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When Life Gives You (Wrinkly) Lemons

Lemons on a sheet: my top 10 ways to use up wrinkly lemons.

Lemons can be used for so much more than juicing. Used for their antiseptic, antibacterial, acidic and odour fighting properties, here are The Zero Waste Kitchen’s top 10 ways to use up those wrinkly lemons.

  1. The juice of one lemon poured in the bottom of your dishwasher and put through the rinse cycle will freshen and clean it up. OR place used lemons halves on the top rack of your dishwasher during the next cycle to help deodorize.
  2. Your microwave needs a good clean? Add the juice of a lemon into a cup of water and microwave for 3 minutes. Let it stand and steam inside for another 5 minutes, then wipe away all the guck.
  3. Wooden cutting boards love a good lick of lemon. Place board in sink and rub unused or discarded lemon halves all over it. Then dust with baking soda and watch it fizz! Rinse and dry well.
  4. Make you own DIY multipurpose citrus cleanser. Grab an old canning jar and fill it 1/4 full of white vinegar. Start adding any citrus peels or lemon scraps, and once halfway full, top off with vinegar. Let stand for 2 weeks in cool dark place. Strain, transfer to reusable spray bottle and use!
  5. Plastic or silicon storage containers smelling off? Let them soak in some lemon juice and water then rinse and dry.
  6. One half of a used or wrinkled up lemon placed on a small plate in the fridge will help your fridge smell better.
  7. Say goodbye to cloudy blender containers. Make them sparkle again by blending a lemon with a few drops of dish soap, 1 Tbsp of baking soda and 1 cup of hot water until foamy. Drain, rinse well, and dry.
  8. The acid in lemons act as a great descaler, especially for things like electric kettles. Boil up some used lemon halves or lemon juice to help remove those crusty white deposits.
  9. Lemon juice rubbed directly on a stain can help lift it once washed.
  10. Clean unwanted coffee pot stains with unwanted lemon rinds, 3 Tbsp salt, and 2 cups of ice. Sounds odd, but these 3 things swirled around for a few minutes can eliminate those stains. For more stubborn stains let mixture soak overnight, swirl and then clean and rinse.

If you enjoyed my top 10 tips on ways to use up wrinkly lemons, be sure to check out my other waste-free tips and my delicious, zero-waste lemon recipes. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram for exclusive tips, tricks and recipes.

CategoriesWaste Free Tips