Fantastic uses of the everyday orange peel

There is nothing quite like a fresh, juicy orange. Delicious on their own, in fruit salad and even in cakes… But did you know that there are many amazing and unexpected ways that you can use the leftover orange peel?

So next time you eat an orange, rather than throwing away its peel, consider some of these ideas and put it to good use!

Compost– rather than just throwing them away, add some orange peels to your compost piles, they will help to make your soil more fertile.

Mosquito repellent– by rubbing fresh orange peels on your skin, you’ll keep mozzies away. A very nice smelling alternative!

Lower your blood pressure– eating orange peels can help in lowering your blood pressure. They won’t taste nice, so proceed with caution for this one!

Preserve your brown sugar– get some clean and fresh orange peels and add them to your jar of brown sugar to keep it fresh and stop it going hard.

Make some potpourri– simmer orange peels in 1-2 cups of water for a few hours to make a refreshing, home made air-freshener!

Start a fire– out camping and having trouble starting a fire? Add some dried orange peels; the oils make them highly flammable.

Stop your clothes getting musty– fill some old pantyhose with dried orange peels to stop your clothes getting musty.

Keep cats away– rub orange peel onto the leaves of your indoor pot plants to keep your cat off them or leave orange peels around the outside of your house to keep neighbourhood cats away. Cats dislike the strong scent.

Ant repellent– like cats, ants hate orange peels so put the fresh peels in problem areas or puree the peels with water to make a spray.

Flavour your olive oil– age your olive oil by adding some orange peels to give it a little zest.

Stop the rubbish bin smelling– by putting in a few orange peels before the rubbish, you can keep the nasty smells at bay. As an added bonus, this will help to keep bugs away!

Use them as a sponge– before they dry out, you can use orange peels as a sponge on greasy stovetops and sinks.

Make lollies out of them– cook them with sugar and water then dip them in melted chocolate for a delicious treat!

Use the zest– grate the zest off an orange peel to be used in cooking and baking.

Make a body scrub- wrap some orange peel in a piece of cotton medical gauze and rub in it your skin in the shower to even out skin tone.

These are some fantastic and creative ways that you can use your leftover orange peels.

Maybe you have some more to add?

image: postbear’s photostream