Cheap and Non-Toxic Cleaning !!!

Can I just say that I am IN LOVE with using Vinegar and Baking Soda to clean things in my home?? It's great for a lot of reasons, namely because a ginormous jug of white distilled vinegar is like 3 bucks... all I do is add half water and half vinegar to a cheap spray bottle I found at Target and spray away! I have started using it instead of the Clorox wipes that I used to wipe EVERYTHING down with... it cleans up Ben's highchair and all my kitchen surfaces so perfectly that they shine(even my flat cooking top that's impossible to clean if something gets cooked onto it)! I spray it on windows and it gives a better streak-free shine than Windex does any day! My good friend Leslie Holmes also supplied me with some uses for Vinegar and Baking Soda, so I will share those with you now:
1) Clean your toilets with baking soda and vinegar and not only will it deodorize, the vinegar will disinfect and kill bacteria. you can also use this method to keep drains clear and odor free.
2) Spray wood cutting boards with vinegar after cleaning them to disinfect.you can microwave wood cutting boards 5 minutes to kill bacteria
3) Soak sponges in vinegar overnight and then microwave 1 minute to kill bacteria
4)Can wash baby toys in vinegar and hot water
5)Microwave a cup of vinegar for 5 minutes and then wipe your microwave clean- VERY EFFECTIVE and you don't have a chemical smell/residue left behind
6)Can be used to kill ants---WORKS and has no chemicals to hurt kids or dogs

This tip is yet another reason I use vinegar to clean.... Little Zack likes to "help" me clean the windows and other things, and this way, I can let him help and know that he won't get hurt from the cleaner!
Not only does this cut down on my cost for buying cleaning supplies, it's safer too!
As far as baking soda goes, you can do many wonderful things with it as well! To begin with, as we all know, it will pull the stinkiness out of anything... you can put it in a cup in the fridge and all of the nasty food-mixing odors will go away! I sprinkle it in my dirty cloth diaper pail to do the same thing. Here are more suggestions from several websites that I have learned from:
1) Adding baking soda to the bathwater will reduce ring- around-the-tub and soften your skin. Use 2 tablespoons for a tubful of water.
2)For tough grout or tile stains, use a paste of 1 part bleach to 3 parts baking soda.
3)Add a perpetual air freshener to the toilet area by keeping baking soda in a pretty dish on the back of the tank. Add your favorite scented bath salts to the mix, as well. Change every 3 months.
4)Use a baking-soda paste to remove mildew stains on grout. Apply the paste, scrub it with an old toothbrush, and rinse the paste off.
I hope these tips help.... please feel free to add more in the comments and add my blog to your follower status!!!
Lemon Juice is another great tool To clean with... more on that later!