Clean Ideas & a DIY Citrus Cleaner

We’ve hit a snag with our basement re-do. It’s called ‘not finding the right piece of furniture to accommodate my overall vision’. It’s a struggle, although one that was proving to be more productive than not (can you have a productive struggle?). The whole out of sight out of mind thing? It’s real. It’s how I treat our basement/playroom, I have no need to be down there so when I am it’s like WHOA – a person should probably dust and vacuum down here with a powerful upright vacuum cleaner. Oh and maybe clean the toys that the littlest has decided to slobber all over. I’ve spent the past week purging toys, books & clothes, hoping to feel more organised and less cluttered. Dudes, it’s working.

I’m SLOOOWLY trying to live a greener life and for that reason have been making my own ‘multi-purpose’ cleaner for the past year and a bit. I use it for everyday cleaning & it’s been working GREAT! It’s easy to make, uses items you already have on hand & smells pretty good. And at the end of the day when the littlest is chewing on anything and everything I’m not cringing thinking of all the chemicals she’s ingesting.

• 32oz Jar (or any size you choose)
• Peel from 4-5 oranges (eat or juice the peeled oranges, you could always use some extra Vitamin C!)
• Enough white vinegar to fill your jar

Put your peels into the jar and fill to the brim with vinegar. Let sit in a cool place for 2+ weeks. This allows for the vinegar to extract the orange oils from the peel.

When it’s ready to use, strain to remove the peels and mix 1:1 with water. I like a stronger cleaner so I mix mine 2:1 – orange vinegar:water.

The vinegar acts as a natural disinfectant and the orange peels are a great de-greaser and lend to a better fresher smell. Who wants to smell vinegar all day er’day?!

I’ve wrangled up a few more great ideas for some DIY cleaners below. Enjoy!

1. Linen Spray – SMP // 2. Carpet Deodoriser // 3. Uses for Castile Soap // 4. Green & Thrifty Cleaning // 5. Garbage Disposal Tablets // 6. Toilet Bombs // 7. 25+ Uses for Vinegar // 8. Glass Cleaner // 9. Butcher Block Cleaner