Cleaning with Citrus Vinegar

White vinegar is one of my very favorite cleaning agents.

First and most importantly, it's non-toxic, which is great when there are little ones who figure out how fun spray bottles are.  One spray in the mouth of vinegar, and she's not likely to try it again.

Secondly, it's so. stinkin'. cheap.  Seriously!  Like, $2 for an entire gallon.

Furthermore, it's versatile.  I challenge you to name another single ingredient that can de-grease a stove, curdle milk, and condition hair.

That being said, sometimes when I use vinegar to clean I get overwhelmed by the vinegaryness of it.  My most recent solution is to steep citrus peels in white vinegar in the fridge for a few weeks, strain out the pulp, and then pour the citrus vinegar into a spray bottle.  Then, it doesn't smell so pungent.  It's mildly pleasant, if I do say so myself!

I did this with orange peels a few months back, and it has made cleaning delightful less of a boring chore.

I am currently steeping some lemon peels in vinegar, and can't wait to start cleaning with that when my orange vinegar runs out!

No word yet on cooking with this vinegar.  I think if I am going to do that, I should get organic citrus fruit, and do a little more research on how shelf-stable it is.