Super Uses for Citrus Rinds

Hi Folks,

Reduce, reuse, and recycle isn’t just for plastic bags and glass bottles. The same principle applies to your kitchen waste. Take citrus rinds, for example: You could just toss ‘em in the trash, but then you’d be missing out on some of their best uses!

To make a fabulous facial cleanser, grind orange or lemon peels in a coffee grinder until they’re the consistency of cornmeal. Then mix 1 tbsp. of the peels with enough plain yogurt to make a paste. Wash your face with this mix, rinse, and pat dry to reveal fresh, glowing skin.

Citrus rinds are great kitchen helpers, too. The next time you wash your crystal glassware, add pieces of lemon peel to the rinse water, and your glasses will come out sparkling clean. And every now and then, cut a citrus rind into chunks and run it through your garbage disposal to prevent odors from forming.

In the garden, orange rinds make terrific slug traps. Before dark, set hollowed-out rinds among your plants, and come morning, they’ll be filled with the slimy pests. Simply dump the contents into a bucket of soapy water.

And of course, hollowed-out citrus rind halves are some of my favorite seed-starter pots—just fill ‘em with soil and a seed. Then, when the time comes, move the whole thing—pot and all—to the garden. How much easier can it get?

The Power of Pantyhose

Hi Folks,

Mother Earth needs all the help she can get if we want our kids and grandkids to enjoy this wonderful world the way we do. So reduce, reuse, and recycle! It’s easy to reuse just about anything if you’re a little creative. Take old pantyhose: Most folks just throw ‘em out, but not me—I think an old pair of pantyhose is one of the handiest do-dads you can ask for!

Last weekend, for instance, I opened up my garden pond for the season. Now don’t get me wrong—I love my pond, but keeping the water debris-free can be a real hassle. So I decided to take things into my own hands this year by making a quick-n-easy debris skimmer. I bent a wire clothes hanger into a circle, covered the loop with an old pantyhose leg, and attached the wire to an old pole I had lying around. It’ll make cleaning leaves and debris off the water surface a breeze!

Looking for even more uses? Old pantyhose are a fabulous household helper. Simply pull a leg over your mop to make a terrific floor shiner, or wad the pantyhose into a ball for a wonderful nonstick-cookware scrubber.

And in the garden, they’re perfect for storing ripe onions, tying tender plants up to their supports, and even stuffing with critter deterrents to keep your plants safe.

Oh—and to really captivate your kitty, stuff a pantyhose toe with catnip, and tie it shut. Then toss it around and watch Fluffy jump for joy! I tell you—the possibilities for pantyhose are positively endless!