around the house.

Used brewed tea leaves

Tea leaves can be re-steeped multiple times as long as you keep getting an enjoyable flavor out of the leaves. Here is a great video on this topic if you are interested to learn more. Next time before you dump used brewed leaves into the bin, first consider doing the following:

• Collect your used tea leaves in a container & sprinkle on your flower beds and plants. Leaves add nitrogen to the soil, balance any carbon-rich materials that might already be in there, and improve the soil structure and drainage in your plants.

• Tea leaves are highly absorbent and can attract odor from anything they come in contact with. Rub your hand with steeped tea leaves to help remove unwanted odors from garlic, onion, as well as cutting boards.

• Add brewed leaves to a compost pile as it helps aid the breakdown of organic matter in the compost and add nitrogen to the soil.

Prepare a tea foot soak

Catechins (antioxidants) in tea have antibacterial, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, which can be helpful in  neutralizing odors and fighting bacteria. Additionally, it’s a great way to soothe overworked and tired feet.

• Prepare a foot bath by simply adding 3 to 5 bags of tea per gallon of hot water and soak away. You may also add some epsom salt, essential oils, and other herbs to ease muscle and joint pain or honey to moisturize your feet.

Tea-based beauty masks & more

Add tea to your everyday beauty routine in the form of toner, face-pack, and exfoliator. Depending on your skin type and types of tea you have, the possibilities are endless. Some examples include:

• Matcha honey face-pack: Combine equal part matcha with raw, unfiltered honey to make a face mask. Apply to your clean skin and let it sit for a few minutes then use wet fingertips to gently rub the mixture in circular motions on your face. In 10-15 minutes, wash it off with warm water and apply your usual moisturizer.

• Tea toner mist: Brew and cool tea such as green, white, or black (or grind left over leaves and brew to extract tea) and store in a spray bottle in the fridge. Spritz on your face, neck, or your body as needed to hydrate your skin and for anti-odor benefits.

• DIY body scrub: Combine granulated sugar or brown sugar with coconut oil, honey, dried-tea leaves to make scrub resembling wet sand. Store the contents in an airtight jar and use as needed. It also make a great gift.

Head over to my friend Ruchi’s post on more Beau-Tea Tips featuring tea-based bath tea, mouth-wash, and eye de-puffer!

Household cleaner

The tannic acid and astringency in tea makes a wonderful cleaner around the house. I highly recommend testing out in a small area in your house, especially for the furniture.

• For hardwood floor, prepare a cooled black tea as the cleaning solution for your mop bucket and clean as you would normally mop. For wooden furniture, dip a cleaning cloth in the tea, wring out the excess, and use it to wipe away dirt and dust.

• A pot of strong, cool brewed tea works as a glass cleaner for your mirrors and glass windows.

• Throw a few used tea bags into the toilet and let them sit for 1-2 hours (or longer if it’s a bad stain), then flush the toilet to get rid of the stain.

• Mix baking soda with tea leaves (lavender or something fragrant) in a small jar. Take a spoonful and dust over the carpeted area you want to freshen up.Let it sit just a few minutes to soak up odors and vacuum up like you normally would any carpet powder. This also freshens the vacuum cleaner and eliminates odors.

Previously you missed:

Do you drink tea regularly?

Be sure to share how you re-purpose tea leaves or, have any creative ideas to share with teas besides drinking it.