DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
Turn Leftover Lemons into Easy All-Purpose Cleaner!
I love trying to reduce my waste - it’s a rewarding game that has great effects on our planet, and an amazing effect on your wallet, too! All you need to make your own cleaner over and over again are just a few inexpensive ingredients:
distilled white vinegar
lemon halves
and water!
This DIY cleaner is an amazing way to repurpose your citrus when you’ve already squeezed the living daylights out of them for your homemade hummus, fresh hors-d'œuvres, or personal stress-relief regimen (hummus, anyone?)
All you need to do is:
Drop your lemon halves into a mason jar (or other container with a tight seal)
Pour distilled white vinegar inside until the container is 2/3 full
Top it off with 1/3 water, close the lid, and pop it in the fridge for a week (or three!)
I usually forget about mine for 3-4 weeks, and then remove it to refill my spray bottle when it starts running low. I use an old plastic spray bottle from before I started learning about zero-waste practices - and I realized I could make my own cleaner for a much lower price!
Grab your spray bottle, funnel, and a strainer - which is VERY important! If you don’t strain the lemon liquid, you will get pulp in the spray bottle, which can become lodged in the nozzle and jam. Trust me…I learned the hard way!
When you’re ready to pour your cleaner:
Unscrew the spray device from the bottle
Put the funnel in the opening and place the strainer on top, nesting inside the funnel
Hold the nested strainer & funnel to keep it steady, and pour the vinegar mixture through the strainer & funnel, into the bottle
Discard lemon halves, screw the nozzle head back on, and enjoy your new cleaner!
I use this to clean my kitchen counters, the stove, stainless steel sink, bathroom counters, bathtub…you name it!
There are quite a few benefits to this DIY cleaner!
You’re reusing a plastic container that you would have thrown in the recycling (which may have never been recycled, even if you tossed it in the right bin)
>> A shockingly MASSIVE amount of our plastic never gets recycled - which is why it’s important to reduce your plastic consumption in the first place!
Your citrus scraps are living a second life before making their way to the trash
No harmful chemicals, fumes, or hazardous ingredients
Your counters, windows, etc. will be lemony fresh — with biodegradable and environmentally-safe ingredients!
While distilled white vinegar usually comes in plastic, you can at least buy larger containers, which reduces waste AND cost overall - less packaging for more product. This is true for many bulk items.
If you’re still using chemicals in your daily life, check out the Environmental Working Group to see their ratings on the environmental and health impact of different products. This non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment is an extremely helpful resource!
