Friday, January 9, 2015

Make Your Own Seasonal Citrus Cleaning Products ~ Citrus Series


“Creativity is taking a simple thing and bringing it to life.” 

Seasonal celebrations of ordinary items used to be standard thinking many years ago. An orange was once delightful and exciting when it finally ripened on the trees! Each month gifted the homemaker with special harvests only available for short periods of time. She would embrace God's bounty and use it to bless those in her household in creative ways. And we can still do this today!


For instance, in the spring and summer, it is profitable and enjoyable to make lavender infused cleaning products while the stems are bursting with purple hues.  And in the autumn and winter, it is prudent and pleasant to prepare citrus based cleaning products while these fruits are bursting on the branches. Though it may seem luxurious, it is actually very frugal to scent your home with the seasons. Not only is it a natural way to keep house, but very economical when these items are in abundance and most likely free.

{Homemaking Hint: Both lavender and citrus peel contain d-limonene which is a natural degreaser and excellent cleaning solvent. Both are also delightfully aromatic and all these products can be made for less than $2!}


I like to prepare bulk batches of seasonal cleaning products to make our provisions last for several months and store the excess in recycled jars in our storeroom pantry. It is fun to line them up and showcase them on a shelf like you would your homemade preserves. With these simple supplies, you can make a lovely all-purpose cleaner, scouring scrub, carpet deodorizer, glass cleaner and scented room spray (recipes and printable labels shared below).

Supply List:
  • recycled jars/containers/spray bottles
  • fresh and dried citrus peel (orange, lemon, tangerine or grapefruit)
  • plain white vinegar
  • baking soda
  • optional: citrus essential oils such as orange, grapefruit, lemon or citrus bliss


Before we begin, some of our recipes call for dried citrus peel (I did not use the dehydrated slices that are shown in these pictures, I thought they were a pretty prop is all). You will find our tutorial on how to dry citrus peel here along with some other make-it-yourself "peel" projects.


All-Purpose Citrus Cleaner Recipe {Basic Cleaning Solution}

Place fresh citrus peels into a clean jar. Cover peels with white household vinegar (make sure they are submerged under the vinegar so that they do not mold). Cap your blend with a plastic lid and let it infuse in a sunny spot for 3 - 4 weeks. Once the time is up, strain the vinegar and discard the peels. Pour through a fine sieve to remove any excess solids. You now have an effective and aromatic cleaning solution.

How to Use:
  • Use a 50/50 mixture of citrus infused vinegar (aka cleaning solution) and water for an all purpose cleaner.
  • Add a cup of this solution to a bucket of hot water to clean your floors.
  • For tough cleaning, use pure without diluting.
Note: If you have granite countertops, I would advise against using vinegar based cleaning products  on them as it can do something called "etching" (which can leave white marks on your counters).


Citrus Peel Scouring Scrub Recipe {Household Cleaning Cleanser}

Grind up approx. 2 - 4 tablespoons of dried citrus peel until powdery (I used a coffee grinder) and add approx. 1 - 2 cups of baking soda (this is flexible). Blend mixture together and pour into your cleanser jar or empty spice shaker (tutorial to make your own cleanser jar is shared here).

Optional: Stir in a few drops of citrus essential oil.

Use like you would any cleaning cleanser.


Citrus Carpet Deodorizer Recipe

Add 15 drops of citrus essential oil (orange, lemon, grapefruit or citrus bliss) to 1 - 2 cups of baking soda and stir until combined. Orange essential oil is a nice choice for those of you who have indoor pets for its ability to kill fleas. My personal favorite scent is the citrus bliss blend. Let mixture sit for 24 hours before using.  I find that an old spice shaker is a convenient way to store this deodorizer.

For best results, leave the deodorizer on carpet for a few hours (or overnight) before vacuuming up.

An alternative idea for those not wishing to use essential oils is to "put lemon peel and baking soda in your vacuum cleaner bag to deodorize it." ~ Excerpt from Donna Smallin, Cleaning Plain & Simple


Citrus Room Spray {Two Options}

Recipe #1 (Most frugal) ~ Mix together 1 cup of water with 1/2 cup of your citrus infused vinegar (recipe shared above).

Recipe #2 ~ Mix together 1 cup of water, 10 drops of either orange essential oil, lemon essential oil, a blend of both or citrus bliss essential oil and place in spray bottle (I also like to include 1 drop of lavender essential oil to this). To preserve the solution better, add 1 tsp. of vodka. Let mixture sit for 24 hours before using.

Citrus Window/Glass Cleaner

Pour into a spray bottle, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of vinegar and a few drops of a citrus essential oil. Wipe surfaces clean with newspaper or a microfiber cloth for best results.



As you need to prepare dinner every night, it pays to make it tasty. In the same way, housecleaning is necessary for the homemaker, we might as well make it lovely! And, with the addition of our labels (free printable HERE), you have yourself a nice, affordable and practical gift option also! 


If you enjoyed this project, 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). This greatly helps to support our site so thank you in advance!

39 comments:

  1. I'm so glad to see this post, JES. This couldn't come at a better time for me as my orange/vinegar cleaner that I made months ago is nearly depleted, and I do have lots of oranges (bought on sale) that I can use. I like the sound of an orange scrub, also. And your labels are so pretty, I can't wait to use them. Thank you for sharing.
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Perfect! The orange cleanser is also nice because the peels add some good scrubbing action...

