8 Clever Ways You Could Be Repurposing Apple Peels Around Your Home And Garden

Apples are one of America's most popular fresh fruits, perfect for baking into pies or muffins, mashing into an applesauce, or packing whole to enjoy on the go. Even so, apple peels quite often end up as food waste, discarding valuable nutrients and contributing to the planet's growing food waste problem. After peeling an apple for the kiddos or slicing it up for an apple pie, you might wonder what can be done with the scraps to keep them from going to waste. Hacks for using orange peels in your home and garden seem to be more common, but apple peels can actually be quite useful too! Gather up your peels and repurpose them into gentle cleaners, natural decor, garden fertilizers, and more.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with eating apple peels. After all, they have a lot of nutrients to offer. But there are times when a recipe might call for peeled apples, you want to skin them to avoid pesticides, or your apple tree is producing like crazy, and you can't keep up. Here are some genius ways to repurpose those uneaten apple peels around your home and garden.

One super easy way to repurpose apple peels is to use them for cleaning aluminum pots and pans. Fill your cookware with enough water to cover any stains, then bring it to a boil on the stove. Drop in your apple peels and boil for about 15 to 20 minutes, allowing the acid in the peels to effortlessly dissolves stains. Let cool, then empty and rinse the pot to admire its newfound shine. This works for multiple pots and pans, as you can reuse the hot apple peel water several times.

Apples contain malic acid and citric acid, which can make them useful for gentle cleaning tasks. Tart green apples contain more malic acid than red apples, so they may clean best. To quickly tidy up the kitchen, rub the flesh side of the peel on your countertops and kitchen sink to lift up gunk, then follow up with a damp rag to remove any sugary stickiness. For a more intense cleaning agent, we tried an orange peel hack to clean grease off our cabinets, but you could follow the same formula with green apple peels instead.

There are endless ways to use apple cider vinegar for a cleaner home, but there's no need to waste the fancy store-bought stuff as you can easily make your own. Stuff the peels and apple cores into a wide-mouth jar. Fill the jar with water and two tablespoons of sugar, then cover with a coffee filter and rubber band. Place in a dry, warm, and dark location for two weeks and stir daily. Strain out the solids, then cover again for a few more weeks to ferment. The resulting vinegar is perfect for homemade multipurpose sprays.

For an easy instant repurposing idea, use your apple peels to add a comforting, natural fragrance to your home. Toss the peels into a large pot of water to simmer on the stove all day long. You can also add in the apple core, other fruit scraps, sliced oranges, fresh herbs, and spices to enhance the scent. Cinnamon and apple make for a classic combination. This simple idea will also add some humidity to our home, an essential hack for dry winter days.

Spread your apple peels out on a baking sheet and bake them at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a few hours, flipping every few minutes until they're completely dry. Once cooled, break the peels into smaller pieces, then shake them up in a Ziploc bag with a few drops of essential oils. In a breathable mesh sachet, combine the scented apple peels with other dried ingredients or whole spices like star anise, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. These scented sachets are perfect to keep in closets and bathrooms.

This apple peel repurposing idea requires a little pre-planning, as you'll need to peel the apple in one spiral piece. Gently wrap the peel around itself to form a rosette shape. Place the apple rosettes on a baking sheet and bake at 170 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 hours or until completely dry. Alternatively, you can dry them in a food dehydrator if you have one. The resulting dried rosettes will be more brownish in color, so they're perfect to decorate muted fall wreaths and table settings.

To invite more wildlife into your backyard, place the apple peels flesh-side-up on a dish or tray-like bird feeder. Butterflies, wasps, and other pollinators will be drawn to feed on any sweet apple juice left in the peels. Some birds like thrushes, robins, and wrens may also nibble on the peels. Placing fruit peels outside is also one of the little-known genius tips and tricks to attract more hummingbirds to your garden. The sweet scent will attract fruit flies, which hummingbirds love to catch.

Perhaps the easiest and most obvious use for apple peels is to toss them in the compost heap, but don't underestimate the power of nature's ability to repurpose organic matter. Apple peels are one of the best food scraps that can be used to fertilize your garden. Composted apple peels offer nutrients like potassium, calcium, and fiber. If you don't have a compost pile, you can also steep the peels in water for at least 24 hours to create a compost "tea," which can be poured into your garden.