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One of the staples in our kitchen is lemons. Once a week, I juice 2 lbs of lemons. My husband loves fresh squeezed lemonade. So, I keep a jar of fresh lemon juice in the fridge, and throughout the week I combine some juice, water, ice, and a sweetener to a mason jar. I put the lid on and shake! That’s it. It’s so refreshing, and it puts a smile on his face.
Anyway, this always leaves me with a pile of lemon peels. I use them to scrub my sinks, boil them to add a pleasant scent into the air but often I just have too many to deal with. Sometimes I even freeze the peels until I have enough to make a batch or two of cleanser.
When you allow the citrus peels to sit in the vinegar for a few weeks, it infuses the vinegar with the oils and scents of the peel. These oils in the citrus not only provide a great scent, but they also provide a bit of extra cleaning power. This is due to D-limonene which is a powerful solvent for dirt and especially grease.
Cinnamon Orange: Add cinnamon sticks, star anise, whole cloves, almond extract, and orange peels. Lemon Lavender: lemon peels and lavender buds. Lemon Rosemary: lemon peels, rosemary sprigs, and vanilla extract. Lime Thyme: lime peels and sprigs of thyme. Grapefruit Mint: grapefruit peels and mint sprigs. The combinations keep ongoing. Be creative!
If you still find the smell of vinegar too strong, keep in mind that the vinegar scent will fade once the cleaner dries. You can also add a few drops of citrus essential oils to the solution to improve the scent. Add either 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of extract or 4-5 drops of essential oil.
These citrus vinegar cleaners are considered all-purpose except for use on granite, marble, and wooden floors. Vinegar is acidic and can mar the finish of porous stone countertops. This acid could also eat the finish off of wooden floors. These cleaners can be used for almost everything else but if you are ever in question, always do a small test spot that is hidden.
For years I have been using Kirkland Signature Ultra High Pile Premium Microfiber Towels (36-Pack). They are over-sized, 16×16″ which is a great size. I am not sponsored by them, just love them! I purchase them at Costco for $15.99. They absorb liquid really really well for dish drying, cleaning, etc. They work like magic without scratching, linting, or streaking. And since I am always in the kitchen creating recipes, I go through a LOT of towels in one day. Lol, And once they start to wear out, I take a magic marker and put an “X” on the corner of the rag. This then becomes a shop rag. I hope this post inspired you. Many blessings, amie sue
Ingredients:
I don’t do windows because … I love birds and don’t want one to run into a clean window and get hurt.
I don’t wax floors because … I am terrified a guest will slip and get hurt then I’ll feel terrible.
I don’t mind the dust bunnies because … They are very good company, I have named most of them, and they agree with everything I say.
I don’t disturb cobwebs because… I want every creature to have a home of their own.
I don’t Spring Clean because… I love all the seasons and don’t want the others to get jealous
I don’t pull weeds in the garden because… I don’t want to get in God’s way; HE is an excellent designer!
I don’t put things away because… My husband will never be able to find them again.
I don’t do gourmet meals when I entertain because… I don’t want my guests to stress out over what to make when they invite me over for dinner.
I don’t iron because … I choose to believe them when they say “Permanent Press.”
Thanks for this excellent natural cleaning suggestion Amie-Sue, will have to go out and get some lemons – btw, love your philosophy – very entertaining! You are a woman of many talents
This looks so useful! I’m going to start mine as soon as possible. I LOVE your idea of treating a neighbour to some cleanser, new rags and a CD of cleaning music.
Thanks Jasmine :) I enjoy cleaning in general, but cleaning with my own citrus smelling cleanser makes it even more fun. Odd huh? lol
Lol Amie Sue… Was that an original Cleaning
Poem? I wondered why I felt the need to clean.
My computer is broken. Guess I should just fix it! :)
Thanks for the tip! If you need extra citrus let me
know. We have a bunch of grapefruit still on
the trees. We just need to pick them off and fight
off a few bees. But, we can call that our arm workout for
the day, :)
Hi Gabrielle :) Grapefruit? I always have open arms for fruit and veggies! I wish we had a grapefruit tree here. I hope all is well! hugs, amie sue
Amazing that you sent this citrus cleaner recipe. I have recently been making a body scrub from my lemon and lime peels. Slice them into strips, put into vitamix, add some apple cider vinegar, and honey (warm the honey a bit) and blend all up to make a paste. Then put into a jar and take into the bath, and use this as your soap (I never use soap, too drying). You can even put a little infused oil and some essential oils in. you will find that this is a nice skin rejuvinator. I sometimes just slice the peels and pop them into the freezer until I get enough to make a batch, then just thaw and proceed. try it.
Oh that sounds interesting to try out Kate, thank you for sharing yet another great idea for our citrus peels!
I love this!! I like you go through a bag of costco lemons a week (iced green tea with lemons). I’m going to start my brew tomorrow!
Hi Seemichellecook! Good to hear from you. We have a lemon tree in our back yard but lost most of it to a freeze last year. I was just saddened to death by it. It’s coming back and showing some promise so keep your fingers crossed. I love lemons!!
