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?