18 Ingenious Ways to Reuse Tea Bags You Don’t Like

There are several reasons why you can be trapped with tea you don’t desire. Maybe you didn’t like the taste, or it became stale before you could use it, or one or two varieties of tea from a bigger mixed pack simply aren’t your thing.

Before you toss away your tea, consider these ideas on how you may utilize it. You could discover a terrific method to utilize your surplus tea, as well as some new ideas to try in the future!

1 – Compost Your Tea Bags

The majority of tea and tea bags are biodegradable! If you have a compost bin, you may throw the whole tea bag in there as long as there are no staples. If your tea bag is stapled shut, just remove the staple and discard it before placing the remainder of the tea bag in your compost bin.

Some firms utilize plastics in their tea bags, so do your homework before tossing the full bag into your compost bin. If you discover that your tea bag contains plastic, you may still break it apart and put the loose tea to your compost. Simply place any plastic or metallic objects in your usual rubbish can.

Loose-leaf tea only has to be taken from the container it is stored in. Most loose-leaf tea containers are not biodegradable and are meant to keep the tea fresh for as long as possible.

2 – Use Your Tea Bags as Fertilizers

Even if you don’t have a compost bin on your house, you may still dispose of your tea in an environmentally responsible manner.

If the tea comes in a bag, cut the bag apart and use just the tea leaves within. If your tea is loose, just pour some of it out and softly cover the dirt, just as you would with tea in a bag.

This is also a good alternative for folks who live in flats and may not have much outside space. You may still use wasted tea as a fertilizer if you have indoor plants.

3 – Bury the Tea Bags in Your Garden

This is yet another excellent approach to fertilize your plants using tea bags. Instead of ripping open your tea bag and spilling the loose tea contents into the earth, you would dig a tiny hole next to the plant and bury the whole tea bag within.

Again, the advantages of doing so are dependent on the tea bag itself being biodegradable so that the soil and plants may absorb its nutrients.

If you don’t have a compost bin, burying your tea bags is a terrific method to compost, and the tea won’t smell bad as it decomposes like other foods. It will become fertilizer for your plants as it decomposes in the soil.

4 – Use the Tea Bags as Potpourri

You may use it to keep your closet smelling fresh as long as you enjoy the fragrance of your undesired tea. To keep your clothing smelling fresh, place tea bags on shelves or in drawers.

Potpourri has traditionally been used to keep clothing smelling fresh as they sit in drawers. It’s also composed of the same ingredients as many teas!

5 – Use Tea Bags in Your Refrigerator

What if you don’t have any baking soda? Try replacing coffee with tea! The tea leaves, like baking soda, can absorb any strange odors that may be hanging about in your refrigerator. Tea leaves, like potpourri in your closet, will bring a wonderful, pleasant scent to your refrigerator.

Just make sure the tea you use is something you want to smell every time you open the refrigerator door. Choose a tea that you like the fragrance of!

Mint teas and cinnamon are also excellent choices for use in freezers since they smell fresh and crisp and are likely to mask any unpleasant odors.

6 – Use Tea Bags to Freshen Your House

Here’s one more technique to utilize tea to enhance or disguise various aromas in your home. Tea may be added to anything that stinks, such as putting loose tea in your trash can or keeping tea bags in the corners of your cupboard to keep it smelling fresh.

7 – Ask If Someone Else Wants the Tea

This may seem easy or obvious, but as long as your tea is still fresh, one of your friends, neighbors, or family members may be interested! Everyone has varied preferences, so chances are you’ll be able to find someone who is willing to accept your undesired tea.

When you have visitors around, let them know you have excess tea that you won’t be using and ask if they want to take some home with them.

8 – Use Tea Bags for Other Beverages

The only way to appreciate it is to drink a cup of hot water with tea. Tea tastes may be used in other drinks as well.

This is a good alternative if you believe a certain tea taste is too simple to drink on its own, or if you were given tea bags but don’t enjoy tea at all.

To any warm beverage, such as milk or hot chocolate, try adding a tea bag. It will provide a fresh, delicate taste to the drink without dominating it.

If you’ve previously used a bag of green tea, try reusing it in some lemonade. If you leave the green tea bag in the lemonade container overnight, the green tea will infuse with the lemonade.

You’ll have a lovely batch of green tea lemonade to sip in the morning!

9 – Infuse Soup with Tea

This may seem unusual at first, but use tea bags the next time you prepare soup! The tea will infuse into the water, vegetable, or meat stock you use to make your soup. Choose something that will complement the taste.

Consider flavors that could complement the kind of soup you’re creating. Green tea, lemon tea, and ginger tea are all excellent choices! If you’re inventive, there’s no soup you can prepare that won’t pair well with a tea.

10 – Infuse Tea in Baking Ingredients

If you’re baking anything that requires water or milk, you may boil the water or milk and infuse it with tea before using it. Consider chai tea pancakes or green tea vanilla cake.

The choices are unlimited, and it’s a terrific way to add some new taste to a tried-and-true dish.

11 – Use Tea Leaves as an Herb When Cooking

Tea is always edible on its own, if you think about it. Many common plants, such as mint, are also used in tea.

