Extraordinary Uses for Tea

I have a book called "Extraordinary Uses for Ordinary Things". It's a great book and it has lots of great things you can do with ordinary household items.

My favorite is to use tea bags to color my grey hair. You can make your own dye using brewed tea and herbs: Steep 3 tea bags in 1 cup boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon rosemary and sage (they can be fresh or dried), let mixture stand overnight before straining. To use, shampoo as normal, then pour the mixture on your hair, saturate your hair thoroughly. You can use a spray bottle instead of pouring it on your hair if you choose. Be careful because it will stain clothes and other surfaces. Blot hair with a towel and do not rinse. It may take several treatments to get the desired results.

Tea bags can relieve your tired eyes. All you have to do is soak two tea bags in warm water and place them over your eyes for 20 minutes; of course you need to make sure to close your eyes. The tannins in the tea soothe your tired eyes and help reduce puffiness.

You can soothe razor burn by applying a wet tea bag to the affected area. It also helps with nicks and cuts.

You can apply a few wet tea bags to your skin that is sunburned and it will take the sting out. This works for other types of minor burns also. If your sunburn is too widespread to treat with a few wet tea bags, you can put some tea bags in your bathwater and soak your whole body.

For a natural shine for your hair use a quart of warm, unsweetened tea (brewed or instant) as the final rinse after you shampoo your hair.

To stop foot odor you can soak your feet in strongly brewed tea for 20 minutes a day.

To tenderize meat Place 4 tablespoons black tea leaves in a pot of warm water and steep for 5 minutes. Strain to remove leaves, stir in ½ cup brown sugar until it dissolves, and set mixture to the side. Season up to 3 lbs meat with salt, pepper, onion, and garlic powder. Place meat in a baking pan. Pour the liquid mixture over the meat that you seasoned and cook in a preheated oven at 325 F, cook for about 90 minutes or until the meat is easily separated with a fork.

Those are some of my favorite ways to use tea bags. I hope you will try them and enjoy them as much as I do.