There’s nothing like coffee in the morning. I always start my day with a cup. But in the evenings, I usually go for tea.
You know how it is, you start the kettle and in no time, you have a hot cup ready — after dropping in a bag of your favorite brew, of course.
After a few minutes, you pull out the bag, toss it in the trash and drink the tea.
But ever since my grandmother taught me some tricks to do with old tea bags, I haven’t thrown any away.
Scroll down and check out these clever ideas for used tea bags. You’ll be surprised how handy they are — and you might even save a bit of money in the future, too…
1. Soothe sunburns
Take a tea bag filled with black tea and rinse it with cold water.
It will be your new best friend when you get a sunburn during the summer or when traveling abroad. Black tea contains tannic acid that helps the skin heal and gives you a prolonged cooling sensation.
2. Relieve minor burns
You can use the same tea bags that use for sunburns for another urgent situation.
If you accidentally burn yourself, apply a tea bag on the affected skin. The tannins in black black tea also soothe minor burns.
Photo: YouTube3. Get rid of warts
Did you know that green tea contains antioxidants that can prevent warts from growing? Take a used tea bag after it’s cooled down and place it on top of the wart.
After 15 minutes, remove the tea bag and replace it with a new one. Leave the second one on for another 15 minutes. Then, wait a few days and your wart will fall off.
4. Put an end to puffy eyes
The tannins found in black tea can also help soothe the puffy bags under your eyes.
The next time you drink a cup of tea, save the teabag. Put it in a small container and place it in the refrigerator for a day or two. Then, when you feel like it’s time to do something about the bags under your eyes, grab a couple tea bags from your refrigerator.
Photo: Flickr/AmandaG5. Remove grease stains
Do you let your dishes soak because of stubborn stains?
Just fill your sink with water and dirty dishes. Then, throw a few tea bags in the water. The stains will be much easier to remove.
Photo: YouTube6. Weed killer
A bag of tea can be turned into a weed-killing concoction.
Try apply brewed black tea to weeds, or make a tea recipe of citrus (orange or grapefruit), tea, and water. Black tea steeped in a jar of vinegar with orange rind can also be used as a spray, according to Tip Hero.
7. Fertilizer
Not only can you compost tea bags as fertilizer in the compost bin, but loose leaf teas and compostable tea bags may be dug in around plants.
Roses love it, and so do houseplants and garden plants like ferns. You can also dig the tea bags or loose leaves in around plants to utilize the tea bags for plant growth directly around the root system.