Looking for a rainy-day crafting idea that makes use of items you already have? Reach into your spice drawer for colorful spices to make DIY all-natural watercolors. Spices like nutmeg, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and Chinese five-spice powder work best and produce beautiful deep colors. Just dilute with a little warm water (the warm water helps make it less grainy) and paint away. Since they’re totally nontoxic, paints made from spices are completely safe to use when crafting with small kids.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

It seems white vinegar is the go-to, all-natural solution to clean and disinfect all over the house. And while white vinegar is a mild acid that does a great job in cleaning, it should also be used with caution. For example, many people use white vinegar as a rinse aid in the dishwasher, but you should never fill the rinse-aid compartment with it. The reason is simple: Vinegar will eat away at the rubber gasket, making it inoperable. Instead, fill a cup with vinegar and place it right-side up in the dishwasher.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

Do you have an old bottle of ground cinnamon in the pantry and are unsure what to do with it? One natural attribute of cinnamon is that it has fantastic antifungal properties and can help keep fungus like slime mold and mushroom spores from sprouting in your garden or on household plants. To use cinnamon, simply dilute it with warm water and let it steep overnight. When the mixture is cool, transfer to a bottle and spray all over the leaves and on top of the soil of potted plants.

ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION