A LITTLE LEMONS GUIDE, A JUICY ALTERNATIVE & NATURAL WAY TO CLEAN YOUR HOUSE ON A BUDGET

You know the saying: when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  It turns out that there are tons of things that you can do with lemons aside from juice and pie.  You can actually use lemons to clean your house as they are a natural cleaner. Also, they are generally inexpensive and easy to come by.

Lemons are widely used in Asian cuisines, traditional medicines, perfume and nowadays to clean the house.

So if you are looking for ways to do some Spring cleaning on a budget and in an eco-friendly way, you’ve come to the right place.

“When life gives you lemons, start cleaning.”

Cleanmyspace.com

Not only using lemons is a lot more cost-efficient but way better for our planet in part due to its low ph and antibacterial properties. Our mom’s and grandmas already knew all about the virtues of lemons.  It’s time now that we do the same.

Along with white vinegar, baking soda and savon de marseille, lemons are one of the staple items you should have at home. All these are great elements that work well together or separately.

They are an economical and ecological alternative to store bought products that can be detrimental to our health. It’s no secret. On these store bought bottles it is written to keep out of children’s reach. That’s because they are not only harmful to our environment but to us humans as well.

From the microwave to the bathtub and beyond, here are plenty of efficient ways to use lemons to clean your house.

USING & PRESERVING LEMONS AT HOME

Before heading out to your local market to buy a bag of lemons, here are a few things that you should know about this sunny fruit.

Pick lemons that are tough and bright.  The best ones are those that have a fine grain and that are heavy.  The ones with a thin peel have a tendency to be juicier.

On average, a lemon can provide up to 3 tablespoons of juice (45ml) and 2-3 tablespoons of zest (12-18 gr.).

GOOGLE

Lemons can stay at room temperature for about a week before it’s sunshine colour starts to fade.  However, if you put them in the fruit box in your fridge, they can last about 2 weeks or even more.

Never throw your lemons aways!

What do you do with your leftover lemon after squeezing it over your delicious salmon on some greens? Hopefully, right now, you put it in the compost.

Tip: To save time and always have lemons on hand, squeeze the lemon juice into a tight sealing jar and store it in the fridge.

However, you could extend your lemon’s life after using it to cook by preserving what’s left of it.

• Grate or cut it’s peel, store it in a container with a tight-fitting lid and save it for later.

Lemon zests are perfect to use to give an extra flavour to meals and can be stored in the freezer. The peels on the other hand can be used to lighten your skin and tighten pores.  They can last up to 2 years in a jar, but you have to dry them first.

If you want to store lemon zests in a jar and not in the freezer, lay them out a clean towel to air dry and then place them in the jar.

• Keep the lemon seeds to use in homemade jams as they have natural pectin in them.  This will help thicken your jam naturally.  (I have not tried this)

Be careful when handling lemons. If you have a cut on your hand, it will sting!  Also, after handling lemons, make sure you wash your hands properly.   This is especially important if you intend to go out into the sun afterward as it will spot your skin (I did not know that!).

Don’t use lemons to clean natural stone or brass plates.  The lemon juice will damage them.

For tons of recipes on how to clean with lemons, salt, and vinegar, check out THIS BOOK (in French).  It has plenty of ideas and recipes on how to clean and take care of your house and yourself naturally. From removing chewing-gum to helping with your acne problem, it’s a great remedy book to have at home.

BUY YOUR OWN LEMON TREE

To make things even easier, why not buy yourself your own lemon tree?

Granted in Canada, planting one outdoor might not be the best idea, but they can also grow indoors. They’d actually be the perfect addition next your new bar cart, especially when the fruit is ripe from late Winter to early Spring. You need to keep it close to a sunny window during the cold months. It can then be put outside in May. The number of lemons it produces will vary on the amount of love you give to it.

Having an indoor lemon tree will give your home a natural lemony scent.

If you live in the United States, you can order your own tree from Trees.com. They have a simple to read article on how to grow your own lemon tree. Also, they tell you exactly which state is best to grow a lemon tree outside so that you don’t purchase one unnecessarily. Check out their Lemon Trees for Sale – Buying & Growing Guide.

USE LEMONS TO CLEAN YOUR KITCHEN

Since we most commonly use lemons in the kitchen, it’s only fitting that I start off with this part of the house.

Lemons are fantastic kitchen helpers and not only in our meals. They help clean and refresh so many different items that we use every day.

Wood cutting boards, countertops, and utensils

Wood has a tendency to maintain the smell of certain foods such as garlic, onion, etc.  Because it is also porous, it’s best not to put them in the dishwasher as they might crack.

Solution. Use lemon to kill germs and remove potential stains.  

