FURNITURE POLISH
1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

Tea Tree Treasure
Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. I’ve used it successfully on a moldy ceiling from a leaking roof, on a musty bureau, a musty rug, and a moldy shower curtain. Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days.

2 teaspoons tea tree oil
2 cups water

Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse. Makes two cups.

Lemon Juice
Uses: Lemon juice is another natural substance that can be used to clean your home. Lemon juice can be used to dissolve soap scum and hard water deposits. Lemon is a great substance to clean and shine brass and copper. Lemon juice can be mixed with vinegar and or baking soda to make cleaning pastes. Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section. Use the lemon to scrub dishes, surfaces, and stains. Mix 1 cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice and you have a furniture polish for your hardwood furniture.

Baking Soda
Uses: Baking soda can be used to scrub surfaces in much the same way as commercial abrasive cleansers. Baking soda is great as a deodorizer. Place a box in the refrigerator and freezer to absorb odors. Put it anywhere you need deodorizing action. Try these three kitchen ingredients as natural cleaning products in your home.

Vinegar
Uses:
Vinegar naturally cleans like an all-purpose cleaner. Mix a solution of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar in a new store bought spray bottle and you have a solution that will clean most areas of your home. Vinegar is a great natural cleaning product as well as a disinfectant and deodorizer. Always test on an inconspicuous area. It is safe to use on most surfaces and has the added bonus of being incredibly cheap. Improperly diluted vinegar is acidic and can eat away at tile grout. Never use vinegar on marble surfaces. Don't worry about your home smelling like vinegar. The smell disappears when it dries. Here are some uses for vinegar in the rooms of your house. Use it in the…

Bathroom - Clean the bathtub, toilet, sink, and countertops. Use pure vinegar in the toilet bowl to get rid of rings. Flush the toilet to allow the water level to go down. Pour the undiluted vinegar around the inside of the rim. Scrub down the bowl. Mop the floor in the bathroom with a vinegar/water solution. The substance will also eat away the soap scum and hard water stains on your fixtures and tile. Make sure it is safe to use with your tile.

1. Kitchen- Clean the stovetop, appliances, countertops, and floor.
   
   
2. Laundry Room- Use vinegar as a natural fabric softener. This can be especially helpful for families who have sensitive skin. Add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle in place of store bought fabric softener. Vinegar has the added benefit of breaking down laundry detergent more effectively. (A plus when you have a family member whose skin detects every trace of detergent.)

Note:
A couple of recent posts here about the use of alcohol for cleaning, has prompted me to see how prevalent this advice is. I searched these forums for the word 'alcohol', and found that every post that referred to alcohol as a cleaning agent, advised that it be used incorrectly. (Most of the posts referred to alcohol within the context of beverages, and I finally gave up checking, so I don't know if all the references to alcohol as a cleaning agent gave bad advice, but I never found one that didn't.)

For cleaning purposes, only 100% pure, 200 proof, ethyl alcohol should ever be used. Every other form of alcohol contains some impurities for various purposes, most of which are to make it indigestible, and some of which are corrosive. If the container says anything like "For external use only." or "If ingested, induce vomiting.", then it is not pure ethyl alcohol.

This is the only type of alcohol that should be used for cleaning. All other types of alcohol contain other ingredients that will deposit a residue of some kind after the alcohol evaporates. The best source for pure ethyl alcohol (in the US) is the local liquor store, where it is most often used as an ingredient in recipes for homemade Kahlua and other liqueurs.

Alcohol should never be used undiluted. Alcohol is a great solvent. Pure alcohol is only ever distributed in glass or metal bottles or jars. Pure alcohol in a plastic bottle will dissolve it's container. If you use alcohol undiluted, it will damage everything it touches except bare metal and glass. If you use it undiluted on your lenses and filters, it will damage the coatings on the glass surfaces. If you use it undiluted on electrical contacts it will damage the plastic housing for the contacts, and could damage electrical insulation which may result in a short circuit.

A number of references in these pages also recommend that alcohol be applied using cotton swabs. Undiluted alcohol will dissolve the cotton and especially the plastic swab handle, and leave a residue of the dissolved cotton and plastic on whatever you're trying to clean.

Alcohol is great for cleaning, but I only use it as a last resort. I usually use just pure water, which is also a very good solvent, though not as good as alcohol.