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!

Fruits, leaves, and cinnamon have wonderful scents. They make your home smell sweet and comfortable. You could go with scented candles or aromatherapy oils, but I think that these things are too creative to not show off. Don't grind down your dried fruit and leaves for potpourri. Instead, put them on display with this crafty dehydrated fruit garland.

First, you'll want to choose what items to dry out. Try red and green apples, some orange slices, and cinnamon. These aromas will go well together, and the color contrast will make for an attractive garland. The full instructables post teaches us how to prepare each fruit, leaf, and spice. There are a couple of ways that you can do this, but avoid my dried apple disaster and follow the instructions carefully the first time!

In ye olden days -- those innocent days before electric-powered candles and robotic Santa yard decor -- people would handcraft their holiday decorations. And in the 19th century, the well-to-do would use oranges because at that time oranges were considered an exotic treat and, therefore, a bit of a holiday splurge. Quaint, huh? Makes sense, too, given that oranges are -- when you think about it -- extremely beautiful to look at. Then there's the heavenly citrus fragrance.

Back in those days, the ladies would make Christmas pomanders by decorating oranges with cloves. Not only did they look pretty, the combination of oranges and cloves also smelled terrific. Which I'm guessing was a refreshing change from normal household odors of the day like beeswax polish, horse manure, and oil lamps... Read more about the history of pomanders here.

Want to have a go at making your own orange pomanders?