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I live in Southern California, the land of the lemon tree. With so many donations from friends, I have found tons of uses for the mighty little lemon.
Here are ten of my favorites:
- Lemon juice and salt on your copper bottom pans make an instant cleaning miracle. Just sprinkle the salt on the copper bottom, then squirt on some lemon juice and give a gentle scrub. Your copper will shine like the day it was made. This works on any copper surface, not just pot bottoms.
- Put lemon juice in a spray bottle and go for a little sunbath. Spritz the lemon juice on your hair and let the sun do its job. You will end up with a summer blond look.
- Turn those lemons into lemonade. The very best lemonade that I ever had was at a yard sale. The little boy who sold it to me was proud to tell me that the lemons came from the tree in his backyard. Lemon juice + filtered water + honey + ice = yummy lemonade
- After shampoo rinse. When I was little, my mom used to pour lemon juice over my hair as an after shampoo rinse. Some people don’t use shampoo or conditioner at all – only water and some lemon juice.
- Deodorize your garbage disposal. After you are done squeezing the juice out of the lemon, cut it up into strips and put down your disposal. Not only does it help break up the grease and gunk on the blades, but it leaves a pleasant lemon scent.
- Keep guacamole from turning brown. Avocado turns brown when exposed to air, so your wonderful homemade guacamole can look yucky while still tasting great. Spritz the top of your guac with lemon juice to keep a bright green.
- Similar to the avocado, apple slices will also turn brown when left out to the air. Dip the slices in lemon juice to keep them nice looking. The taste of the lemon compliments the apples.
- Help soften elbows and heels by rubbing a squeezed lemon rind on them. Make sure you don’t have any cuts in your skin or they will sting.
- Lemon and honey in hot water is good for a sore throat or a cold. If nothing else, the honey tastes good and the heat soothes.
- Kill weeds in the cracks in your sidewalk. Much like the tip that Bargain Babe gave us with vinegar, it turns out that lemon juice also kills weeds. Soak the area with lemon juice instead of toxic chemicals. You will definitely want a friend with an overloaded lemon tree for this tip.
I know that there are tons more uses for this great little fruit. What are your favorite uses for lemons?
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Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
I clean a lot with lemons. My old white laminate counter tops stain very easily. I sprinkle a little baking soda on the stain, drizzle a little lemon juice over it, let it fizz some & make a scrub. Let it sit a few minutes then rinse clean. Most of the time it gets stains the first time but i do have to repeat occasionally.
It works well on koolaide, grape juice, coffee & tea. My family is notorious for spilling or dripping & not wiping it up & it even gets the stains that have set over night.
When I’m given home grown lemons I make the best lemon meringue pie with them. I also make frosted lemon cookies.
For suggestion #8 – do you use the outer yellow rind, the pith or the inside of the lemon on your elbows and heels?
I make sure to keep lemon juice OFF my face/skin when I’m in the sun; fruit acids are known to causes ‘stains’ on the skin when exposed to sunlight, especially so on women who take birth control pills!
@Myke Use the inside of the lemon. The easiest way to do this is to sit with your elbow on the table. You can also use it on your knees.
@Kay All you need to do is apply an SPF. I use a citric acid lotion at night and the label says to avoid sun exposure without wearing sunblock.