Cleaning laminate countertops: First, take a whole lemon and cut it in half. Squeeze lemon juice onto the counter. Using the lemon as a scrubber, work the juice over the counter. Leave the juice stains on until they disappear. Then rinse the surface with water and dry it. The citric acid will quickly remove the stains. This should happen fairly quickly, but, tough stains may take longer. Lemon juice from a bottle can be used in place of a real lemon.

Cutting boards: The same procedure works on bread cutting boards. Rub the lemon onto the stains and let it sit. It will bleach the board, plus it disinfects at the same time.

Cleaning copper: To clean copper, first cut the whole lemon in half and sprinkle salt (any kind -- even sea salt) onto the lemon. Massage the lemon wedge onto the brass, squeezing the juice out, until the tarnish is buffed off. As it stops working, add more salt to the lemon. Rinse well with water and let it dry. It is important to keep copper bottom pans clean because they redistribute the heat according to how clean they are on the bottom.

Cleaning brass: If a piece is brass plated, it will be brass on one side and solid black on the other side. Never use lemon on anything that is brass plated -- only solid brass. Brass plated items need to be cleaned very gently with an oil soap -- never use anything acidic on it. Use the same method for cleaning solid brass as for copper -- one half of a lemon with salt sprinkled on it and rub until it is clean. Rinse well with water.

Removing rust from clothes: Put lemon juice on the rust stain and then sprinkle cream of tartar onto the top of the juice. Pat it in with a finger and let it sit on the stain until the rust is gone. The citric acid will take the rust right away. Some stains are tougher than others, but 15-30 minutes should work just fine. Launder as usual.

Bleaching white clothes with lemon juice: Mix 1/2 cup lemon juice (or use sliced lemons) and one gallon of very hot water together. Soak the clothes that need bleaching. Do not use this trick on silk. But, this is perfect for white socks and underwear -- even white polyester shirts. This can sit out from an hour to overnight, depending on how badly the clothing needs bleaching. Once they soak, remove the clothing from the mix and pour the mix into the washing machine and wash as usual. It's impossible to over-bleach using lemon juice.

Getting stains out of Tupperware: Squeeze some lemon juice in the container and then add some baking soda. Use the lemon as a cleaning tool and work it in. If the stains are bad, let it sit overnight before scrubbing the stains.

Remember, don't use lemon juice bleach on any silk fabrics.