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Hi there!

I’m slowly working towards some simplicity within the home, but hey! It’s a lot of hard work!

I love having a go at growing my own veges and always use herbs fresh from my garden. I try to plant from seed whenever I can and have learnt to save and share my own seed for the following year. I make Award Winning preserves and pickles; and my husband brews Award Winning boutique beers as well. I love to stockpile and try to limit quick trips to the shops. I dabble in bread making and enjoy making my own stocks too.

I enjoy feeding my family good hearty meals, nothing like those tiny restaurant stacks you have to look for on the plate. My husband maintains our vehicles and machinery and we both enjoy fabricating on a small scale mostly relying on metal & timber recyclers for any materials needed.


While I don’t always have time to reply to comments, I love reading them. I hope you enjoy your stay and I hope you learn something new because I love sharing what I learn, and I'm always looking for another new skill myself.

Cheers!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Citrus Cleaner goes crazy...


I recently posted my Citrus Cleaner.....and kicked off the beginning of a huge group of lovely ladies starting their own cleaners over at the Down to Earth Forum.....I can imagine lots of kitchen benches..each embracing their very own jar of citrus peels, soaking in white vinegar....Some may even be sitting on window ledges basking in the sunlight, soaking up the sunshine.

Members over at Aussie's Living Simply...have even started soaking their citrus peels....

And for what you may be asking?....just the best darn cleaner you could get your hands on......If your like me.....you already use white vinegar as a fabric softener....so it's already in the house and on your shopping list.......and your constant supply of oranges, lemons and limes, or maybe grapefruit and mandarins.....all peeled before using..pinching the peels for your citrus cleaner bottle....the more you can fit in the jar ..the better....just add them as you use them.

Once you can't fit any more peels in the jar....strain it and pass the peels on to the compost bin..to be saved and made into your own free soil.....Save the lovely citrus vinegar for your cleaner....
Now don't bother rinsing out the jar....just start another batch....3/4 fill the jar with cheap white vinegar and start adding your citrus peels as you use them...

Are you juicing lemons for the freezer for your stockpile?....Have you been gifted a bag of oranges....or maybe some limes?....don't forget to peel the fruit with a vegetable peeler before juicing them......and your on your way to 'the best darn cleaner you could get your hands on'.

Have you started your own cleaner?....If so; I would love to hear from you......Please leave a comment telling me all about it.....and let me know what state and country your cleaner is in.....

If you want your jar of citrus cleaner added to this post.....just email me a photo of it....npe09777 (at) bigpond (dot) net (dot) au ..and I will add it here...along with the photo, your name, state and country....

Every picture of your citrus cleaner sent in will be added to this post.....
I'll start with mine.....
Citrus Cleaner...to use; I now do 50% citrus with 50% vinegar.

Becci - South Australia

Anja - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Tania - South Australia
Glenda - South East Queensland
Gail - Hervey Bay - Queensland
Kelly - Adelaide - South Australia
Robinsons Family - Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Christine - Victoria, Australia
Darlene - NSW, Australia
Laura - New Zealand
Deb - Tasmania
Sharon - Victoria, Australia
Mary-Anne - Townsville

15 comments:

  1. Hi Nellymary

    I saw your citrus cleaner recipe and started a jar mid-May. It should be cured by now and I wanted to start using it. Not sure though whether the cleaner is used neat or is diluted. I see on your photo above that you have labelled the spray bottle '50:50'. From your comment below the photo, you say you use 50% citrus and 50% vinegar. Do I understand correctly that you dilute the citrus cleaner with vinegar? Is this concentration of vinegar OK to sue on most surfaces?
    Hope you can clear this up for me.

    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  2. I used my first batch today Nellymary. Made with mandarin peel and no problems what so ever. I diluted mine further with vinegar and it still worked fine.

    Absolutely loved it, my house is gleaming and smelling divine.

    Have started some orange and lemon and maybe I might try grapefruit, like you suggested.

    I cant believe how shiny and clean things look. Thank you for this "WONDER" recipe...

    xTania

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jane: I was using the mix as 1 part citrus to one part water....but lately I have been using one part citrus to one part vinegar....I just like the cleaning properties of vinegar....and the citrus is even better...You should see how shiny my bathroom mirror came up....

    Tania: Brilliant! I'm so pleased for you.....it truly is a Wonderful recipe...and so so easy.

    Ok girls...how 'bout some photo's now?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Nellymary

    Thank you for above info. I will give it a go. So far I have diluted the citrus cleaner with water but no where near the proportion you recommend. Even at the lower concentration I find it great for cutting through grease. I use soap nut liquid for washing dishes and surfaces but soap nut is not good on the greasy pots. A squirt of the citrus cleaner seems to cut through the grease beautifully.

    I would happily up-load a photo of my jar on the window ledge but I don't know how. I will see if I can get someone to help.

    Cheers

    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here you go Narelle. A pick of my first batch just as I started it.

    [IMG]http://i458.photobucket.com/albums/qq305/BecciS74/2011_0529April20110005.jpg[/IMG]

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jane: I'm glad to hear that it is working for you...if you like, you can email me a photo of your cleaner...and I can add it here..another hint...for cutting through the greasse....those hard baked on bits...sometimes you need a scrubber...I use plain old Bi-carb soda...just sprinkle a little on...and it is abrasive enough to help 'scrub' them off....add a spice jar or sugar shaker to your sinktop...it's very handy.

    Becci, thanks for sharing your photo...I hope more come.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi nellymary, I wanted to let you know that I have a batch of your citrus cleaner on the bench infusing. It was started a few days ago- I'm using a big empty coffee jar and adding hubby's daily orange skins to it, exciting! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe, I'm really looking forward to using it (it smells divine, too!).

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great idea- I will try this very soon! Totally loving your blog too, (found you through ALS) so many fab ideas, I am coming back to read more tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This looks good. I'm going to give it a try. Such a shame that I made orange juice yesterday for the boys and used 20 oranges... PLUS made lemon butter yesterday with 5 lemons... all rinds taken away by the garbage truck today!!

    Isn't it always the way?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mine is brewing away nicely. I think this will replace my bi-carb/ammonia/vinegar mix I've been using for a few years now!

    I can't seem to add the pic to your email so here is the link if you want to copy the photo on there to add to your collection of pics.

    http://barefootbride-thebarefootbride.blogspot.com/2011/08/ta-da-my-citrus-cleaner-is-brewing.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. My stepFIL loved lemonpeel/white candy/white brandy liquor. I made it for him, peeling lemons as thinly as possible. He has passed away now. I never dreamt I would peel lemons again to make a cleaning solution. But it makes sense, a very expensive carpetcleaner in the Netherlands smells of citruspeels (and it contains a secret ingredient from needle trees like spruces and firs). I will start up a jar tomorrow, I am almost through gathering hedgerow fruits by now.

    ReplyDelete
  12. HI Could you use this as fabric softener as i like to use essential oils in with the sheets but am wondering if this will work aswell??

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice post with great details. I really appreciate your idea and will try this soon. Thanks for sharing.

    carpet cleaning

    ReplyDelete
  15. I use Basic H2 with the Get Clean Spray Bottles. Each bottle is labeled with instructions for mixing Basic H2 for All Purpose Cleaning, Glass Cleaning and Degreasing. I also use these washable microfiber cloths for a streak-free clean.


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    ReplyDelete

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