When I was growing up, one of my favorite chores was dusting. (Seriously? Who was I?!) Now, not so much. It’s something I’d rather assign to someone else … like my kids!
And it is so much easier with a little trick I learned from a friend – repurpose old socks. It’s brilliant really, and you might have already used this tip in your home. Slip a sock over your hand, and it’s easy as can be to wipe the dust away. I turn them inside out for better dust-grabbing. But recently I started using another tip I learned. It takes those ordinary socks and gives them dusting super powers. I’ll show you how easy it is – plus they work splendidly!
Supplies needed
- Clean socks – start collecting orphan socks! Any color is fine, I have white ones.
- Strips of fresh lemon peel
- A few drops pure lemon
or orange essential oil
- Equal parts water and white vinegar
- A big glass jar
I did about 6 pairs of socks and used 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup water, and the peels of about 3-4 small lemons and stored in a 2 liter jar.
Instructions
Mix the water and vinegar together and add a few drops of the lemon/orange oil. Lightly dampen the socks. Don’t get them too wet. I dip the toes in and scrunch up the socks so the dry part absorbs some of the liquid. You might want to add a few more drops of essential oil to the water/vinegar because the oil does float on the surface. I added a few drops each time I dipped.
Lay the socks flat and place a few strips of the lemon peel on the sock, then roll it up, and put it into the jar. Repeat with the remaining socks. Pull one out, discard the lemon peel, and dust! The socks can be washed in warm soapy water, dried, and then the process repeated with fresh ingredients.
It smells wonderful and gets the job done.
This looks awesome and with your permission I would like to repost this on my blog, giving all credit to you of course. But I do have a question. When you roll up the socks and put them in the jar, are you putting them into an empty jar or the jar filled with the vinegar/water solution? If the latter, wouldn’t they be soaked and wet when you go to use them for dusting? I’m not understanding something here, please clarify, Nice blog btw.
Hi! I soak them in the solution, wring out the socks so they are still damp, roll them up, and put them in the jar. They aren’t too damp or wet. Just enough to help grab the dust. Hope that helps!
I’ve used socks to dust forever, but this adds a wonderful scent! Thanks for a great idea!
How long do the socks last for in the jar?
Love this idea!