30 Days to Wellness Challenge Day 22: Homemade Citrus and Vinegar Cleaner

For Day 22, I am reposting a post I wrote on homemade citrus and vinegar cleaners back in January, 2016. Over a year later and I am still using this spray.  So I can attest that this was a lifestyle or household change that has stuck with me.  I consider it relevant to the Challenge as removing toxic and/or harsh commercial cleaners from the household boosts the wellbeing of its occupants.  If you have small crawling children or pets who love licking the floors, then a gentle cleaning agent like vinegar really eases the mind.  And I don't know about you but I much prefer the scent of citrus essential oils and vinegar to the sickly, cloying scents of commercial cleaners that invariably make me nauseous.  So here is the original post.

Hello Friends!  As the last year drew to a close, I did a lot of soul searching.  I was working 3 jobs and felt really overwhelmed.  Luckily, because I had started "zone cleaning" (more on that later) and had begun simplifying my life in other areas, my home didn't fall into a complete shambles.  Well, at least not right away.  I had heard about the versatility of using vinegar as a household cleaner long ago but for some reason, the concept had never "clicked" with me.  I just assumed that commercially made cleaners would do the job much better and I would have to put up with the hassle of searching for a cleaner whose artificial fragrance didn't make me sick.  Late last year, I chanced upon the idea of making a citrus vinegar cleaner.  And as clementines are in abundance during the Christmas season, I decided to try it out.

I am not a particularly crafty person so the simplicity of making this cleaner really appealed to me.  All you need to do really is eat the clementines (or any other citrus fruit of your choosing) and put the peels into the vinegar.  I used a vintage mason jar.  I leave the peels in for about 2 weeks.  The essential oils in the peels slowly leach out and turn the vinegar orange.  The vinegar takes on a fresh citrus scent.  Plus the citrus ingredient boosts the cleaning power of the vinegar.   I love the fact that it is all natural and homemade.  You get your Vitamin C and make your own citrus cleaner at the same time.  How easy is that?

The sense of pride and satisfaction that I get every time I use the cleaner was quite unexpected.  I truly feel like I am "blessing" my home whenever I use it because it is non-toxic and I took the time to make it.  Now, making sure I always have a supply on hand to keep my spray bottle topped up is part of my household routine.