As you have probably figured out, I'm all about saving money.
Some of the ways I go about that without being the shopping dictator is by cutting down on food waste, making my own lotion, cutting out commercial shampoo ( so far so awesome! Don't worry, I've got a post stewing) and conditioner and replacing commercial cleaning supplies with simple, old fashioned ones instead.
Believe me, vinegar is a good cleaner.
Because vinegar is acidic (duh) it's inhibitory to many harmful microbes and encourages many good ones. With the addition of citrus and soap, which are both also inhibitory to many kinds of microbes, citrus vinegar is a highly affective, sustainable, kid and pet safe cleaner which also happens to be cheap.
Oh, and it cleans stuff, which is actually the point by the way.
The citrus cuts the strong vinegar smell that some people don't care for.
The smell of vinegar doesn't bother me.
Now the smell of pinesol, lysol and all that nasty stuff does bother me.
I like the smell of citrus though, and its a great way to use up something that often doesn't get used for anything.
Although you could zest your rinds to make citrus sugar and salt, or how about lemon pepper seasoning?
You can also totally use rinds that have been zested to make this.
I'm just full of suggestions today aren't I.
In the past I had always used just plain vinegar in a spray bottles for cleaning.
So I happily filled my spray bottle with my first batch of citrus vinegar and went to cleaning.
Ahhh the frustration of a clogged spray bottle....
My happiness quickly turned to crabbiness when I got one good spray out before the nozzle clogged up solid. I mostly use whole squeezed limes and lemons since thats mostly what we have, unfortunately that introduces pulp that's responsible for clogging up my spray bottle.
After a couple days of exasperation and shooting dirty looks at my useless bottle of citrus vinegar I got the bright idea to just strain it first. I don't know why it took me so long to realize there was such a simple fix!
apple cider, white, or cleaning strength are all fine
citrus
I use squeezed halves but you can use peelings too.
A non-reactive storage vessel, such as:
glass or ceramic of some kind
A lid
a regular lid wrapped in plastic, if you don't wrap it in plastic it can eventually rust. You could also use a tattler lid, but the rings get funky and it stops being leak proof, just so you know. A glass container and lid would be ideal, such as this one
. It's just like the one I have for my sourdough starter, can't have too many of them!
.
Add before using not when you first set it to brew:
High quality dish soap of your choice
water, if you think its too strong
To make it usable in a spray bottle:
coffee filter or muslin or clean T-shirt (not washed with anything to leave a sent)
a funnel, strainer or culinadar
measuring cup or other vessel with a pour spout
Fill your jar nice and full with rinds, it doesn't need to be jamed in there. Room for vinegar is good. Cover them with vinegar and forget about it for at least a week, I prefer to leave it as long as possible, a month or so at least before using to make it extra strong.
When you are ready to use it just set your filter in your colander or mesh strainer and set that on top of a measuring cup or bowl.
Poor your citrus vinegar in and fill your repurposed, or new if you want, whatever floated your boat.
Cleans your counters.
anyway....
Add a drizzle of your dish soap. You can also cut it with a quarter part water if you think its too strong.
I use this as my all-around cleaner, for counters, moping, grease, windows....you get the idea.
Don't forget about the rinds! I use them to scrub bad spots on the counter or get the grime out of the sink.
That's all there is to it, have at those dirty counters!
This post is participating in the Homestead Barn, Mostly Homemade Mondays, HomeAcre and Share Your Cup Thursday blog hops, check them out to find other great blogs like ours!
Believe me, vinegar is a good cleaner.
Because vinegar is acidic (duh) it's inhibitory to many harmful microbes and encourages many good ones. With the addition of citrus and soap, which are both also inhibitory to many kinds of microbes, citrus vinegar is a highly affective, sustainable, kid and pet safe cleaner which also happens to be cheap.
Oh, and it cleans stuff, which is actually the point by the way.
The citrus cuts the strong vinegar smell that some people don't care for.
The smell of vinegar doesn't bother me.
Now the smell of pinesol, lysol and all that nasty stuff does bother me.
I like the smell of citrus though, and its a great way to use up something that often doesn't get used for anything.
Although you could zest your rinds to make citrus sugar and salt, or how about lemon pepper seasoning?
You can also totally use rinds that have been zested to make this.
I'm just full of suggestions today aren't I.
In the past I had always used just plain vinegar in a spray bottles for cleaning.
So I happily filled my spray bottle with my first batch of citrus vinegar and went to cleaning.
Ahhh the frustration of a clogged spray bottle....
My happiness quickly turned to crabbiness when I got one good spray out before the nozzle clogged up solid. I mostly use whole squeezed limes and lemons since thats mostly what we have, unfortunately that introduces pulp that's responsible for clogging up my spray bottle.
After a couple days of exasperation and shooting dirty looks at my useless bottle of citrus vinegar I got the bright idea to just strain it first. I don't know why it took me so long to realize there was such a simple fix!
What You Will Need
For the citrus vinegar:
Vinegarapple cider, white, or cleaning strength are all fine
citrus
I use squeezed halves but you can use peelings too.
A non-reactive storage vessel, such as:
glass or ceramic of some kind
A lid
a regular lid wrapped in plastic, if you don't wrap it in plastic it can eventually rust. You could also use a tattler lid, but the rings get funky and it stops being leak proof, just so you know. A glass container and lid would be ideal, such as this one
. It's just like the one I have for my sourdough starter, can't have too many of them!.
Add before using not when you first set it to brew:
High quality dish soap of your choice
water, if you think its too strong
To make it usable in a spray bottle:
coffee filter or muslin or clean T-shirt (not washed with anything to leave a sent)
a funnel, strainer or culinadar
measuring cup or other vessel with a pour spout
Fill your jar nice and full with rinds, it doesn't need to be jamed in there. Room for vinegar is good. Cover them with vinegar and forget about it for at least a week, I prefer to leave it as long as possible, a month or so at least before using to make it extra strong.
When you are ready to use it just set your filter in your colander or mesh strainer and set that on top of a measuring cup or bowl.
Poor your citrus vinegar in and fill your repurposed, or new if you want, whatever floated your boat.
Cleans your counters.
anyway....
Add a drizzle of your dish soap. You can also cut it with a quarter part water if you think its too strong.
I use this as my all-around cleaner, for counters, moping, grease, windows....you get the idea.
Don't forget about the rinds! I use them to scrub bad spots on the counter or get the grime out of the sink.
That's all there is to it, have at those dirty counters!
This post is participating in the Homestead Barn, Mostly Homemade Mondays, HomeAcre and Share Your Cup Thursday blog hops, check them out to find other great blogs like ours!
I love this idea! Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you try it out :)
DeleteThanks for sharing on Mostly Homemade Mondays! Be sure to stop over tomorrow and link up a few more posts :)
ReplyDeleteKelli @ The Sustainable Couple
Vinegar is a good cleaner! Love the idea of adding the citrus. Thanks for sharing your recipe with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann