Showing posts with label fresh lemons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fresh lemons. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2009

5 Ways to Clean Your Home with Lemons

My husband is home sick, so he's been drinking mug after mug of hot lemon concoctions. (And FYI: no swine flu here, I swear.) Lemon with ginger, lemon with mint, lemon and more lemon. So, we've been going through more lemons than usual.

And that reminded me just how incredibly useful this common little citrus fruit really is. I wanted to share with you guys 5 ways to use lemons (and sometimes you can interchange oranges or limes) to clean around your home. Naturally, and with an oh-so-fresh aroma.


  1. Scour it. Dip a halved lemon into regular table salt and use in kitchen sinks, and along countertops as a natural scouring agent. Just wipe the residue away with a moistened sponge. Especially nice in the kitchen as it leaves that real lemony essence lingering behind.
  2. De-Stink It. Natural lemon juice helps de-stink (okay, freshen) your hands and any other surfaces that fish came into contact with. And leave a wedge to serve with the fish, too please!
  3. Bleach It. Lemons are nature's own little bleach machines. Add some fresh lemon juice to white laundry to replace bleach OR make a thick paste of lemon juice and baking soda to scrub stained dishes or plastic storage containers. That powerhouse team of baking soda and lemon juice will also leave those containers smelling sweet and fresh.
  4. Shine It. Add a little lemon juice to any of the natural glass cleaning recipes in my book to get lemony fresh cleaners, minus all the chemicals and additives in commercial varieties. You could even add some to club soda, one of my favorite shiny surface cleaners!
  5. Wash It. This is a cool tip I just found out about, and plan to try later on tonight. Pop a half lemon right into the dishwasher to get sparklier, more delicious smelling dishes. I might try just filling the regular detergent with baking soda, and then throwing in half a lemon and see what happens. However, I almost feel sorry for what the poor lemon will endure...

So, pop over to the supermarket and pick up a lemons. It's more than an aromatic addition to your iced tea - it's a cleaning mighty mouse!

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

An Easy and Delicious Natural Air Freshener - Citrus Simmer

This is what I like to call my favorite natural air freshener - that actually simmers and bubbles away quite happily on top of the stove! You'll just need some citrus peels (a great way to use up leftover orange, lemon or lime peels after you've squeezed the juice). Add a couple of cinnamon sticks if you like, or even a sprinkling of fresh, whole cloves.

Combine the whole lot - citrus peels and spices - to a small pan of simmering water, and let simmer away and fill your home with a beautiful, natural clean aroma. Especially nice for when company's coming over!

Cleaning Cutting Boards with a Lemon and Salt

If you want to freshen up just about any old cutting board, try this quick and easy and all-natural little trick:

Chop a fresh lemon in half. Dip in chunky (kosher or sea) salt. Use as a citrus-fresh little scrubber to naturally clean and disinfect your chopping/cutting boards!