LivingWasteFree

Instead of using harsh chemicals to clean my house, I now use baking soda, a bar of soap, and vinegar. I mainly use baking soda and soap when cleaning my bathroom and kitchen, for everything else I use vinegar that I have soaked my leftover lemon rinds in.

Both the vinegar and the lemons have antibacterial properties so this is a great multipurpose disinfectant. The lemons also make the mixture smell much better than just using vinegar alone. If you’re are looking for a bit more disinfecting power or for a slightly better smell you can add a few drops of lavender essential oil.

Making your own lemon vinegar is super easy!

1. Use a lemon. I use lots of lemons when I cook so I always have plenty left over to use in vinegar. 
2. Cut up what is left of your lemon into small pieces and place the pieces into a jar of vinegar.
3. Let soak adding more lemon pieces whenever you want.                     
4. Soak for how ever long you feel, but it will be ready after the first 2-3 weeks.
5. Strain out the lemon pieces and pour the vinegar into a sealed container.      
6. Use! 

To use the vinegar for cleaning, mix it with water. I use a 1:1 ratio for messes and a 1:3 ratio of vinegar to water for every day cleaning, meaning I fill a bottle 1/4 of the way with vinegar and then fill it the other 3/4 with water. To make my solution easy to use I put it into a small plastic spray bottle, a remnant of my pre-livingwastefree days.

Once you’ve mixed your vinegar with water you can add essential oil if you’d like.

To use, I simply spray it onto whatever surface I wish to clean and then wipe it down using a reusable cloth rag.