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  2. I pinned this-thank you so much-I love citrus cleaners

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    1. Wonderful! Thank you for sharing and pinning Kathy :)

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    2. Im trying to pin this but can't f the link.

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    3. Hi there, it is at the bottom of the post. You will see the small icons such as Facebook, google-plus, etc. Pinterest is the circled "P" ~ Hope this helps!

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    4. Thank you. That isn't showing up for me. Probably because I'm using an iPad. I was able to copy the url and pin that way.

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  3. Oh JES, I love anything citrus so this is right up my alley :) Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing. I will definitely be pinning this for future use.

    Happy weekend!

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    1. I hope you give it a try Stephanie! It smells really good and saves lots of money!

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  4. I recently made cleanser with clementine peels and vinegar - I had two full jars that I gifted and one about 2/3 full that I kept for myself. Now you've given me some more ideas for what to do with the next batch of peels, as well as the lemon peels from our little Meyer lemon tree, which had a harvest of five lemons. (YAY!)

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    1. Our lemon tree gave us five the first year too! Thanks for stopping by :)

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  5. It must be so nice and you must love using the citrus cleaners that you make. You are so handy and creative. You must save a lot of money that way too. Have a wonderful weekend.
    Julie

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    1. Yes, lots of positives! Saves money, is all natural and easy to make :) Thanks for visiting here today!

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  6. What great recipes Jes! Thanks so much for sharing them, and the pretty printables too - I plan on making some orange peel cleaner for my floors. :)

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    1. Wonderful, let me know how you like it! :)

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  7. The idea of making seasonal cleaning products is intriguing and I will soon have plenty of orange peels gathered to have go at this. I didn't know that lavender was a degreaser & cleaner. I've been using it to keep insects out of my stored sheep fleeces. I'll be using it for a lot more this summer thanks to this post.

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    1. Yes, it contains limonene too which is a key ingredient in many natural (especially citrus) cleaning products. I was excited to discover this :) Thanks for sharing here today!

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  8. Your labels are as cute as can be! And the citrus cleaning recipes are awesome and frugal! Thanks so much for sharing them!

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    1. I am glad you like them. The actual citrus picture is a Kate Greenaway design. And as far as frugal goes, that is a must around here!! :)

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  9. What a treasure trove of DIY cleaning products - I can't wait to try a few of these, and I'm pleased to have an answer to *why* both lavender and citrus work so well! I'd be happy to have you share this post with us on our Awesome Life Friday Link Up! http://rchreviews.blogspot.com/

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  10. I'm always inspired when I visit you Jes!

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  11. What a great tutorial on making citrus cleaners. I will be trying a couple soon. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  12. These natural cleaning products sounds so wonderful! Thank you for the inspiration and also for your visit to my blog.

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  13. Great post with lots of wonderful information.

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  14. Thanks so much for linking up to Awesome Life Friday - I hope you'll come back again this week!

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  15. I found you on the Homestead Blog Hop. I am doing a challenge this year to learn a new homesteading skill each month. This is perfect!


    Mandi
    http://www.ourlifeouthere.com/homesteading-challenge

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    1. Wonderful! It is a frugal project which will bless the family! :)

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  16. Thanks Jes for these great ideas and for sharing them at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings

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  17. Such great ideas..Love frugal hints.. God bless...

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  18. Thanks for linking up with Home Sweet Home!

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  19. My orange pieces are floating above the vinegar. Does anyone know how to get them submerged? I have them in a quart canning jar. Thank you.

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    1. Hi Sue, usually within 24 hours, the peels absorb some of the vinegar so I end up adding more (and as close as I can to the top). And then if I still have floaters, I shake the jar daily in order to infuse the top pieces so they don't mold and that works our fine. Some days I forget to shake and have never had a mold issue. Hope this helps!

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  20. I purchased some orange essential oil because I wanted to make the window cleaner. Before I make it though, I am wondering - is it possible to make it with citrus-infused vinegar instead of plain vinegar? I was just thinking how lovely it might smell to use vinegar infused with grapefruit peels. Is there a reason you instructed us to use plain vinegar, Jes?

    Thank you for all these great ideas. I am going to try many of them. We could all do with less toxic cleaners in our homes.

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    1. Hi Jeanne, I have never tried it but it wouldn't hurt to try! If you do, let me know how it worked! And I agree, we are surrounded by so much toxins and to remove as much as able would be prudent and giving our bodies less to fight. They say excess toxins are a factor and big trigger to many of the auto-immune diseases that everyone is getting. Prevention is key! Enjoy your kitchen-crafting! :)

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  21. When someone writes an article he/she maintains the plan of a user in his/her brain that how a user can be aware of 
    it. So that's why this piece of writing is perfect. Thanks!

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  22. Very interesting! Posts like this would be great for the #WasteLessWednesday Blog Hop. One just opened now: http://www.skipthebag.com/2017/02/waste-less-wednesday-blog-hop-22217.html

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  23. What a great idea!! So much better than the chemical things in the store. Definitely pinning to try! :)

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  24. For what it's worth, I've made the orange-scented vinegar cleanser without drying the peels before; I simply toss them into a jar of vinegar and let it sit for a few weeks. It smells wonderful when finished!

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