Is it me or do abuelas have an incredibly hard time throwing away used tea bags? Have you noticed? My abuela (may she rest in peace) would carefully save each and every tea bag and reuse it I don't know how many times and my mother has actually yelled at me for throwing away her used tea bag because she wasn't done with it. I give up, I'm done fighting them and I am embracing reusing old tea bags and you should too because it turns out that they are super useful and not just for making a second cup of weak ass tea.
Read more ¿Qué más?: Green tea: How to lose weight with this miracle drink
Keep in mind that if you are going to be reusing old tea bags you want to do it pretty quickly or store them in the fridge, otherwise they will turn moldy and I'm sorry but at that point even your abuela would agree it's time to throw them out.
Here are eight great ways to reuse old tea bags:
1. Soothe your tired eyes. Yup, it's true, moist tea bags will help relieve the puffiness of tired eyes. You can place them on your eyes cool or warm.
2. Foot soaks. Just like tea bags will help tired eyes, they will also help tired feet. Take a few used tea bags and boil them in about a quart of water. Once the water is cool enough, soak your tired tootsies in the water. Bonus is that the tea helps get rid of stinky foot odor while you relax.
3. Full body soak. Put a few tea bags in your bath and give yourself a relaxing full body soak that will soften your skin. This works well for relief from the pain of sunburns too.
4. Cuts and razor burn. If you get a cut or razor burn, you can press a used tea bag on the affected area to help with the ouch factor and if you are bleeding it will also help stop the bleeding.
5. Wood cleaning. You can brew up some weak tea with used tea bags and then use it to clean wood furniture or wood floors. Eco-friendly and money saving!!!
6. DIY dye or paint. Tea stains, so you can use your old tea bags to dye clothing or paper. Give your kids some old tea bags and some paper and let their imaginations run wild.
7. Protecting cast iron pans. If you run a moist used tea bag across the surface of your cast iron pans, the tannins in the tea will help prevent the pans from rusting and will also help remove any existing rust.
8. Plant helper. You can use tea bags for your plants or in your garden in a variety of ways: put used tea bags (without staples) in your compost, cut the bags open and sprinkle the damp tea leaves on soil to fertilize plants or make a cold "tea" with the used bags and use it to water your plants and protect them from fungus.
Image via Thinkstock
