Just about every homeowner has a spice rack or cabinet dedicated to the various ingredients that literally “spice up” our cooking style.

Imagine just how bland Mexican, Italian, or Middle Eastern food would be without spices! Maintaining a stockpile of spices is necessary for proper cooking, but quite often the back of the spice rack ends up full of the lesser-used or forgotten spices.

While many spices will last for years, they certainly lose their flavor and potency over time. That doesn’t mean they become useless though!

So before you toss those outdated spice containers, keep reading to learn about the ways they can be used to spice up your life outside of cooking!

1. Potpourri

Before you take your spices too far from the kitchen, bring a pot of water to a boil and add about one tablespoon of your favorite spice. Not only will your house smell amazing but the fragrance will last a long time. It’s a great, inexpensive alternative to candles or air-fresheners!

2. Grow hardy plants

Spices are rich in minerals and vitamins. So adding just a pinch to your plants’ soil will help them grow healthy and strong. A great mix for this is a blend of thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, and oregano ground together.

3. Make a nontoxic fungicide

If you’re battling fungi in your garden, mix one teaspoon of fine ground cinnamon with two cups of water. Let the mixture sit overnight and then strain it through a coffee filter. Pour the liquid into a spray bottle and spritz on your plants.

4. Homemade soap

If you’ve become interested in the trend of making soap at home, this is for you. Rather than purchasing your scents online, just use your favorite smelling spices! Ginger, cloves, and cinnamon are favorites. These make great gifts too!

5. Natural cleaning solution

We all search for cleaning products that work, smell great, and don’t contain harsh chemicals. This mixture is the solution we’ve been waiting for! Try dried mint leaves, baking soda, and salt work for better for scrubbing than with many store-bought products.

6. Gorgeous Easter Eggs

You can make gorgeous amber-colored Easter eggs with old Turmeric powder.

Simply add two tablespoons to one cup of water, bring it to a boil, and then pour in two teaspoons of white vinegar. After stirring, dye hard-boiled eggs as you normally would. Note: The longer they soak, the darker the color will be.

7. Homemade glue

Garlic is so common, people forget it is a spice. Squeeze the juice from raw garlic bulbs and then use it as an alternative to store-bought glue! This trick is great for light glue jobs on small broken items!

8. Keep animals out of your garden

No matter how much you love the bunnies or deer in your yard, you don’t want them to eat all of your crops. Old spices like cayenne pepper, chili powder, and red pepper sprinkled around the perimeter of your garden will work wonders.

9. Make spice sachets

All you need are some old fabrics and a sewing kit! A great way to make drawers smell good again is by placing a spice sachet inside. Spice sachets are also ideal for deodorizing closets, a basement, or even clothes – just leave them in your pockets!

10. Freshen up laundry

An old and lesser-known laundry tip; when washing colored clothes, add two teaspoons of black pepper. This will keep the colors bright and prevent fading. Some people even claim it can extend the life of clothes.

11. Plant them in your garden

This is a simple one, but don’t forget that you can take old spices, and grow fresh new ones from them! The best options include dill, cumin seeds, anise stars, and coriander seeds. Soon you’ll have fresh grown spices to cook with.

12. Make insect repellant

For the outdoorsy types who can’t deal with pests. You can either make an infused oil using jojoba with peppermint or lemongrass or add these spices to lotion premade. These strong scents deter pests like mosquitoes. And cockroaches aren’t fans of bay leaves, leave them in closets, drawers, and cupboards.

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Source: Home Hacks, Earth 911