DIY All Purpose Lemon Spray

An easy, all natural cleaning spray infused with fresh lemon rinds. This is just a base for a plethora of combos that can be used!

Ingredients

  • distilled white vinegar
  • citrus peels
  • large glass jar with lid
  • spray bottle
  • essential oil (*optional)

Instructions

  • In your large glass jar, fill it at least half way with citrus peels only (do not include seeds/juices etc..). Fill the rest of the jar with distilled white vinegar and cover for at least 1 week. 
  • Strain the vinegar/citrus mixture. Transfer into your spray bottle, until you’ve reached half of the bottle. Fill the rest of the spray bottle with water. Add any essential oils if using.

If you have any remaining vinegar/citrus mixture, keep it labeled in the fridge until you’re ready to use.

Whether it be for health, money, or environmental concerns, making your own cleaning supplies isn’t something new. This is especially true when it comes to using lemons. I’ve used lemons in the past to get rid of hard water stains in the bathroom, but never stuck with it. I planned to make my own DIY All Purpose Lemon Spray for a while, but never got around to it. I finally got around to it, and it’s less intimidating than it seems.

If you saw this Instagram/ Facebook post, then you know how excited I was to FINALLY make this spray. You see, I’m a chronic DIYer. If I can make something for significantly less than buying it, I will. It keeps my hands busy, and my bank account fuller.

Naturally, when you’re balls deep into healthy living, you venture down the rabbit hole of all things crunchy. I stopped using the big named all purpose cleaners a while ago, and switched to the “all natural” brands shortly after. As much as I LOVE seventh generation, Mrs Meyers, and Method- I don’t like spending the money on it. I also don’t like consistently checking my cartwheel app to see when they’re on sale at Target.

So a few months ago, I started creating my own all purpose spray with water, theives essential oil, and a tiny bit of dish/Castile soap. It’s a combo I love- but if you use essential oils, you know that they are not cheap! I researched other ways to make my own cleaning spray and came across a plethora of articles like this. Seemed easy enough, and didn’t require much from me.

What I love most about this spray, is that we aren’t going out of our way to purchase ingredients for it. We use lemons ALL THE TIME. Normally, once we’re done with a lemon, it immediately gets tossed in the trash. I’ve been trying to be better about food waste, so now I can use the rinds for this spray before tossing them. #progress. I wouldn’t make a grapefruit spray because we don’t buy grapefruit often, but if you don’t use lemons often, and love grapefruit, then use that instead! Use a mix of your most used citrus and herbs to get your desired combo! In the fall, we buy a lot of fresh rosemary, so I plan on adding rosemary to future batches!

Let me know what combos you use/have used in the past! I’d love to try them out!

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