Orange Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe

Hey all,

I talked a long time ago about some of the things we do in our household that are "green" - whether it's actually for the purpose of helping the environment or just because it happens to work better for us to do it that way.

One of the things I'm pretty adamant about is not having harsh chemicals in my cleaning products. That's the last thing I want on my food when I'm preparing it. I've tried a lot of supposedly "green" products that weren't actually all that green. I've tried other green products that just don't have the cleaning power that I need.

Vinegar is a great natural cleaning agent, it's really inexpensive, and probably my go-to cleaning tool in my household {for a number of things}. I don't normally mind the smell of vinegar, but for big jobs it can get a little bothersome. I thought I'd try infusing vinegar with orange and make my own scented cleaning solution.

Want to make your own? Just follow the recipe below. 

Orange Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner

Orange peels {I peeled 7 small/medium oranges}

White vinegar

Jar with a lid {I used a quart canning jar}

Curl as many orange peels into the jar as will fit. If you use a different sized jar than I did, just adjust your orange peels accordingly. You want to pack them tightly in the jar.

Pour white vinegar into the jar until it is full. I left about 1/4 inch air space below the rim. Seal tightly and let sit in a cool place for approximately 2 weeks. Strain the peels and transfer liquid to a spray bottle. 

Pretty simple, right? You may need to let the peels sit a bit longer than 2 weeks. I figured they were done when the orange smell overpowered the vinegar smell. I've also heard of people steeping the orange peels in vinegar so they don't have to wait the 2 weeks, but I have no idea how well that works or how smelly that would make the house {the idea reminds me of the pickling process...no thanks!}

I would think the same method could work with limes, lemons or grapefruits...those are scents I'll probably try when I make my next batch. 

If you try this recipe out, let me know how it works in the comments below. Or, if you make other kinds of cleaning solutions, I'd love to hear your recipes! {We also make our own laundry detergent.}

Have a great day!