Image by Wazari at stock.xchng
You’ve made your lemon water. Now what do you do with those squeezed out lemons? I hate seeing these citrusy goodies go to waste, so here are some ideas that can help you get the most out of those juiced out lemons:
1. Deal with a tea-stained mug. Dump the used lemon in a stained mug filled with warm water. Leave it in the sink while you go to work. When you come back, the stains will have bid you adieu.
2. Clean your microwave. Put the lemon in a microwavable container, fill it with water, put in the microwave and zap for one minute. When done, wipe the insides of your microwave. It’ll be clean and smell lemony fresh.
3. Do your elbows some good. Rub the used lemon half on your elbows! It supposedly helps in whitening them and getting rid of rough patches, but I’ve only done this once so I don’t really know. The only time I did it, I ended up getting splashes of lemon on my shirt so be careful. Or just be less klutzy than I am. And don’t forget to rinse your elbows afterwards.
4. Take away the stink. Throw it in the garbage can so the trash won’t smell. Baking powder also works here, by the way. You can also throw it down your garbage disposal and follow with water.
5. Say goodbye to sink stains. Scrub your sink with it to get rid of nasty stains and watermarks. Scrub harder. Or, rub the stains with the fleshy part, then leave for a few minutes. Then rinse off.
6. Get rid of the garlicy smell. Slice the skin into little pieces and put it in your soap dish. It’s great after handling garlic! Just wash your hands and rub your fingers on the lemony goodies. The zest will help take the smell of garlic away.
7. Liven up your flower pots. This one I haven’t tried yet but I’ve read that you can use the lemon shells as fertilizer. Calling all green thumbs! Maybe you can try this out.
There you go! 7 things to do with leftover lemons, just so not even their juiced up flesh goes to waste. 😉
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
Rach
September 3, 2007 at 4:45 pm (17 years ago)Hi Toni. Thanks for these nice tips. I’d love to give them a try especially the microwave tip.
kaoko
September 3, 2007 at 6:04 pm (17 years ago)Your home prolly smells sooo nice, with all the lemons you have there. Don’t forget the lemon zest though! Except you probably need to get the zest before you squeeze for lemon juice ^_^;;
dhey
September 4, 2007 at 9:10 am (17 years ago)wish lemons were more common in our public market. but i like the tips on lemons. whenever i slice garlic, i have to use vinegar to get the smell off. yeah… and deal with smelling like chicharon dip(?) for about an hour. (hehe… well, it’s better than hands smelling like garlic for two days right?) tried calamansi but seems to work slower.
bh
September 4, 2007 at 10:58 am (17 years ago)I drove mine down south to Mexico and pushed it off a precipitous cliff somewhere in Guadalajara.
Leah
September 4, 2007 at 11:35 am (17 years ago)Great tips. My mom put sliced lemons on the cover of a pan while frying fish or boiling crabs. It works somehow. And then she boils water with lemon to rid of the smell in the air.
aloi
September 4, 2007 at 10:05 pm (17 years ago)great tips! i use the stuff to get the fishy smell off my hands.
guess you have all those used lemons to contend with, with your daily lemon water ritual! nothing wasted!
abby
September 4, 2007 at 11:08 pm (17 years ago)haah! thanks, i’ll try this with my mugs. i end up having icky-stained mugs after my tea and no matter how much kuskos i do, di mawala. try ko to, salamat tones!
Liz
September 19, 2007 at 4:41 pm (17 years ago)Thanks for these great great tips! Its been a help really!
Rose
September 28, 2007 at 4:26 am (17 years ago)I did not realize that there were so many uses for lemons.