Thank you for this!!! I will start preparing my cleaners today. I also use a mixture of white vinegar and water as a “conditioner” for my hair, and the citrus peel will give a nice smell!! Love your site!
Thanks,
Millie
Hello Susan,
I will make your citrus cleaner, you suggested to use on counter tops, you may want to mention not to use on granite. I would like to share a homemade cleaner for that
I cup of alcohol
1/2 cup of water
10 drops of detergent
spray bottle
Thank you for your fabulous recipes, today I am making blueberry almond ice cream !!!
Thank you Muriel :)
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve been throwing away rinds from juicing about 20 pounds of limes every month. I freeze the juice in batches for our alkalizing green drink–lime juice, good water, powdered greens (wheat grass, barley grass, etc), and powdered green Stevia leaf–Stevia heals the pancreas). I’m so glad to have a use for my lime rinds. I buy limes at Mexican grocery stores, which always sells them super cheap–about 50 cents to a dollar a pound–at least in California. Love, love, love your blog and yummy recipes!
Thank you for sharing all of that Jeanne :) Good tips! We lost a ton of lemons this year to a frost! ack. That just tears me to pieces. Have a wonderful weekend. amie sue
What a wonderful site and real neat use of Lemon peel, I use a lot of lemons and love that citrus smell, will be using this, many thanks for sharing.
Terry-Ann
Your welcome Terry Ann… I too love the smell of fresh citrus! So fresh and invigorating. Have a great evening, amie sue
What a great post. I just came across your site and Blessed that I did. You are a living testimony of using your gifts to bless others. May Abba continue to bless your hands and increase your wisdom for cooking is your ministry. Blessing and Favor.
Thank you BPE, I really appreciate your kind words, then mean a lot. I hope you enjoy my site and find much inspiration and encouragement throughout it. Blessings, amie sue
Thank you for sharing your lovely cleaning spray recipe, like you I also am a huge fan or never wasting anything either plus it’s all natural so in everyway it’s great and I sure enjoyed your philosophy about cleaning too… thanks for always leaving me with a smile.
You bet Kathy. I love learning how to maximize everything we do and use during throughout our daily lives. It never ends, does it? :) But that’s a good thing… I love learning! Oh, I said that already. hehe Besides, I LOVE the smell of citrus. It if weren’t for the vinegar, I would just spritz myself with it. lol Bob might repel from me with the “lovely” vinegar aroma. ;) Blessings. amie sue
Hi this is really great cleaner, oh speaking of cleaner, Austin cleaned up my computer :[ = lost all emails, addresses, you get the idea!! :] Hope to be back in the loop soon !!
Good morning my dear friend… OOOH NOO! What am I going to do with that computer of yours?!!! I will shoot you an email just in case you lost my address. Austin will get you back into the game. :) Love and blessings, amie sue
This Lemon Citrus Cleaner is like a wake up alarm bell for my nostrils. It makes my nostril hairs twitch! I am sure I’ll find a ton of uses for it as time goes on, but so far I coordinate it with the yellow microfiber cloths for spot drying and I also use it on all kinds of kitchen tools and things to get them clean. My first batch of it filled two of the glass spray bottles you recommend, and, they are terrific too!!
Good afternoon Judy.
I LOVE the smell of citrus and you are right… it is an alarm bell for the nostrils. So uplifting and refreshing. Sometimes I have found myself just spritzing it in the air. I really like those glass spray bottles as well. I think they are pretty enough to leave out on the counter, and I typically don’t do that. :) Especially if you put a few slices of the citrus that you are using right in the bottle.
Thanks for the wonderful feedback. Enjoy and have a blessed evening, amie sue
Hi Amy,
I was wondering if you have a suggestion for the best way to clean the yellow microfiber cloths so that the microfibers do not get clogged or degraded. I already know to wash them separately from other things and to use a cleanser that is ‘free and clear.’
I adore these yellow cloths and I would love to have them last as long as possible while still maintaining their absorbability.
Using these cloths to dry dishes has sped up my dish drying routine and made it much more pleasant! They absorb the moisture right away and I can even twist them into glasses as well. Plus they pair so nicely with the lemon spray…lemon fragrance and mellow yellow color.
Good morning Judy,
Great question. I had to do some research a while back on this very thing because I found that they stopped being absorbent after some time. I found this site that was helpful. https://www.microfiberwholesale.com/info/knowledgebase/washing-microfiber/
I am testing a new product right now called E-cloth. I will keep you posted.
Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to you and Art. hugs, amie sue
I didn’t realize that drier heat is bad for them. I had some experience with microfiber cloths from having bought from the Rag Company for use on the car. This time I really want these to continue to keep working well so it’s worth the time to perfect the cleaning and drying process. Seems like everything is a complex time consuming challenge these days… Even maintaining a rag to wipe the dishes. ha ha…
Thank you for the response on this and looking forward to hearing back on the e-cloth.
I hear you, Judy. hehe It’s the price you pay when you believe in quality and making things last. We just have to continue to do our best and not get stressed out in the process. :) When my rags get to the point of being non-absorbent, I put an “X” on them with a marker and they go to the shop to be used on REALLY messy jobs. Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving. amie sue