What to do with all the LEMONS??

Lemons from a neighborhood tree

Here in Southern California, we are blessed with abundance and with perfect weather for growing citrus.

Do you have a lemon tree, or have a neighbor or friend with a lemon tree with a ton of lemons? Here is one idea for something you can do with alllll those lemons waiting to be plucked:

Clean your home!!!

It is as easy as slicing open a lemon, squeezing the juice onto counters or in cabinets, and wiping down. There is no sugar in lemon juice so it won't leave sticky counters, lemon is a natural antibiotic and so will kill all the germs, it obviously won't leave any nasty industrial chemical residues on your counters or in the air in your home, and it smells SO delicious. Lemons from local trees are also super sustainable since they grow plentifully and don't come wrapped in plastic.

The easiest things to clean with lemon are: kitchen tables (or any kind of table), hard floors, kitchen/bathroom/bedroom/any kind of counter or cabinet, basically any flat surface. Lemon if squeezed onto mildew in your shower and left to soak will break down mildews too, although white vinegar is probably a better mildew killer than lemon.

Just squeeze the juice, pick out any seeds, and swipe! You can swipe with water after if you want, though it is certainly not necessary. A little bit of lemon juice will go a long way. If you are good about storing unused lemon halves, one lemon can last 2-3 days (depending on the amount of mess). I leave lemons out on my counter for easy access, but if this seems to germy to you, just store them in a container in the fridge if you are not using them.

If you really want to go the extra mile, you can juice a lemon or two, strain the juice into an empty spray bottle (but don't buy a plastic spray bottle just for this!), maybe add a few drops of an essential oil like lavender or rosemary for fragrance, and store in the fridge when you are not using.

Ask your friend or neighbor if you can pluck some of their lemons. Most likely they will say yes, and even if you pluck 10 lemons, their tree will still be FULL!

Try it out and let us know how it goes! :)