DIY Trial & Error: Part I

This past weekend I decided to finally, finally try a few DIY and natural cleaning recipes. The 3 that have been bugging me the most to try myself were the orange peel all purpose cleaner, the homemade dishwasher tabs, and the wool dryer balls. Since the boyfriend and I had taken Friday off for a 3 day weekend filled with home projects, I decided it was a good time to cram these in as well. I mean, ripping out and replacing your wood stairs, building a large closet system, adding shelves to another closet, installing new bathroom lights fixtures, and starting all of your vegetable seeds definitely isn't enough for one weekend. So I knew this would be the right thing to occupy all my time....ugh was I insane? Yes. Yes I was.

I'll break this down into 3 sections this week so that this doesn't turn into a snooze fest of a huge post.

Anyways, on Wednesday I had peeled two oranges to send off with him for his lunch. I threw the peelings into a quart mason jar, then covered it with white vinegar and sealed it up. According to several different posts I've seen, you're supposed to let it sit for a minimum of 2 weeks and then use it as an all purpose antibacterial cleaner. Since this concoction is still sitting on the kitchen counter, I can't say just yet how it turned out. But I will keep you all posted!

I also had taken a photo to share with you all however I can't get it to show up any other way but sideways. Which I guess is kind of perfect after our crazy, jam packed weekend of project madness. Since I used a quart jar and only two oranges, my jar isn't completely filled like the ones in the pic in the link below. I've been giving it a little shake almost every day when I remember, just to keep things even in there. I'm really excited to try this and see how it turns out. I'd also like to try this with lemon peels as well as I have those every day from my lemon water in the mornings.

My plan with this mixture is to dilute it with water and add a few drops of lemon essential oil, for added antibacterial power. For now, we sit and wait!

Here's a link with instructions and some other great ideas and links: (love that she uses the orange peels for this mixture twice, then uses the peels for a sink cleaner. They could also be kept on hand to give your garbage disposal a little freshener, even after you clean your sink with them!)
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2013/02/05/how-to-make-homemade-orange-power-cleaner/