If you have a tea that includes a herb that you would use in cooking, just take the tea from its bag and use it to flavor whatever you are cooking.

This is a terrific method to use if you are lacking a herb from a recipe you wish to make. You don’t have to go out of your way to get a complete box of herbs that you may only use once.

Look through your cupboards to see if you have a tea bag replacement. You could even have the precise plant you want!

12 – Use Tea Bags to Reduce Swelling

Some plants have anti-inflammatory qualities on their own. If you had a bad night’s sleep, try laying cold tea bags over your closed eyelids to assist minimize puffiness. You’ll appear rejuvenated and ready for the day within a few minutes.

Another way to use tea to relieve swelling or irritation is to brew it and then apply moist tea leaves to your face as a mask. When you apply the tea to your face, be sure it is not still hot.

13 – Use Tea Bags as Skincare

Many plants that are often used in teas offer skin-beneficial qualities. Teas that might enhance your skin include lavender, rose, and chamomile.

If you have acne or pimples, try steeping lavender tea in cold water and applying it to your face for a few minutes. Lavender is antimicrobial by nature, and it will kill any acne-causing germs.

Jasmine tea is excellent for eliminating excess oil from the skin’s surface.

Rose may help with inflammation and redness. Prepare it in the same way you would a standard store-bought mask, by soaking it in cold water and then laying it on your face for a few minutes.

Chamomile is excellent for soothing and moisturizing dry skin. Apply a chilled tea bag to your face. To get the greatest results, use any of these strategies on a regular basis.

14 – Use Brewed Tea on Your Hair

Rinsing your hair with freshly brewed tea is an excellent method to get its advantages. Although black tea is a fantastic tea to use on your hair, there are many other types of tea that have distinct advantages. Rose tea can help to soften your hair.

To use tea on your hair, brew the tea in water, making sure to use a lot of tea so the infusion is strong. Pour the tea over your hair while you’re in the shower.

When putting the tea to your head, make sure it is not still hot. Allow the tea to soak for a few minutes before rinsing with a little water.

Make sure you use shampoo before you rinse your hair with tea, since washing your hair after you rinse it with tea may destroy any of the ingredients that will help your hair.

Once the tea has cooled, you may transfer some of it to a spray bottle. Then, after approximately a week, store it in the fridge and spritz a tiny amount on your hair when you get out of the shower.

You won’t need to rinse it since you’ll only be using a little amount of the spray. Work the tea spray through the ends of your hair with your hands.

Do not distribute the tea through your hair with a brush or comb. Brushing or combing wet or damp hair may result in breakage and broken ends.

15 – Use Tea in Your Bath

If tea is good for your face, it is also good for your body! Try adding any of the teas from the previous techniques to your bath. Leave a couple tea bags in the tub while the hot water runs.

They will be beneficial to your skin and will give aromatherapy as you bathe.

16 – Reduce Stress with Tea Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy may be performed with tea. As previously said, you may add some to your bath and let the steam ease any stress or anxiety you may be carrying.

If you don’t have a bath at home, or if you don’t enjoy taking baths, you may try the face steam approach.

Brew the tea as usual, but instead of using a cup, pour it into a large bowl. The bowl should be large enough to cover your whole face, but not so large that it becomes difficult to carry or handle.

Place your face over the bowl after the tea is made and in the bowl, and allow the steam seep into your skin. You may also wrap a towel over your head to keep the steam confined by your face, allowing you to get even more aromatherapy advantages.

The steam will also contain some of the anti-inflammatory or antibacterial characteristics that certain herbs may have, so your skin will appear bright and clear as well.

17 – Use Tea to Clean Your Carpets

If your carpets are musty, you may also pour wet tea on them. It will absorb any bad odors from the carpet fibers and may be readily vacuumed up once dried.

This is a terrific technique to reuse tea bags that you don’t want or tea bags that you’ve previously used instead of tossing them away.

If you are apprehensive to use wet tea on your carpet, there is another way to clean it using tea. Try combining dried tea leaves with baking soda. After you’ve combined the tea and baking soda, sprinkle the mixture over the carpet.

Allow the tea and baking soda to sit in your carpet for 20 minutes. You may vacuum it up once it has had time to settle on the carpet and absorb any unwanted scents.

If you use one of these ways to clean your carpet, be certain that the tea will not stain it. If you have white or light-colored carpet, it is usually not a good idea to put tea on it since it may leave a permanent stain.

18 – Use Tea Bags as Kindling for Fires

If you have a fireplace in your house or are going on a camping trip with a campfire, you may ignite the fire using old or otherwise undesired tea bags.

The natural leaves and fibers in the tea burn readily, and it is an excellent substitute for other kinds of kindling, such as newspaper or leaves and twigs, which may be time-consuming to collect from the nearby forest or trees.

The fire will smell like the herbs you placed in as an extra bonus of utilizing tea bags as kindling, bringing a pleasant aroma to your night.

Make certain that any tea bags you use for kindling do not have any metal or staples keeping them together, since this might be harmful to animals. The metal will not burn in the fire and will remain on the ground long after you have left.

It’s also a good idea to avoid burning tea bags with plastic in the paper material, since this may generate a terrible odor and is harmful for the environment.