You can either:

• Use a sponge and lemon juice (or the pulp of half a lemon) to wash it and let sit until it fades; or
• Sprinkle salt.  Then, cut a lemon in half and use one half to scrub the salt into the wood. Rinse and dry.

Appliances

I don’t know about you, but we have a tendency to forget things in the fridge or put a cover over our plate in the microwave.  The smell becomes nauseating and scrubbing off the pasta sauce inside a microwave is not as fun and easy at it seems.  Also, neither seem to bother the men in my household.

Although, I’ve been trying to not let food go to waste inside my fridge, I can’t help with the cheese smell.  We are French after all and we do love cheese.

An easy way to keep your fridge smelling fresh is by putting half a lemon in a saucer, flesh up.  It will remove any odor from the fridge. Don’t forget to change the lemon once a week.  Another solution is to put a small open container of baking soda inside your fridge.

Microwave

I recently saw a video of this and thought I would try it. It turns out that it actually works!

• Cut a lemon in half. 

• Fill a bowl halfway with water and add the half of the lemon which you have cut into slices. 

• Place the bowl into the microwave and heat it up for about 3 minutes. The water needs to boil inside the microwave and create steam.   

• Keep the door closed for 5 minutes afterward.  

• Remove the bowl and wipe away the food particles with a clean cloth and dry.

Because of the citric acid which is found in lemons, this will kill bacteria and break up any food that is stuck to the insides of your microwave as well as remove stains.

Dishwasher

It wasn’t until we bought our condo that I own a dishwasher; it actually came with the house. I’ve never been a big fan of dishwashers as I more often than not have to either rewash certain items or replace a broken glass or plate as it wasn’t put properly inside the dishwasher.

Nonetheless, my family is a big fan of using the dishwasher.

For tough greasy stains or to prevent seeing those ugly water marks on your knives, use lemons.

Pour 2 tbsp of lemon juice inside the appropriate container along with what you usually use to clean and that’s it.  Run your dishwasher on the normal cycle.  Another option is to place lemon wedges on the top rack.

Finally, you can use lemons to deodorize your trash can by placing lemon wedges at the bottom of it.  However, it does seem a waste to me.  My alternative: sprinkling some baking soda at the bottom and using a reusable trashcan liner which I can then wash.  That works well if you are using at the same time a compost for all the table food leftovers.

Utensils, pots and pans

We use items daily made of aluminum.  Our pots and pans can take a beating if we don’t take care of them properly.  Over time, our pots will darken and even have stains.

To reduce this problem, bring water to a boil mixed in with 45ml of lemon juice in your pots and pans that are made of aluminum.  Remove from heat.  Scrub with soap. Dry.

This can also be applied to your tea kettle or coffee pot.

• As a tea drinker myself, it’s impossible not to notice the mineral build-up in my tea kettle.  Just like with the aluminum pots, boil water with lemon.  However, the difference is that you’ll have to let it sit for an hour or two before rinsing and drying. 

• For tea or coffee stains in a cup or mug, place a big piece of lemon at the bottom of it.  Pour boiling water into it. Let it sit overnight.  This should help alleviate most of the stain.

This also works well with cutlery to remove rust spots or water marks left by your dishwasher.

Cheese grater

As mentioned before, my family loves cheese, especially with our Sunday pasta night.  As it is more cost effective to grate your own cheese than to buy pre-grated cheese, that’s what we do.

Yet somehow, the cheese grater often ends up with old, hard cheese stuck to its insides because one could not be bothered to clean it properly.  It’s hard to clean a cheese grater with a sponge because more often than not, your sponge will lose some of its “skin” in the process.  It’s best to use a brush in that case. 

However, an alternative way is once again to use a lemon.  Simply cut a lemon in half and grate with the pulpy side of it on both sides of your cheese grater.  Just like in the microwave, lemon juice will cut the dairy fat and break up the proteins.  This is great if you want to prevent your sponge from being ripped apart and cheese staying stuck to your grater.

Tupperware

As a working mom, I (my husband) always make extra food in the evening so as to have leftovers for lunch the next day.  This is a good way to save money in the process as we don’t have to buy lunch or pay for school lunch for our kids.  For tips on how to make your lunchbox more eco-friendly and save money in the process, I tell you about it HERE.

So to store our leftovers we use Tupperware. We’ve been using more glass Tupperware lately but still have some plastic ones.

Monday’s lunch usually consists of spaghetti with tomato sauce, since we have pasta night on Sundays.  Tomato sauce is a killer for our plastic containers, especially when mixed with grease, it stains, hard.

To get rid of these tough stains and odor, here is what you can do:

• Soak your Tupperware with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and of baking soda;
• Gently scrub the mixture around.
• Fill with water and if possible, let it sit overnight. 
• Rinse and dry.

