Household Uses for Oranges
TIPical Mary Ellen : Episode TIP-1105 -- More Projects »
TIPical Mary Ellen shares some of her favorite tips for using oranges around the home.
- Remove the flesh from an orange half with a grapefruit spoon and use the rind as either a fruit or ice cream bowl. Another idea is to wrap a wick around a pencil and hold it over the candle while pouring wax into the orange half for a natural decoration (figure A).
- Make your own orange-oil cleaner by filling a spray bottle with water and adding 15 to 20 drops pf orange essential oil. Orange oil has great grease-cutting capabilities.
Simmer orange peels in a little water for a great potpourri (figure B).Cover oranges with boiling water and let set for five minutes or until cool. The peel and all of the orange pith should separate easily from the fruit.Add fragrance and flavor to tea by keeping a few pieces of dried orange rind in the tea canister.Flavor tea by using sugar cubes that have been dipped in orange juice. You can dry them on wax paper, then put them in a sugar bowl.Insert cloves into a whole orange until the cloves cover the entire surface of the orange. Hang in a closet to give clothes a great scent as well as repel moths.
Place a strip of orange zest in each compartment of an ice-cube tray, fill and freeze (figure C). The cubes are both decorative and flavorful. Bottled water will ensure clear cubes. Zest can also be frozen in a freezer storage bag.
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