Look out, we're cleaning green!

I recently discovered how to make my own household cleaning products for just about everything, and I AM SO happy! My absolute favorite so far is the all purpose kitchen cleaner. It's nothing more than white vinegar and orange peels. Sounds stinky, right? Not at all! I eat halos this time of year as if my patronage is what keeps those little nectarines in business! I thought I'd start sharing my DIY cleaning product recipes for all of you other mamas who want to eliminate bleach and ammonia from your house now that you have a little one.

SO, what you do is quite simple.

Fill a spray bottle about 2/3 of the way full with pieces of orange peel (I keep them in larger pieces and roll them up to fit them in the bottle opening rather than having a bunch of teeny shreds)

Pour white vinegar in to fill the bottle

Close the top, and set it aside for two weeks, shaking it here and there whenever it crosses your mind. (Yes, the first batch takes a long time, but if you have two spray bottles, just start a new one when you notice the first bottle getting low.)

Drain the orange vinegar into a measuring cup, pick out the orange peels one by one, and pour the vinegar back into the bottle.

Now, I know that it seems silly to pick out the orange peels from that little top, (another reason I keep them in larger pieces) but it's really not too bad. You can use this same recipe in mason jars if you think it would be easier, but my only gripe about that, is you need to fill 2 or 3 jars to make the amount of cleaner  you would make by just pouring everything directly into the spray bottle. So all in all, making it straight in the bottle is a much quicker process to make the cleaner. Pulling the peels out really doesn't take that long, and then at the end you only have to funnel one container back into the spray bottle, rather than 2 or 3 jars. Whatever method works best for you is fine, though. :)

The orange oil from the peels seep into the vinegar, which makes for one AMAZING (and great smelling) cleaning product. It just smells so clean and citrusy. There’s no other way to describe it. The smell of straight vinegar is gone, and the orange smell is just heavenly. The natural oil from the peels breaks up dried on messes from your counter SO well, and it also helps pick up dirt and dust, etc. The vinegar is a natural cleaner and disinfectant. You can even clean grease or lots of dirt off of hands with this stuff before washing them. If you're interested in learning more, please tell me what type of cleaner you're looking to make, and I'll share my recipes for it if I have one (which I probably do)! :) Until next time, mamas!

*DISCLAIMER* - Do NOT use this product on granite counter tops. I am not sure about marble, but my mother has granite, and they specified no citrus and no vinegar. You may want to do some research before using this product if you have anything other than standard composite counters.