DIY Life

I have a friend who is the most talented florist you'd ever see, and I'm continuously awe-struck by the sort of things she gathers and puts together to create an elaborate arrangement. Hopefully I can sneak some of Josie's tips on creating unique floral arrangements into my memory for the next time we get together...

I love the idea of layering vases, and it looks so easy to do! Simply stack smaller vases into larger ones, much like a nesting doll effect. Add lemons (plastic slices are best so as not to harm the flowers!) around the lining of the larger vase to camouflage the interior, and you've got a tight space to fit large flowers, but a large vase to match the scale!

The look is absolutely gorgeous. I love the concept of mixing grocery items into flower arrangements, such as coffee beans, lemons and oranges, so naturally, this is right up my alley!

Read more of Grayson Handy's tips right here at ShelterPop.

Halloween may be just around the corner (I am so so excited to break out this how-to tutorial and rock a sandwich costume this year!), but no one likes a spider web inside their home. Chances are, you rid the webs with your household broom, but how do you keep them from coming back?

Easy. Next time you broom-tackle those spiders, dab a bit of lemon juice onto the bristles of the broom. Turns out, the feisty arachnids don't react well to citrus, so you're likely to ban them forever. Bonus? In the process, you'll be ridding your home of tons of other pesky critters, including ants, flies, scorpions and earwigs.

Just another fabulous use for a fabulous fruit.

Want more fun lemon uses? Try a few of these tips around your home:
-Daily DIY: Clean Your Entire Kitchen With One Lemon
-Organic Produce Wash Made With Lemon and Vinegar
-How to Easily Clean Your Filthy Microwave

When you read this list of things you can do with citrus fruits (besides eat them!), you'll begin to wonder why you ever thought you needed all those cleaning products that clutter your home. Stock up on a few lemons and oranges, tuck a gallon of lemon juice in the back of your fridge, and your home with sparkle with citrus-scented shine!

Some of the ideas are not new to us. Seems everyone knows that garbage disposals can be freshened up by tossing some lemon (or orange) peels down there; cleaning copper pots, getting streak-free windows, and taking rust stains out of fabric with lemons is not news, either. Furniture polish, air freshener, all-purpose spray cleanser: they can all be made from the versatile lemon.

There are even more fascinating ideas in the list. Did you know that you can get rid of anthills by pouring a pureed mix of orange peel and water down the hole? Or that you can discourage the neighborhood cats from using your lawn as their litter tray with a mix of orange peels and coffee grounds?

Here's one that's going to get tried out in my household: rub lemon juice on exposed skin to keep away mosquitoes and gnats. I may smell like my all-purpose cleanser, but if it can keep the bugs away, it's worth a try!

The arrival of Chirp magazine is a happy day in our house. Each month, we pore over the pages of stories, games, and activities. With every issue, there is at least one project that we just have to try. This month, Chirp has us making Bug Snacks.

All you need are some pieces of dried fruit, and a handful of toothpicks. Let your children experiment, making different creepy-crawlies and other creations. This is one kids' activity that you won't just want to supervise; dig in and make some snacks of your own.

We started out making bugs, but with my Kiddie Crafters as creative directors, the possibilities were endless. Check out the gallery to see what we made, then follow me through the break for more ideas.

I don't use many store-purchased products to do my cleaning. I always end up with terrible migraines or my lungs hurt from breathing in the cleaning product. When I take the time and effort to make my own cleaning products, life suddenly gets much better and healthier, at least in the cleaning department.

Baking soda, lemons, vinegar, and salt are four items that can basically clean everything in your house, from countertops to clothing. I love making homemade cleaning wipes, knowing that when I use them, I will not suffer the consequences of cleaning. I also like to make my own homemade furniture polish, since, in my opinion, I get a better clean and a better shine with homemade polish.

Grab a lemon out of your fridge and squeeze the juice out of it. If you don't happen to have a lemon, then grab a container of lemon juice and pour out about four tablespoons into a small spray bottle. Mix the lemon juice with three tablespoons water and two teaspoons olive oil. Put the sprayer in the bottle and shake well. You now have an excellent homemade furniture polish. Anytime you want to polish your furniture, you should make a new batch, as the olive oil may become rancid if you only polish your furniture once a month. When I use homemade furniture polish, I use a soft terry cloth instead of paper towel. The cloth just seems to give a better shine to the furniture.

If there's two things I know kids love, it's fun science experiments and lemons. Well, maybe not so much eating lemons, but I'll bet my bottom dollar they'll enjoy turning one into a battery.

The concept behind this experiment is simple: take two metals that spit electrons at each other (in this case, zinc and copper), shove them into opposite ends of a lemon, and the acidic juice inside the fruit will help create a low-level current. If you're not already familiar with this great little science project, grab a few kids, a couple lemons, and let the LED-lighting madness begin!

Materials

1. Three or four big juicy lemons
2. Zinc-coated nails (one for each lemon)
3. Pennies older than 1982* (one for each lemon)
4. Common electrical wire
5. A red LED bulb
   

Tools

1. It's not completely necessary, but a multimeter will help you determine if one of your lemons is... well, a lemon (as in, a dud).
   

Time

About 30 minutes.

These days, with all the household cleaning products on the market, it is almost always easier to buy these products rather than make your own household remedies. But if you look in your refrigerator, you probably have a little yellow thing in there called a lemon. Lemons are just as useful to clean as commercial products are, and many people don't realize just how many uses there really are for this little yellow fruit. I have listed my tried and true methods that I personally love.

You can sanitize and remove mineral deposits and odors from your empty dishwasher by placing 1/4 cup of lemon juice in the soap dispenser and running through a normal cycle. This remedy should leave your dishwasher clean and smelling great.