I’ve finally got balance (more on this another time) and decided in some free time to start my spring cleaning a bit early and tackle it room by room, one each day.

Not wanting to get overwhelmed in a process I already didn’t like, I selected the least used room: our dining room. It’s relatively a simple space with a piano converted into a bar (my pride and joy), a wine fridge and a mid-century style table and chairs. Little did I know there was so much to do… I forgot each bottle of liquor and wine needed a dusting too. Ahh well…

I also had a boatload of lemons from my crazy, ever giving lemon tree.  And somewhere in my head, lemons are great for cleaning (not just for eating and drinking).

A little research proved me right. The earliest citrus dates back about 2500 years ago… but it was not a lemon – or even an orange. It was citron. Lemons and many of their citrus cousins are a man-made invention. Lemons were bred and finally appeared in the form we know them about 400 years later. The earliest lemons documented were in Rome and the Mediterranean.  As a result, citron and lemons were very rare and were coveted by the rich and powerful. And it is these elites who not only boasted of their healing power but proved their position by using them as a cleaning agent with a pleasant smell. No wonder it’s considered a clean home when you smell citrus in it!

I wanted to give my beautiful piano bar a nice shine, so I looked up how to use lemons to clean it. After playing around with some ingredients, I found one I fell in love with: lemons with a tropical twist of using coconut oil.  And it couldn’t be simpler with just three ingredients.

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All natural coconut lemon wood cleanser and polish

Clean your wood furniture and have it smell tropical and fresh

Prep Time5 mins

Total Time5 mins

Keyword: cleaner, coconut, lemons, natural, polish, wood

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 4 TB lemon juice
• 1 TB white vinegar

Instructions

• Melt the coconut oil in a bowl in the microwave so it's just melted
• Add both the lemon juice and the vinegar
• Mix well to emulsify
• Add mixture to spray bottle
• Use as needed on wood

Notes

Shake the bottle often as the ingredients may separate.  Also the spray trigger may clog if the coconut oil solidifies.  Simply run the nozzle under warm/hot water to melt.

The results?

A wonderful sheen to wood that smells amazing.

When it came to cleaning the track of the sliding glass doors, I also used lemons!  Simply sprinkle some baking soda in the track and then pour lemon juice on the baking soda.  The reaction bubbles up all the dirt and grime collected, making it easy to wipe the gunk away with a towel.