I always knew lemons were good. Not because my momma told me (she probably did) but because of a lemon day that has always stuck with me. When I was young and carefree and life revolved around college, pizza and wasting money, I felt a headcold coming on. Throat was sore, eyes were watery, I could feel the sniffles starting – all the usual warning signs. Luckily, I worked in a hotel kitchen with a plentiful supply of lemons. So I overdosed on them. I must have eaten close on five lemons that day. Next day, I was as clear as a whistle. I’ve always put it down to the lemons.
That memory always stayed with me. So fast forward fifteen years later and random browsing of books in a store tosses up ‘Lemons – Hundreds of Household Hints.’ Written by Diane & Jon Sutherland, the cover claims the advise contained within is not just any old regular advice. No, it’s ‘expert advice’. Clearly, someone else has been overdosing on lemons.
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Leaving aside silly snide comments from me on the marketing blurb, this book will have you rushing out to buy lemons. It’s packed with easy uses for them, from creating cleaning solutions, health care, beauty care and plenty of recipes for the chefs. It makes a great book for the coffee table or waiting room. Not that I can see too many drug administrators (doctors?) leaving this book in their waiting room.
The cleaning solution is one worth doing. Commercial cleaners kill 99% of bacteria. Lemon juice is just as potent. It is nature’s disinfectant. To make cleaning solution, pop the skins of lemons into a big jar. Fill with vinegar. Leave sit for anything from a week to a month and you’ve got yourself a wonderful, natural, lemon smelling cleaner. You can water down the resulting solution with 50% water. Just pop it in a spray bottle for your very own homemade cleaner. Cannot recommend this enough.
Read more: Cleaning products as bad as cigarettes
But back to the book. Clearly the authors have spent the best part of a year trying to do everything with lemons. I would imagine that no matter what problem they faced, the must have reached for a lemon and then figured out how to apply it. Problem with cellulite dear? I have a lemon for that. Did you just faint? Here, have a lemon. No one person could sanely have picked up this much knowledge on uses for lemons.
Although a lot of the cleaning solutions can become a bit repetitive, I’m glad I crossed path with this book. You will be too.