Green Living: Citrus Infused Vinegar

So, I promise that eventually I will start taking photos as I work on my recipes and hippie projects and share them here. I know that will be much more interesting and visually appealing.  :)

Anyway...

I love cleaning with vinegar. My current uses for and immense love of vinegar truly deserves its own post, which I will get to eventually, so today we will just talk about my current hippie vinegar project.

I LOVE my spray bottle of vinegar. It's a recycled standard size Windex bottle, so it holds a good bit. I go through an entire bottle in about 2 weeks. I clean floors, counters, sinks, toilets, showers and pretty much everything else in my home with it. I have, in the past, used the same spray bottle in the shower to condition my hair.

The one and only problem I can see with vinegar is that my husband despises the smell. Every time I clean I have to hear about how gross the vinegar smells. I tried adding a few drops of essential oil to my bottle, but as you can imagine, it made my cleaner have a bit of an oily film.  A few weeks ago I set out on a mission to figure out some way to improve the smell of the vinegar. What I came across were several websites suggesting you infuse the vinegar with fresh orange. I was intrigued, so I decided to give it a shot.

This project takes a bit of patience, but what I found is that the pay off is worth the wait.  My cleaner now smells citrusy fresh, and even Daddy Nev gives it "2 thumbs up I guess."  Haha!  Here's how to make your own citrus infused vinegar!

Supplies

Empty spray bottle
1 Quart size Mason jar with ring and lid
1 large orange or 4-5 lemons
2 cups distilled white vinegar

Instructions

1. Peel an orange or 4-5 lemons and place the peel only into the empty Mason jar.
2. Fill the remaining space in the Mason jar with distilled white vinegar
3. Seal the Mason jar and forget about it for 2 weeks
4. At the end of 2 weeks strain the citrus peel out of the vinegar.
5. Fill your spray bottle with 50/50, citrus infused vinegar and water
6. Clean, clean, clean and enjoy the citrus smell that permeates your home!
7. Enjoy a break from the bellyaching about how smelly vinegar is!

 I can't say enough good things about this vinegar. It has all the amazing cleaning power I love and a smell my family can live with!  I hope you will give this a try and let me know what you think!  I have personally made the orange scent, but not the lemon, and I'm anxious to give it a try!

Enjoy!