I use citrus in everything, so I tend to buy the big bags of lemons – you know, 24 lemons for $3.99 – or some such bargain no one could pass up. Anyway, I didn’t use as many as I expected and found myself with about 10 leftover lemons. Luckily, I work with Jane, a walking cookbook and woman full of handy dandy tips. I thought I’d share her ideas with the rest of the overshoppers:
- Clean your kitchen counters – a mixture of lemon and salt with a quick rinse will do wonders, plus your kitchen will smell ultra fresh!
- Speaking of which – use a lemon to deodorize. Lemon eliminates strong scents like fish, so use it in your dishwashers to cut grease and make your dishes smell ultra fresh, keep a couple slices in the bottom of your garbage can, or just spritz the juice when a room is smelling a little stale.
- It works on more than just your home. Lemon juice also kills bad breath. Gargle with lemon juice on those days you had one garlic clove too many, or when you have a sore throat. If you aren’t a gargler, mix the lemon juice in your tea for the same soothing effect. Remember, lemons are full of vitamin C which strengthens your immune system.
- Lemon juice can also be used as a beauty product! Streak lemon juice on your hair before you go out on a sunny day for a natural, eco-friendly lightening technique.
- Make lemon ice cubes. Squeeze the juice into ice cube trays, and drop a cube into your glass of ice water for a nice refresher! You can also use the juice later to make lemonade.
From beauty to cleaning to cooking, lemons are one versatile fruit. As for mine, I’m slicing a couple for my first batch of iced tea this year, and the rest are going to cleaning my kitchen sink (the juice is great for cleaning stainless steel, too).Email me and let me know what you do with your citrus!
