Homemade citrus cleaner - being green

Making your own cleaner is the first step you can take toward keeping harmful chemicals away from your family (and baby!) and going green and doing your part to help the environment. Small pieces make a big puzzle.

Homemade Citrus Cleaner

You will need some orange peels, any kind of oranges or citrus will work, grapefruit, lemons, limes, tangerines, clementines, so long as its citrus-y acid. You will also need a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.


You need glass jar to put the orange peels in. An old pickle jar that has been thoroughly washed (and has no residual smell) will work great. 


 It needn't be done all at once. Just whenever you eat an orange, put the peels inside the jar.   Cover the peels with vinegar. You cram your peels so less vinegar is needed but you don't have to!   Let it soak for about a month or more. It sounds really gross, but it smells great and is a very very powerful cleaner. It will gradually change color and smell strongly of citrus used in it. After a good amount of time, you will need to strain the citrus peels from the vinegar. Take the vinegar  and pour it into a spray bottle, diluting half/half with water. Now it's ready to use on anything you wish. Because it is so powerful, I recommend that you test different areas in inconspicuous places a day before you use it on said surface. For instance, I have found that this is NOT ok to put this on my GIANI GRANITE countertops. This works well to clean sinks, mirrors, windows, floors, wooden chairs, counters, toilets and bathtubs, but I have no doubt it will work. Feel happy knowing that you've got a really powerful cleaner that was free (minus vinegar) And vinegar is a natural cleaner itself!  These citrus peels are something that you'd otherwise be throwing away!

" Most people associate vinegar with smelly feet or a sharp smell that is capable of making the mouth water, but despite its shortcomings in the sensory department, vinegar is a great natural cleaning solution. Although the vinegar itself may have a fairly distinct odor, vinegar’s odor disappears when dry, so there is no need to fear the lingering smell. White vinegar actually absorbs odors rather than masks them, making it a perfect deodorizer. It’s also safe to use and won’t discolor surfaces since it has no coloring agents.

White distilled vinegar is great for cleaning every day spaces, such as counters and floors. To add scent to your vinegar, choose any herb you like and stuff it into any size jar, depending on the amount of cleaning solution you would like to make. The specific herbs don't matter, as long as you find the scent appealing. Cover the herbs withvinegar and replace the lid. This jar should remain sealed for 4 weeks. After this time, strain the vinegar. When 1/2 parts vinegarand water are mixed, it makes for perfect mop water. "

Quoted Source:  http://www.homeandgardenideas.com/home-improvement/flooring/cleaning-tips/natural-cleaning-solutions
Image Source:  PennilessParenting.com 

While we are talking about being Green, I do want to add nothing bothers me more than driving down my street and seeing trashcans on the curb overflowing with dixie cups and paper plates. Unfortunately- our town doesn't support  RecycleBank which is such a shame because it keeps recycling easy by not making you separate it, and also rewards you for it, PLUS provide you with a huge can, a duplicate of what you currently use for your trash, and pick it up the same day as your regular trash. And thus encourages it even further with the online rewards, gift cards, and coupons. However , even though we (the town I currently live in) doesn't particpate in RecycleBank, they also do not even offer a curbside service of ANY kind. When I called about recycling when we moved n two years ago - they said the City Council had voted against it. WHY? I have NO idea, but I do know that the town next door DOES have curbside recycling, (But still, not Recyclebank.) Anyway, just wanted to share that I try to do my part, and contact the city, and also point out that we do have a community recycling facility but you have to drop your own stuff off there. Which is so much of a hassle to our family, I am wondering how many families actually do it. :(


*Disclaimer* - I was not compensated for this post, just sharing interesting info and opinions with my readers!