Coffee filters are less than half a penny a piece, cheaper than napkins or paper towels so let's use them.
1. Use coffee filters as little serving dishes for pretzels, popcorn, chips. Roll into a cone if the food will be taken outside where kids are playing. You may say you have small bowls for this but it is cheaper to use a filter than to wash bowls.
Following a disaster save paper bowls for liquids. When water is in short supply you will not be able to wash dishes.
2. Place under individual servings of desserts or fruit when serving a buffet. They make it easy to pick up a serving to eat in your hands or place on a plate. Again, limited water, great plates for controlling portion size when food supplies are limited.
3. Use to absorb grease from bacon or other fried foods.
4. Wrap hot dogs, tacos, or sandwiches to catch all those little drips. Cheaper and less landfill than napkins or paper plates.
5. Push the stick of a Popsicle or ice cream bar through a coffee filter to catch drips.
6. Wrap around whole pickles, slices of fruits, or juicy whole fruits to prevent sticky fingers.
7. When making a soup or stew - place herbs in the center of a filter. Tie with a string. When cooking is complete herbs can easily be removed. Perfect for Dutch oven cooking.
8. Place mint leaves in the center of a filter, tie, and use to flavor iced teas, sun teas or lemonade.
9. Place loose tea in center of a filter, tie, and brew.
10. Place cinnamon and spices in the center of a filter, tie, and spice up your apple cider.
11. Strain seeds when juicing citrus fruits. Strain using a lined sieve or a canning jar with the filter secured with a canning ring.
12. Strain herb vinegars before using.
13. Strain broth when making gravy.
14. Place on hot soups and stews to absorb the grease.
15. Place on hot pizza to mop up excess oils.
16. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave to prevent splatters. Remember those filters you used as bowls for snacks? Shake them off and save to use as food covers in the microwave.
17. When “baking” potatoes in the microwave, poke the potato and wrap in a wet coffee filter keeping the skin soft and the texture much more like a baked potato.
18. Place a coffee filter in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
19. To remove small food particles and reuse frying oil, strain through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
20. Place on a kitchen scale when weighing foods in case of spills.
21. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
22. Sprout seeds. Dampen the coffee filter, place seeds inside, fold it, and place into a zip-lock plastic baggie or lay in canning jar, until they sprout.
23. When saving heirloom seeds place on filter to absorb any moisture before storing.
24. Strain water before purifying.
In the Bathroom:
25. Cut and use in place of expensive strips to wax eyebrows.
26. More effective to use for razor nicks than toilet paper.
27. Use with lotion or makeup remover to remove makeup.
28. Use with rubbing alcohol to cleanup a cut.
29. Remove nail polish lasts longer and works better than cotton balls.
30. Soak in tea, white vinegar or aloe and lay several on sunburned skin.
Around the house:
31. Clean windows with coffee filter for lint free cleaning and use white vinegar instead of a cleaner.
32. Clean mirrors with coffee filter for lint free cleaning. For a bigger savings use white vinegar instead of a cleaner.
33. Polish chrome with coffee filters.
34. Homemade Disinfectant wipes: Wet thoroughly with disinfectant cleaning solution and store in a plastic container. Much cheaper than commercial wipes. Perfect for clean up following a flood. Use bleach-water solution.
35. Homemade cleaning wipes: Wet thoroughly with white vinegar and store in plastic container. Great for quick clean up and washing glass surfaces. Keep a container in the car when traveling to clean your windshield and mirrors at rest stops. Again, perfect for cleanup when a disinfectant is not required.
36. Dampen with cleaner and clean slats on blinds. They fold over so you can clean both sides at the same time.
37. Use to apply furniture polish. You know how furniture polish ruins rags and they need to be thrown away. Much easier to discard a few filters.
38. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent soil from going through the drainage holes.
39.Place baking soda in center of a coffee filter and insert into shoes or a closet to absorb or prevent odors.
40. Place scented powders or cotton balls soaked with essential oils in the center of a filter, tie, and place in dresser drawers to scent clothing.
41. When sewing use a filter as an easy-to-tear backing for embroidering or appliquéing soft fabrics.
42. When sewing a stretch fabric lay a coffee filter on top to prevent stretching.
43. Use cone style filters when adding fluid to the car to prevent spilling.
44. Use as blotting paper when pressing flowers.
45. Apply shoe polish.
46. Wipe sweat when exercising.
47. In a real emergency they also make good, not soft, but better than nothing, TP. Easy to pack along when hiking or in your Five Day Kit.
48. Not too soft but a great quick tissue.
49. Keep a few in your car and purse to clean up dirty faces.
50. Prevent scratches on fine china. Use coffee filters as spacers when you stacking.
51. After all that work fold and cut out snowflakes, much cheaper than copy paper.