Life Hacks, Featuring Lemons

If you think lemons taste good, wait till you see how well they spruce up your home. (Spoiler: they do it really, really well.)

For that new-home smell:

• Grind a lemon peel in your garbage disposal and say goodbye to lurking scents.
• Cut a lemon in half and rub it over a cutting board. Rinse, dry and forget all about what you were chopping up. (Sorry, onions.)
• After cooking, rub your hands with a lemon wedge. Not only will it get rid of lingering grease and oil, it’ll also keep your hands nice and soft. Smooth move.
• Got a fireplace? Toss a lemon in, get the fire roaring and enjoy the fact that you pretty much just made the world’s largest candle. (Don’t quote us on that.)

 

For that new-home look:

• Keep copper pots, pans and bowls spotless by scrubbing them with fresh lemon juice. Pro tip: you can also mix salt and lemon to remove oxidation.
• Fact: Aluminum pots and kettles discolor. Also fact: lemons can make them look good as new. Just fill with water, add fresh lemon juice (or slices) and boil. Magic, kind of.
• Not to keep talking about discoloration, but you can also clean pots with a cloth dipped in lemon juice and then rinse with warm water to get them back in tip-top shape.
• For anyone with glass kitchenware (that’d be everyone), here’s a tip. Make your decanter or coffee pot sparkle by rubbing it with a cut lemon or by soaking it in lemon juice and water. Rinse well and dry with a lint-free cloth.

 

For everything else:

• Remove stains from clothes by mixing 1/3 cup of lemon juice with water. Soak the stain, wash, rejoice in all the adulting.
• Got a garden? First of all, good for you. Second of all, try using lemon peels as fertilizer for plants that need extra acidity.