All-purpose kitchen cleaner and freshner 

What better way to clean your house on a budget and keep it smelling fresh in the process by using lemons.  If you don’t have lemons, you can use oranges or grapefruits as well.

• Save your lemon peels and put them in a mason jar;
• You’ll need to fill it halfway with the peels  (200-300gr) for this all-purpose cleaner to be efficient.
• Pour white vinegar into the jar, enough to cover the peels (roughly 500ml).
• Seal and let the vinegar and peels infuse for about 4 weeks in a dark place.  Shake the jar about once a week just to stir it up.

Disgard the peels and pour your liquid into a spray bottle and start cleaning away.  If you want, you can add a few drops of lavender oil to the mix for extra scent and for its antimicrobial  properties.

Air freshener

If you have dogs or cats at home and are planning on receiving guests, you might want to freshen up your home.  As pet owners, we are used to our pets smell but our guests aren’t necessarily and it can leave a bad impression.  This is especially true if you are planning on selling your house.

Here is a quick way to create an air freshener.

• Fill a pot with warm water (about 500ml);
• add 2 Tbsp of baking soda (optional);
• lemon rinds or lemon juice (125ml); and 
• your favorite herbs, spices, or extracts (optional). 
• Bring to a boil;
• Let it simmer for an hour;
• Pour in a spray bottle.

Only 2 or 3 sprays should do the trick to freshen up each space and it will also help bring down dust particles after a sweep.

LEMON FRESH BATHROOM

Just as with the kitchen, it’s easy to clean efficiently your bathroom by using fresh lemons.

To do so, you can use the multi-purpose lemon cleaner as mentioned above.  For tougher stains, here are some tips which you can apply throughout your bathroom.

Shower doors or curtain

Use half of a lemon and gently scrub your shower doors with it. Then rinse.  It should remove those annoying water marks.

If your shower curtain is building up mildew, there is an easy way to efficiently get rid of it.

All you need is:

• 2 Tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp of salt

Mix the ingredients in a large recipient with the shower curtain.  Scrub the stains with a clean sponge.  Let it air dry outside in the sun and then rinse.

Grout

Don’t throw away your old toothbrush as it can always come in handy.  In fact, you can use it to clean the grout of your tiles whether it be on the walls or on the floor.  Just dip it in a mixture of lemon juice and water and scrub away or use your homemade multi-purpose cleaner.

Bathtub & Drain

As women, we have a tendency to clog our bathtub or shower drain quite often with our hair.  We don’t do it on purpose but it can be a hassle to unclog.  So before having to resort to extreme measures and using a strong unhealthy chemical, here is what you can do each month.

Pour 1 Tbsp of baking soda into your drain and then add 1 Tbsp of lemon juice.  Let the two fuzzy up together a few minutes and then rinse.  Remove any excess hair.  If this doesn’t work well enough, you can add 1 cup of hot white vinegar to the mix and let it sink in a few minutes. Then, rinse.

Want to see something cool?

Here is a fun cleaning activity which you can let your child do (supervised of course).

• Take half a lemon and 55gr of baking soda.
• Sprinkle the baking soda across the bathtub.  
• Use the flesh side of the lemon as a sponge and scrub the bathtub.  There will be a cool reaction, just like when you open a can of coca-cola after shaking it.
• Rinse with water.

Your bathtub will look as brand as new and this is a very effective way to remove the water stains and marks.

WARNING: Don’t do this if you have a marble bathroom or stone lining around the tub. (Thank you Deconome for the tip)

Mirrors

Aren’t toothpaste dots splattered across your bathroom mirror annoying?

Add half a lemon (1 Tbsp juice) to 500ml of warm water into a spray bottle. Spray and then wipe with newspaper.  

You can also apply this mixture onto windows. However, don’t do it when the sun is out as the mixture will dry too quickly and leave marks.

Toilet bowl

This is by far the least favorite thing to clean in my house by my husband and two boys.  I don’t know what makes them so afraid about it.  I don’t particularly enjoy cleaning it either, but it needs to be done, especially when living with boys.  Just look under the toilet seat and you’ll see what I mean.

Luckily, with lemons, you can easily clean your toilet bowl without having to use harshful products.

Pour half a cup of lemon juice, some salt and baking soda into the bowl and swish with a toilet bowl brush.  Then flush.

To keep your toilet bowl fresh, you can use the flesh side of a lemon to scrub under the rim  of the bowl. You might need to use gloves for that.

SPRING YOUR CLOTHES BACK TO LIFE

Lemons are also great to clean your clothes, shoes and jewelry.  With the help of a little sun, you can bring some of your lighter clothing back to life.

Brighten your clothing

Lemon juice should not be applied to dark or delicate fabric as it will stain, sort of like bleach.

