Tag Archive for: vinegar

household cleaners

Household Cleaners

Do you like the idea of using household cleaners that are natural? I do. Especially after I noticed a build-up of ‘blue’ cleaning product in the small crevices of my bathroom counters.

So, I decided to focus on using natural cleaners using something straight from my garden – citrus!

Did you know that citrus (all kinds) have natural cleaning properties? It does. Citrus cleaner smells great, cleans well and I feel great using something that I grew.

Introduction to Household Cleaners

Creating your own all-natural household cleaner using leftover citrus peels and vinegar is not only environmentally friendly but also highly effective. Citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemon, and oranges possess natural disinfecting properties, making them excellent ingredients for homemade cleaners. This DIY citrus cleaner is a fantastic way to put your citrus peels to good use while avoiding the harsh chemicals found in many commercial cleaners.

household cleaners from oranges and other citrus

Harnessing the Power of Citrus

Many commercial cleaners incorporate lemon or orange for a reason – citrus fruits naturally disinfect and can help remove stains and mineral deposits. By making your own citrus cleaner, you’re taking advantage of these natural cleaning properties while reducing waste.

Crafting Your Homemade Citrus Cleaner

Gathering Ingredients and Supplies

To get started, you’ll need a few simple ingredients and supplies:

  • Citrus fruit (grapefruit, lemons, or oranges work well)
  • A large jar with a lid
  • Regular distilled vinegar
  • Strainer
  • Spray bottle

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s how to create your homemade citrus cleaner:

  1. Begin by peeling your chosen citrus fruit or simply cut off the peels.
  2. Place the citrus peels into your jar, ensuring the jar is completely filled.
  3. Add vinegar to cover all the peels.
  4. Store the container in a dark, cool place, such as your pantry or cupboard, for approximately 2 to 3 weeks.
  5. After steeping, strain the citrus peel and vinegar mixture through a strainer to remove any pulp or debris.
  6. Fill half of a spray bottle with the citrus and vinegar mixture, then top it off with water – that’s it!
Lemons

Versatile and Cost-Effective Cleaning

Your homemade citrus cleaner is now ready for use as an all-purpose cleaner on various surfaces, including floors, stovetops, appliances, and glass. It’s effective and budget-friendly. However, please avoid using it on marble or granite countertops, as the vinegar could potentially damage them.

Tip: Stock Up on Citrus Peels

If you don’t have enough citrus peels initially, consider freezing them until you accumulate a sufficient quantity to fill a jar.

*Optional: For a customized fragrance, add herbs like rosemary or mint, or incorporate essential oils to enhance the scent of your homemade citrus cleaner.

Crafting a Disinfecting Citrus Cleaner

For those seeking a quicker disinfecting solution, follow these steps:

  1. Take the peels from one citrus fruit of your choice and add them to 4 cups of water.
  2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from heat and allow it to cool.
  3. Remove the peels.
  4. Add 6 tablespoons of distilled vinegar and 3 teaspoons of borax to the cooled citrus water.
  5. Transfer the solution to a spray bottle and use it immediately on non-porous surfaces.

Embrace DIY for a Greener Home

Crafting your homemade citrus cleaner not only creates an eco-friendly product but also reduces waste, utilizing items like citrus peels that might otherwise end up in the trash. Discover the benefits of natural cleaning with this simple and effective DIY project for your home.

So, if you have a tree filled with citrus, or even if you have to buy some at the grocery store – this cleaner is well worth it!

Shrubs Aren’t Meant To Be Cupcakes, Frisbees, or Pill Boxes

What kind of household cleaner do you use?

Earlier this year, I had heard of DIY natural cleaners made from grapefruit and decided to try it out myself.

Natural Grapefruit Cleaner

The cleaner was very easy to make and I used grapefruit from my mother’s tree, although you can get yours from the grocery store.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked.

“DIY Natural Household Cleaner”

This past week, I was blessed with harvesting produce from two different gardens.

One was from one of my vegetable gardens…

Harvesting produce

Harvesting produce

About a 1/4 of my side vegetable garden is planted with cauliflower.

Over the weekend, I was able to harvest my first cauliflower of the season.  

Harvesting produce

Now, I am aware that some of you may not care for cauliflower.  Personally, I like it raw but NOT when it is cooked.

I’ll share with you a little secret that I have used to get my kids to eat cauliflower…

Harvesting produce

I cut the tops of the florets off, dice it and then sprinkle it on top of our dinner salads.  It looks like grated cheese.  I also slice carrots, celery and cucumbers to add to our salads, which not only add great flavor to salads – they are also a great way to get more vegetables into my kids 😉

The cauliflower was so delicious – it tasted like butter – seriously.

The next harvest was of another kind and from a different garden…    

grapefruit tree

On the family farm, my mother has a large grapefruit tree.

Now, as anyone who has ever had a grapefruit tree can tell you – these trees are overly generous in the amount of fruit that they produce.  

grapefruit harvesting

Luckily, my mother has 4 kids who are more then happy to help share with her bounty.

With my husband standing ready holding grocery bags, we picked some delicious fruit from the tree.

*While all the grapefruit looked ripe, some were not quite ready to be picked.  If they did not come off fairly easily when lightly pulled/twisted, then we left them alone.

If I am going to be perfectly honest with you, I do not like to eat grapefruit – at all.

But, I have another purpose in mind for my newly picked grapefruit – I am going to make a natural cleaner from it using vinegar.

I promise to blog about it soon, so hold onto some of your excess grapefruit or maybe offer to take some off of your neighbor’s grapefruit tree 🙂

Did you know that you can kill weeds with ingredients that you probably already have in your cupboard?

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to make your own ‘natural’ weed-killer that is organic and much cheaper then buying weed-killers?

Well, here is all you need…

Vinegar & Soap

Believe it or not, vinegar, dish soap and a spray bottle are all you need to make an effective weed killer.  You have these things already, don’t you?

I had known that vinegar  and soap could kill weeds, but had never tried it before.  So, I set out to prove that it worked in my own garden.

First, I took photos of a few of my weeds…

natural weed killer
natural weed killer
natural weed killer

I must admit that it felt kind of funny taking pictures of ‘weeds’.  My neighbor thought so too 😉   I sprayed each weed with my vinegar and soap mixture and waited 24 hours.

Here are the results:

natural weed killer
natural weed killer

Pretty impressive, isn’t it?  I couldn’t even find the third weed – it had dried up so quickly.

So for those of you who like to know how vinegar and soap kills weeds, here is the scientific explanation:

The acetic acid in vinegar ‘sucks the water’ out of the weed while the dish soap helps to break down the outer coating of the plant, which helps the vinegar to penetrate.

*You can try using vinegar alone, but I didn’t get good results without using the soap.

So are you excited to try this for yourself?

Okay, here is how to make your own….

1-gallon of vinegar (5% acetic acid)

&

1 oz. dish detergent

1. Put in a plastic spray bottleand apply to plants on a sunny day.

That’s it!  

Because this a non-selective weed-killer, it will kill anything it lands on – be careful not to get any on your plants, grass or trees since this mixture can hurt or kill them. 

**For tough weeds, regular white vinegar may not be strong enough.  In that case, you may want to use ‘horticultural vinegar’, which has a higher level of acetic acid (20%).  You can find this type of vinegar online, which is a popular, organic weed killer.

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Wouldn’t it be great to be able to make your own ‘natural’ weed-killer?  It’s organic, cheap and easy to make from ingredients you already have at home. 

A Tale of Two Landscapes and a Single Weed