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Here’s 17 Suggestions For What To Do With Lemons
It seems like I’ve written a lot about what to do with lemons over the years, but I just can’t help myself! Not only do I love the flavor of lemon in food and desserts, but I’ve found that lemons are incredibly useful too!
Lemons are an ingredient in many of my homemade cleaning solutions, because they can naturally sanitize, deodorize, whiten, and brighten all sorts of objects and surfaces around your house. In fact, I could probably come up with 100 things to do with lemons!
But if I did, we’d be here all day and night. So I’ve chosen to exercise some self-control and limit myself to sharing 17 of the very best uses for lemons. By the end of this list, you’ll see just how much this little citrus fruit can do!
Check out how to keep lemons fresher, longer in my video at the end of the post!
17 Useful Things You Can Do With Lemons
1. Make Dried Lemon Peels
One of the best things you can do if you have lots of lemons on hand is to make dried lemon peels. They’re great to use in recipes, homemade cleaners, and even beauty products. The peel of the lemon contains oils that are packed with lemon scent and flavor, and you can keep dried lemon peels in your fridge to use for up to a year!
2. Make Your Shower Door Shine
Glass shower doors are like magnets for hard water stains and stubborn soap scum. Use a lemon to help you scrub them clean! Dip half a lemon into a small dish of kosher salt, and get scrubbing. Then stand back and admire the shine!
3. Make Cleaning Vinegar
I love to clean with vinegar. It’s actually one of my favorite natural cleaning agents, but I know a lot of people don’t like the smell. So I created a scented cleaning vinegar that you can use to clean almost anything! Just grab some lemons and a jug of vinegar, and follow the easy steps below.
Related: Vinegar Smell, Begone! Here’s How To Make Scented Cleaning Vinegar
4. Eliminate Fridge Odors
Use a lemon to absorb lingering odors in your refrigerator. Soak a sponge or cotton ball in some fresh lemon juice, and place it in your fridge for several hours to absorb those odors.
5. Remove Permanent Marker Stains
With the help of lemons, it IS possible to remove permanent marker stains! You can use a mixture of lemon juice and cream of tartar to remove or treat permanent marker stains on fabric or upholstery.
Related: 19 Surprising Ways To Remove Permanent Marker And Save The Day
6. Whiten Your Clothes
Lemon juice and hydrogen peroxide are the two main components in the recipe for my homemade bleach alternative. This all-natural mixture is great for whitening whites and removing stains. Get the full recipe below!
Related: How To Make A Simple, Natural Alternative To Bleach
7. Keep Bugs Out
Use lemon juice to repel pesky insects in your home! Squeeze some lemon juice into holes and cracks where you see ants coming in, and they’ll avoid the area in the future.
Related: This Hack Gets The Most Juice Out Of Limes & Lemons
More Ideas You'll Love
8. Clean Your Kitchen
Use lemons to make two homemade cleaners at once – an enzyme cleaning spray and a scrub! I use this enzyme scrub all the time on my sink, and it works like a charm! My sink is left looking clean and sparkling, and it smells so fresh, too! Get all the details and plenty of photos at the link below.
Related: Homemade Citrus Enzyme Cleaner And Scrub
9. Freshen Your Garbage Disposal
If your garbage disposal is smelling a little funky, there’s a super simple way to clean it! Just pour white vinegar into an ice cube mold, and drop small lemon slices into each section. Freeze the tray, then drop a few of the frozen vinegar cubes into your running garbage disposal. The ice will help keep the blades sharp and clean, and the lemon helps to deodorize the disposal. Repeat the process once a week or so to keep things smelling fresh.
Related: How To Naturally Clean And Sanitize Your Garbage Disposal
10. Wash Your Veggies
Use lemon juice to clean your fresh fruits and vegetables. Just add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 8 ounces of water, and pour it into a spray bottle. Spray your fruits and veggies, let them sit for a few minutes, and then rinse them thoroughly with cold water.
11. Get Silky Smooth Legs
Lemon juice is a component in my homemade exfoliating scrub for super soft legs. It’s great to use right before you shave, and it will help combat dry and itchy skin during the winter. If you’ve never tried this before, I highly recommend it! You won’t believe how silky smooth your legs feel. :-)
Related: How To Make A Simple Exfoliating Scrub For The Smoothest Legs Ever
12. Eliminate Garbage Can Odors
Save leftover lemon peels to eliminate odors from your garbage can! After you take a full bag out of the trash, place a handful of lemon peels at the bottom of the can, then put your new trash bag in. The lemon peels will help keep your garbage can smelling fresh and clean.
13. Heal Cracked Heels
If you struggle with dry, cracked heels, a lemon can provide relief! Just remove the flesh out of one half of a lemon, then place the empty “shell” on your heel. Put a sock on to hold the lemon in place, and leave it for 30 minutes. The acid in the lemon juice will help slough off dead skin cells, leaving softer, smoother skin behind.
14. Make Your House Smell Amazing
During the cold winter months, I love mixing up potpourri to make my house smell warm and inviting. It’s an easy way to fill your house with the scents of the season! Check out the link below to get the recipe for a lemon-rosemary potpourri… mmm!
More Ideas You'll Love
Related: My Favorite Simmering Potpourri Recipes
15. Keep Guacamole Fresh
Lemon juice can help you keep avocado fresh for a couple of days in the fridge. Squeeze half a lemon over guacamole or smashed avocado, then press a sheet of plastic wrap onto the surface. It’ll stay green and fresh, at least for a day or two!
16. Clean A Stained Cutting Board
I thought my stained plastic cutting boards were beyond saving, until I found this amazing trick! Using lemon and good old fashioned sunshine, you can lift those unsightly stains right out of your white cutting boards. Get the details below!
Related: How To Remove Stubborn Stains From Plastic Cutting Boards
17. Cook With Lemons
Whether as the star of the recipe such as with lemon curd and lemon jam, ways to use lemons in recipes are almost unlimited. Need some ideas? Check out this list of delicious lemon recipes like lemon chicken, old-fashioned lemonade, slow-cooked lemon chicken, and more. Lemon juice also makes a great substitute for cream of tartar in a pinch.
BONUS: Tips For Storing Lemons
How long will lemons last on the counter? Whole lemons can usually be stored at room temperature for about a week, but if you have lots of lemons and can’t use them right away, here are a few tips that can help you keep them fresh longer (and some clues so you can tell if they have gone bad).
Store Lemons In A Jar Of Water In Your Fridge
To prolong the life of your fresh lemons, a reader suggested storing them in a jar of water in your fridge! We gave it a try, and it kept our lemons good for about a week longer than storing them on the counter. Smart!
Freeze Lemons
Can you freeze whole lemons? Yes, you can! You can freeze lemon slices or wedges, zest, lemon juice, or whole lemons. For whole lemons, place them in freezer bags and remove as much air as possible before freezing. To thaw, microwave for a few seconds or put them in cold water for 10 to 15 minutes. Ice cube trays are great for freezing lemon juice.
When Should You Throw Away Lemons?
Not even the best storage methods will preserve fresh lemons forever! If you have any lemons that look shriveled, feel squishy, look powdery or dusty, or have any dark spots or mold on them, it’s time to throw them away. But try the tricks above first, so they don’t go bad before you can use them.
Related: This Is How You Should Be Storing Your Fresh Fruit
What’s your favorite way to enjoy the scent, taste, or usefulness of lemons?