• To whiten your fabric you can soak it in hot water with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and 1 Tbsp of baking soda for 1 hour. Then, let it dry in the sun.  Wash normally afterward to remove the lemon juice from the fabric.

The association of lemon and sun increases the whitening effect.

• Stains from beets, berries or grease. Mix 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and 1 Tbsp of salt. Apply on stain and scrub with a cloth.  If tenacious, let it sink in a few minutes to overnight, rinse and wash normally.

• If you have a baby, you know that baby formula can stain your clothing.  You can prepare a mixture that you can keep in the fridge in a spray bottle for emergency.  Simply spray it on the stain and let it dry in the sun. Then, wash normally.

You’ll need: 60ml of lemon juice and 60 ml of water.

• Sweat marks are the worse, especially on white clothing.  You could dye your white t-shirt using TEA or wash it with lemon. 

To do so, you’ll need:

1 Tbsp of lemon juice, 1 Tbsp of white vinegar, and 250ml of water.  Let your piece of clothing soak in the mixture for the day and then wash normally.

Sunny laundry

Make your own fabric softener by using:

• the juice of 4 lemons,
• 500ml of cold water,
• 1 Tbsp of baking soda;
• and a few drops of lavender oil (optional).

Mix it all together and then use the same quantity as you usually do with store bought fabric softener.

Earrings

You can sanitize your earrings or another piece of jewelry by placing it in a saucer with lemon juice for a few minutes.

Shoe polish

Finally, lemons can be your dark leather shoes best friend. 

• Mix 2 Tbsp of lemon juice with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small container.
• Close it.
• Shake it.
• Use a clean cloth to apply the mixture to your dry shoe. 
• Then, use another clean cloth to polish it with.

LEMONS & SELF-CARE

Just as with tea, you can use lemons to take care of yourself from the comfort of your home instead of spending a small fortune at the cosmetic store.  However, as a reminder, lemons can lighten the skin and leave marks if you go directly into the sun after applying some.  

Nails & Hands

Scrub your nails against lemon pulp or into a bowl filled with half a lemon juice and some warm water.  Let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes.  This helps to soften up your cuticles and works well if you have nails that have problems growing or break easily.

To get rid of the smell of garlic on your fingers put some lemon juice on a spoon and scrub fingers into it for about 2 minutes.

Hair

If you are looking for an eco-friendly and alternative way to lighten your hair at low cost, use lemons! 

You can either:

• Rinse your hair with diluted lemon juice to cut soap residue and leave your hair softer and shinier; or
• Apply the juice from 2 or 3 lemons with a comb through your hair .  Then, let it air dry directly in the sun (make sure you don’t put drops of lemon juice on your face).  Rinse and style.

Face

Although lemons are a natural ingredient, it doesn’t mean that there can’t be any reaction.  This is the risk we take when we make our own beauty products.  To be safe, try it on a small part of your skin before applying this face scrub all over your face.

Facial scrub for cleaner and softer skin.

• Use half a cup of sugar and finely sliced lemon peels;
• Add olive oil to make a paste;
• Apply it to your damp skin by massaging the mixture into it;
• Rinse well with cold water.  WARNING: Don’t go into the sun right after.

OUTDOORS WITH LEMONS

I love camping season and hot weather.  Unfortunately so do mosquitoes, flies, ants and other annoying yet necessary insects.

In order to keep some of the insects away from getting inside your house, your can place lemon peels in front of doors and windows.  The acidity from the lemons will deter insects from coming inside, especially ants who hate lemons.

Lavender oil in a small saucer also helps to keep flies away.

If you want, you can make a flying insect repellant that can be practical to use either at home, while camping, or hiking through a humid forest.

In a spray bottle, add:

• 20cl of water,
• juice of 1 lemon, and a little white vinegar;
• Shake to mix. 
• Aim to spray at your flying insect.

Before heading into a damp area where you’ll know that there will be mosquitoes, rub lemon peel on your skin.  Fold it between your fingers which will liberate oil that will keep the mosquitoes away.  Also, I read that rubbing garlic on your skin can help keep mosquitoes away.  Apparently, that’s what they do in Korea.

Fire starter

Finally, if you don’t know how to start a fire, which is my case, you can come prepared to your campsite with your own natural fire starters. 

Simply put lemon peels in the oven just enough to darken them.  Store in a small container and bring them on your next camping trip.  Old tea bags and cotton dipped in beeswax can work as well as fire starters.

Motion sickness

Last but not least, just like with any road trip, someone is bound to get car sick.  Luckily Blondie Bear and my dog Nouki have finally out grown their motion sickness.  However, while researching on other ways to clean your house with lemons I read that sucking on a lemon can reduce your motion sickness.  I wonder if that could also help women in their first trimester.

Have you ever tried these recipes using lemons to clean your house? Let me know what worked and what didn’t in the comment section way down below.