Lemon

1. Give Your Hair a Beautiful Shine

You probably know that spritzing lemon juice on your hair, then going outside in the sunshine will give you natural-looking highlights. But, did you know that rinsing your hair with lemon juice will make it shiny too? You probably never thought of this! The acidic juice will take out the built-up residue from shampoo and hair care products. To give your hair a healthy shine, mix up a quarter cup of lemon juice in a cup of water.

2. Remove Tarnish From Copper and Brass

Mix up a quarter cup of table salt and just enough lemon juice to make a paste. Then, apply a coating of this onto any tarnished copper or brass pots, pans and other items you may have. Leave the lemon juice/salt paste set for five to ten minutes. Next, wash the item in warm tap water and then rinse it well. Use a soft, clean cloth to buff it dry. If any tarnish remains, repeat the process again.

3. Use Lemon Juice to Get You Going

Anytime someone in your household gets constipated, you may reach for a store-bought laxative. But did you know that lemon juice is a natural laxative that has no side effects? You probably never thought of this! Just pour two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice into an eight-ounce glass of warm water. Drink it in the morning when you first get up. The citrus juice will help regulate your digestive system.

In one of his earlier books, fitness guru Richard Simmons recommended doing this as a way to lose weight!

4. Clean Up Household Grease Naturally

Mix up a tough solution of lemon juice and tap water, and your stove, countertops and appliances will be shining like new. It's fantastic! Pour a quarter of a cup of lemon juice in a spray bottle, then fill it up with tap water. Shake it a few times to mix the solution, then use it to remove stubborn grease.

5. Disinfect Your Kitchen Cutting Board

You diced up some onion, and then some poultry for tonight's dinner on your cutting board. Once you were done, you washed it in hot, sudsy water, but is your cutting board really clean? If you spray it lightly with pure lemon juice, then rinse it well. Allow the cutting board to dry thoroughly before you put it away, the bacteria- as well as the onion odors- should be gone.

6. Remove Sticky Pine Tar From Your Hands

A friend of mine was making decorative wreaths by using fresh pine boughs. The work was fun, but she complained about the pine tar mess that was left on her hands. I suggested that she scrub her hands with a mixture of lemon juice and table salt. Voila! The pine tar came right off!

7. Silence a Hacking Cough and Heal a Sore Throat

This fantastic use for lemon juice will quiet a hacking cough and soothe a raw throat. Simply mix up two teaspoons of lemon juice and a half teaspoon of honey together. Swallow the tasty mixture and you should feel better soon. Repeat the process, if need be, in thirty minutes.