Cleaning Without Cleaning Products

I learned the uses of vinegar and baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) years ago and use them regularly. I've been adding various items to my list of non-chemical cleaning supplies for a while. The latest on is black tea (more on that later). I am not opposed to the occasional use of strong chemical cleaners, but I really hate using them. I have been properly brainwashed and now imagine tumors growing whenever I accidentally inhale after spraying some bottled cleaner. So I do prefer natural.

What I use, and for what purposes:

Vinegar (distilled, white): Just about anything.
-soak gunky and hard to remove food in vinegar and hot water
-everyday cleaning of dining room and kitchen-I keep a spray bottle with highly diluted vinegar for this purpose
-odor remover--a container of vinegar left to sit out overnight will take care of a smelly room
-microwave cleaner--microwave a small dish full of straight vinegar until the micro is all steamed up (my vinegar usually "explodes", but that's OK). Let sit a while, and then wipe out. Easy as pie.
-window washing solution. Diluted vinegar works great for washing anything that needs to sparkle, like windows, mirrors, appliances, stainless steel sinks, etc.
-whitening whites and de-stinkifying laundry. I add some vinegar into each load of laundry. This was especially wonderful when I was dealing with a lot of cloth diapers and blurped-on baby clothes.
-maintenance bathroom cleaning, especially for shower, sink, and mirror.

Be careful about using undiluted vinegar. It works! So you don't want to put it straight onto porous surfaces, or varnished wood, etc. You can use it straight on metal, ceramics, etc, but if you want to clean anything else with it, dilute it well, at least 1/2 and 1/2 with water.

Baking Soda: mild abrasive, often used along with vinegar, sometimes use them together just to watch the chemical reaction
-I use baking soda mostly in the kitchen, with anything that needs a really good scrubbing. Things like icky sinks, crusty casserole dishes, burnt stuff on the bottom of pans, tea/coffee rings in mugs,
-stain removal--rub it in and let it sit. I was really successfull getting out carpet stains with baking soda and vinegar. I wet the carpet with vinegar, rubbed in some baking soda (lots of elbow grease needed), let it dry, and then vacuumed the whole mess up.
-odor fighter. Especially combined with vinegar. I use the combination regularly to keep my sink drains from getting cruddy and stinky.

Tea Tree Oil: This stuff has so many uses, but the smell gives Josiah headaches so I can't use it at our house. 5 Smart Housekeeping Ways to Use Tea Tree Oil.
You can also consider using other essential oils.

Citrus: Lemons, oranges, grapefruits...
Haven't used them so much myself, though I do find lemon juice handy for loosening up crud--similar to vinegar.

But here is a link with 27 Ways to Use Citrus Fruit Around The House

Black Tea: I've only just learned about this one, but it is interesting. Apparantly the tannic acid in regular old black tea is good for cleaning, and if you're cleaning wood you get the "tea stain" effect which revitalizes the color of the wood and brings the grain out. A caution, though: As with any other liquid cleaner, don't use so much that you soak the wood. Make sure you're wringing your mop out really well, or else using a spray bottle to put a fine mist on the floor that can be wiped up with a swiffer type thing.

I have used it all of one time, on the wood floors in our house, and was quite pleased with the result.

Coffee Filters: Good for a lint free shine on anything that needs it: windows, mirrors, stovetops, sink hardware...

Swiffer Alternative: I like the idea but not the price. A few years ago I bought a $5 knock-off at Dollar General, and it works very well with cleaning rags. Those small, square dishrags you can get are actually the perfect size. But old flannel rags, old cloth diapers/burp cloths work great for cleaning too.

If I've missed any good ones, let me know! I'm always looking for the cheapest, healthiest ways to clean.