It’s time to take a better look at the chemical slew you may be spraying to “clean” your home. Do your cleaning supplies require a gas mask, rubber gloves, or protective suit? [Last time I checked I wasn’t a CSI or working in Quarantine…]

Do you want a cleaner that is safe to use around your family and better for your health and the environment? This is the all-purpose cleaner you have been looking for! It is made from only 2 natural ingredients and works amazingly!

How to make All-Purpose Citrus Cleaner

Start by collecting peels from citrus fruits (lemon, orange, grapefruit, and lime) and place in a mason jar. If you do not consume citrus fruits, there is always the option to purchase dried citrus peels.

Once there are some peels in the jar, pour in vinegar to submerge the peels. Continue to add peels and vinegar until the jar is full.

Let sit for 2 weeks. [magic is happening… I promise] It can sit for longer if you are not ready to use a new batch yet.

Use a cheesecloth or nut milk bag to strain all the liquid into a large measuring cup. [Add the used peels into your compost pile!]

Next use a funnel to fill a glass spray bottle halfway with the vinegar and citrus concoction, and fill up the rest with filtered water. Glass is important with lemons, as they can eat away at plastic. [PS I made my own glass spray bottle by using an empty Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar bottle and adding a spray top!]

Store the leftover concentrated liquid in a glass jar. This can be used to refill the spray bottle, or dilute in larger amounts of water.

Repeat! I keep an ongoing pile of citrus peels in a jar so we never run out of cleaner.

When I say all-purpose: I mean it. I use this to clean so many surfaces in my home! It works really well on soap scum and greasy messes.

Spray (let sit for few minutes and wipe/scrub):

• kitchen or bathroom sink
• toilet
• bathtub
• shower
• appliances
• stove top
• stove hood
• kitchen cabinets [These are made out of so many materials now – it’s best to do a spot test first to make sure this is safe for your cabinets.]
• laminate or wood countertops [Lemon and vinegar are too acidic for any stone countertops and could cause damage.]

Dilute citrus/vinegar concentrate from jar into water:

• mop the floor
• clean fruits and vegetables
• descale kettle (dilute 2 tablespoons in kettle filled 1/4 way with water, boil, let sit until cool enough to touch, scrub and rinse out)

Happy Cleaning 🙂

Have you tried cleaning with citrus and vinegar? What is your favourite cleaner recipe?