Going green: Orange Infused Vinegar Cleaner

   I love making my own things, particularly household cleaners. My common favorite is simply vinegar water! I do about a 50/50 mix in a spray bottle for everything from toilet bowl cleaning to floor scrubbing to counter cleaning. It's amazing, removes orders (that vinegar scent evaporates quickly), disinfects, and is less dangerous than most (nearly all) of your common household cleaners bought at the store, particularly bleach.


   A few months ago, I heard of infusing your vinegar for a citrusy scent, and a gloss that only the oils in citrus rinds could provide.


   I decided to give the orange peels a try and I must say I'm really liking it! I basically just peeled one giant orange (usually two average oranges) and stuffed it in a quart sized mason jar, then covered with vinegar and let it sit for 3 weeks to really absorb all those rind oils (ONLY the rind by the way, NOT the fruit-great repurposing eh?). Then I put it in the spray bottle. I still mixed it with water 50/50 (if the vinegar is still too strong for you just change your ratio! Maybe 1 part vinegar to 3 parts water). And it's a GREAT cleaner. It leaves things just a little extra shiny with those oils in it, not to mention a faint orange scent.

 (I broke into my vinegar before I took a picture! I had some major cleaning that needed to be taken care of!)

   I have dogs and toddlers - so I REALLY appreciate an odor killer, something vinegar is great at. I like the orange infused vinegar for an all purpose cleaner but if you use lemon rind, I imagine it would be GREAT for wood furniture leaving it look polished! I'll have to let you know when I try it.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Teresa


(This post contains affiliate links.)