5 Uses for old Green Tea Not just for Breakfast anymore!

Today I drank an entire pot of Green Tea with 3 bags!! I ran out of Coffee. I love Green Tea and can easily drink an entire pot, I just don't often drink the whole pot at once! Many commecials and website devote lots of ad space selling you on the weight loss benefits of Green Tea the stuff is in gum, juice drinks even muffins! Does it work? Maybe, as long as you are not consuming a dozen Green tea and spice muffins a day! Anyway I was about to toss my tea bags into the compost heap outside my kitchen window and I thought "is there anything usefull I can do with green tea bags" I have a Green Cleaning Business so maybe I can pass on some really great ideas to my clients!

I happen to live in Asheville North Carolina a large population of the folks living here are "eco-aware" I consult many of them with tips and ideas on how to make small, tiny, itsy bitsy little changes in their lives in order to have a softer impact on the environment. Oh and tip number jumped out at me right away Yoga Mat Deodorizer! Here in Asheville there is a running joke that if you need job become a yoga instructor or a massage therapist! So here is what I found on Green Tea, DO NOT throw away your used tea bags use them to change the world!

Adapted from The Book of Green Tea, by Diana Rosen (Storey Books, 1998).

1. Yoga Mats. In the hot, humid areas of Thailand, Burma, and other Asian countries, people sleep on straw mats. This straw is cool and comfortable, but people do perspire. It is quite common in these areas for straw mats to be washed in tubs of water to which tea has been added. The tea works as a powerful deodorizer, leaves a fresh scent, and can even infuse the straw with a delicate sage color. You can use green tea to clean other washable surfaces, such as yoga mats and air mattresses.

2. Litter Boxes. Used green tea leaves are wonderful in kitty litter as an extra boost for diffusing odors, and they help deter fleas from both cats and dogs.

3. Pet Beds. Sprinkle dried used green tea leaves on your pet’s favorite pillow or bed. Great in doghouses or anywhere troublesome pet odors occur. If you can afford the extravagance, loose leaf gunpowder tea is great for dogs to roll around in. The crunching of the pellets releases a wonderful aroma, and helps to scratch wherever dogs have an itch. The pellets help give your dog a more pleasant smell.

4. Refrigerators. Place used green tea bags or leaves in a small bowl, uncovered, in your refrigerator to help absorb odors from onions and garlic for about three days. NO need to throw them out even then, just sprinkle the old leaves around your ferns, rosebushes, or other plants.

5. Kitchen Odors. Preparing fish? Cutting up garlic? Rid your hands of the fish or garlic oils by rubbing them with wet green tea leaves, an instant deodorizer. The leaves are also great for deodorizing and cleaning the pan in which you cook fish or garlic.