Lemon Vinegar Kitchen Cleaner

I decided a while ago to try and find a more "green" kitchen cleaner.  I didn't like the idea of spraying the counters and tables that my kids so regularly ate off of with things that may be unhealthy for them to accidentally consume.

I think that is when I fell in love with the cleaning power of vinegar.  That is also when my husband started complaining that our house smelled like, well, vinegar.

To appease his distaste, I started searching the internet and found this method.

There are a lot of different "recipes" to this cleaner.  Most just use lemon peels and vinegar, with a 50/50 ratio of water.  In my experience, I have found the addition of essential oils and a minimal addition of water (or none at all) is best for me.  It definitely gets the job done.

Lemon Vinegar Kitchen Cleaner

12-15 lemons

2 quart mason jar

white distilled vinegar

10 drops lemon essential oil

water (optional)

Wash lemons to remove any dirt.

Juice lemons (I freeze it in ice cube trays in tsp. and Tbsp. amounts to use in recipes)

Scrape out skin from peels and discard.

Rough chop peels.

Stuff peels into jar, pressing down to fit as many peels as possible.

Fill jar with vinegar, ensuring that ll peels are completely covered.

Seal jar and set aside to soak for 2-3 weeks.

Drain vinegar from jar into a spray bottle.

Discard peels (I put mine through the garbage disposal to helps clean and freshen)

Add essential oils to vinegar.

Add water (up to equal amounts of vinegar), if desired.

Shake before each use.