5 Things To Do With Spices:

 From the Hedwitchcottage yahoogroup

5 Things To Do with Spices

Got a rack full of spices you never use? Put them to work outside the
kitchen: wash your hair, deter pests, freshen your shoes, and more!

1. Make a Hair Tonic
You can spice up your hair care regimen with a homemade tonic that will
enhance your natural colour and impart shine. For dark hair, use 1
tablespoon crumbled sage or 1 sprig chopped fresh rosemary or a mixture of 1
teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground cloves.
For blond hair, use 1 tablespoon chamomile. Pour 1 cup boiling water over
the herb and spice mix, let it steep for 30 minutes, strain it through a
coffee filter, and let it cool. Pour it repeatedly over your hair (use a
dishpan to catch the runoff) as a final rinse after shampooing.
  
2. Treat Minor Cuts
If you nick your finger while chopping vegetables for dinner, you may not
even need to leave the kitchen for first aid. Alum, the old-fashioned
pickling salt at the back of your spice cupboard, is an astringent. In a
pinch, sprinkle some on a minor cut to stanch the flow of blood.
            


3. Keep Feet Smelling Sweet
If you use sage only to stuff turkeys, then you’ve been missing out. Sage is
great for preventing foot odour because it kills the odour-causing bacteria
that grow on your feet in the warm, moist environment inside your shoes.
Just crumble a leaf or two into your shoes before you put them on. At the
end of the day, just shake the remains into the trash.


    
  
  
4. Keep Ants at Bay
Flour, sugar, and paprika can all fall prey to ants. Keep these cooking
essentials café by slipping a bay leaf inside your storage containers. If
you’re concerned about the flour or sugar picking up a bay leaf flavour,
tape the leaf to the inside of the canister lid. This trick works inside
cabinets, too, where sachets of sage, bay, stick cinnamon, or whole cloves
will smell pleasant while discouraging ants.
5. Deter Plant-Eating Animals
Hot peppers are the basis for many commercial rodent repellents. Chop up the
hottest pepper you can find (habanero is best) and combine it with 1
tablespoon ground cayenne pepper and ½ gallon (2 liters) water. Boil the mix
for 15-20 minutes, then let it cool. Strain it through cheesecloth, add 1
tablespoon dishwashing liquid, and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray
vulnerable plants liberally every five days or so. The spray works best for
rabbits, chipmunks, and woodchucks, but may also deter deer, especially if
used in combination with commercial products.