Thursday, September 15, 2016

What to Make and Do With Fruit Scraps {A No-Waste Lifestyle}


"Everything must be saved,
nothing wasted of all the summer's bounty."
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy


Waste not, want not. This is a huge mantra of mine and especially when it comes to fruit. We are hoping for our first "big" harvest by next year! In the meantime, much of our fruit is purchased or given to us by kind neighbors. This means I need to maximum every penny spent and every bit of precious fruit must be utilized for optimum buying power. Here are some ideas via tutorials on what to do with your precious fruit scraps (all the titles are linked).






apple cider "scrap" vinegar



orange extract



dried peel for pantry products



granules for seasonings



exfoliating orange sugar scrub



lemonade lip balm





orange bath powders



mulling spices and/or simmering potpourri



mulling spice sugar scrub



citrus grilling salt



exotic tea blends



handmade potpourri



citrus cleaning solution



scouring powder cleaner



cold and flu elixir



lemon extract



lemon pepper





dried lemon zest ideas



lemon peel syrup




compost


animal feed


If you enjoyed these projects, we share 100+ more ideas on how to use up fruit scraps in our Ebook here! Happy kitchen-crafting, ladies!
All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making MondaysModest Mom Monday'sMonday's MusingsMake Your Home Sing MondayGood Morning Mondays,  The ScoopTitus 2 TuesdaysTuesdays with a TwistRaising HomemakersThe Homesteader HopWise Woman Link UpHomestead Blog Hop Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and ConversationHomemaking ThursdaysHome Sweet HomeOur Simple HomesteadAwesome Life Friday Link UpFive Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them).

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35 comments:

  1. This is a wonderful resource! That is my favorite Mantra also. It did not use to be but is now very much a part of my life! Looking forward to your E-book!

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    1. Thank you for sharing and like they say, "necessity is the mother of invention"! Have a wonderful week! :)

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  2. I hadn't thought of citrus grilling salt, but it sounds wonderful. Btw, your Calendula Cold and Flu elixer is working wonders. Thank you!
    Have a great weekend!

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    1. So glad the recipe is helpful for you! We find good results in our household with it as well! Thank you for taking the time to visit and have a lovely weekend yourself :)

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  3. I have never heard of Orange Bath Powder, how neat!

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    1. It is so simple to make Bibi! :) I never heard of it either! :)

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  4. This is wonderful JES! I like to use as much as I can also. Recently we were gifted with fresh peaches. Since I had already made Peach Butter I decided to freeze peach slices. The lemon water that the slices were placed in (to prevent browning) was added to a saucepan with some sugar for making Peach lemonade. The color was a very pretty peach-pink. I saved the peels and now have Peach Vinegar brewing in the pantry. The rest (undesireables for us) went to feed our pigs and the pits and yucky pieces went into compost. I love seeing how far I can stretch things and you have gone above and beyond! Thank you for the encouragement and wonderful posts.

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    1. Sorry this comment came up so late! I found you in the spam box :(

      Sharon, these are all great ideas you shared!!! I love how you think friend! :)

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  5. I just love all of these, but my favorites are the lemon peel syrup (with label) and the fabric softener! I can imagine making a nice lemon pound cake and drizzling the syrup over - Yummmm! And sleeping in a nice, crisp set of all cotton sheets softened with citrus and basil - oh my - I may just sleep till Noon!

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    1. Both are my favorites too Vickie! And for all the reasons you named :)

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  6. What a fabulous post, Jes. I eat an orange every day so have plenty of orange skin to use up. I look forward to reading through all the ideas you have linked to and an eBook sounds just great. Thanks heaps. You are a clever little vegemite!

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    1. Thanks! You cracked me up with the vegemite comment! That is just what I needed to hear today :) And P.S. there is so much that can be done with an orange peel! They are an amazing fruit!

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  7. Thank you so much! The ideas sound wonderful. I am a grandmother in my sixties but one is never too old to learn something new. I look forward to trying these out in the days ahead.

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    1. I love your pioneering spirit Mrs. T! I hope you have fun kitchen-crafting! :)

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  8. Yay for you on your e-book! :) I love this compilation of ideas. I have made your apple cider vinegar and it comes out beautifully every time!

