Photo credit: kevinrosseel from morguefile.com
The average person drinks about four cups of tea a day, over a year they use about 1460 teabags. Are you surprised? What is more shocking is that after brewing the vast majority of us throw those teabags straight into the bin without a second thought!
However before you sling the remains of your morning cuppa why not try some of these fantastic ways to recycle your used bags.
To control and prevent odours
Tea leaves absorb odours. To freshen up your home try sprinkling leaves in the vacuum cleaner before your Hoover, add to your cat litter box or put a used tea bag in the fridge to prevent smells.
To aid your garden
Tea leaves raise nitrogen levels in the soil and provide food for worms they are just the ticket to include in your compost; alternatively you can water your plants with weak tea or even bury the tea bag in garden to decompose.
To get crafty
All you need is a creative mind and you can get really craft with teabags. Use them to stain furniture, fabric or paper for an antique look. You can also use the tea in acrylic paint to add texture to your paintings.
To pamper yourself
Puffy eyes? Put a cooled damp tea bag over your eyes for 10 or 15 minutes to reduced swelling and dark circles. Alternatively you can use them to care for the skin , the teas tannic acid acts as an inflammatory and you can use a warm tea bag as a 10 -15 minute compress on a wart, sty or mosquito bite. You can also use tea bags to sooth sunburn and heal bruises.
So why not save some of those faithful tea leaves? There’s lots of life in the old bag yet, the least you could do is make another cup!