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    1. Thank you!!! Do you use the Fido jars? To me, that is the key to making it easy! :)

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  9. I am excited about your e-book and can't wait to get it! I can tell you I will be spending the weekend checking out all these links. Thanks!

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    1. Ah, thank you Darlene for your enthusiasm! It was a fun project to do! I hope you have fun with the links :)

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  10. Please come out with the EBook soon. I need Christmas gift ideas. Thanks, Cindy Norree

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    1. Hi Cindy! Thank you for your interest! I hope to soon! :)

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  11. Hi Jes!

    I am thinking that your citrus cleaning solution - for floors - is a likely goer here. I have even told my parents about it. They've been doing lemon work - freezing juice and grated peel!! They have floors to wash, too!!

    Our lemon tree is wild grown, from seed, so is very healthy, and currently has a bumper crop needing to be picked. Flowers (after good rains) will be opening soon!! There will be skins leftover, somewhere! Dealing with lemons isn't even on my job list!! I think I am getting busier and busier, yet I am really enjoying things more and more!!

    A few good ideas can go a long way!

    Thanks a lot for your work!

    Regards,
    Rachel Holt

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    1. Hi Rachel, Nice hearing from you! We get inundated with lemons over here too which caused me to write a whole series on what to do with them. They are one VERY useful fruit! Enjoy! :)

      http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/2015/01/what-to-make-and-do-with-lemons-citrus.html

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  12. Looking forward to this, JES. Just an ebook, or are you considering print as well? It would make a lovely hostess gift.

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    1. Hi Margaret, thank you for your interest! I haven't considered that at this point. I think it would be too expensive to print with all the full color photographs and that is what makes the book so much fun in my way of thinking... I do like the idea of a hostess gift though! That is a great idea! :)

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  13. I'm so excited about the ebook!!I love the round up of your waste not want not collection!

    It's so easy to become an advertisement blog :(


    Came across a recipe in a book the other day that made me think of your collection. The recipe is a natural dye for homespun yarn or pure undyed clothes. It uses citrus scraps to make the dye.

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    1. Thank you! I didn't know you could dye with citrus scraps! That would have made another lovely entry! I hope you are doing well! Sorry I am behind on my emails right now... It has been a busy few weeks! :)

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  14. Hi JES! I've been absent in "blogland" for the hot summer months, as we were so busy with the garden chores, but that season has come to an end, and today we are getting a lovely rain, and it is a perfect day for me to visit with you over a hot cup of tea! I really enjoyed all the wonderful ideas you shared... my uses for leftover fruit, generally tend to be just the compost pile! I will have to look at my citrus ends a bit differently again! Hope that you are doing well, and praying the Lord's sweetest blessings for you today :)

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    1. So nice to hear from you! :) I am glad that all is well and-- there is nothing like sweet rain to bring a change of seasons. I understand "busy" and thank you kindly for your visit. Have a lovely week!

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  15. Dear Jes, This was fantastic! I posted it to me FB page. I would love an ebook! I can't wait!
    Thanks so much Jes, with love Annabel.xxx

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing Annabel! I really appreciate it :)

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  16. I can only imagine that this book will be creative and beautiful! Hope this goes well for you!

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  17. I have been making the citrus cleaner for 2 years now and it out does any cleaner I have ever bought plus it is so much cheaper. My husband loves it too. I gave some to my Mother and Sister to use and now I have to keep them supplied with it too. I love some of your other ideas such as the DIY facial scrubs, and the scented potpourri. I have to give them a try. Sharing!

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    1. Excellent! Thank you for sharing Marla! Have a lovely week :)

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  18. What great inspiration! Right now most of my scraps go in the compost pile. I need to be better about saving them to make this fun stuff.

    This post (and many of yours) would be perfect for the Waste Less Wednesday Blog Hop. It is a collection of environmentally friendly posts (homesteading, sustainability, zero waste, recycling, etc). This week's is live now: http://www.skipthebag.com/2016/10/waste-less-wednesday-blog-hop-101216.html

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