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Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

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16. Use full-strength white vinegar to clean tubs, sinks, and toilet bowls.

17. Wipe down counters and tabletops with a solution of equal parts white vinegar and water to help keep away ants.

Baking Soda

1. A paste of baking soda and water makes an inexpensive but effective scouring powder for all sorts of cleaning jobs, from countertops to rolling pins to gold-trimmed dishes.

2. Clean painted woodwork with a solution of 1/2 cup white vinegar, 1 cup ammonia, 1/4 cup baking soda, and 1 gallon of lukewarm water. No rinsing is necessary with this solution.

3. Clean vinyl car upholstery with a damp cloth dipped in baking soda. Then wash with a mild solution of dishwashing liquid and water. Rinse thoroughly.

4. Did you run out of toothpaste? Substitute baking soda mixed with a little salt or baking soda mixed with hydrogen peroxide.

5. Do school thermoses already smell bad? Make a thin paste of lemon juice, cream of tartar, and baking soda; fill the thermos about a third full, and shake well. Allow to soak for about 20 minutes, then scrub with a cloth wrapped around a wooden handle. Rinse well.

8. It can take years for new cedar shingles to weather to match the color of old ones. To make them blend in at once, mix up a solution of 1 pound of baking soda and 1/2 gallon of water. Brush onto the new shingles, and they'll turn gray in a few hours.

9. Make your own odor-eater balls for boots and sneakers: Pour a few teaspoons of baking soda on a square of cotton cloth. Tie the ends of the cloth together and secure with a rubber band. Set one ball in each shoe overnight. The balls can be used again and again.

10. To clean a sink drain or garbage disposal, pour in 1/2 cup of baking soda and flush with very hot water.

11. To clean burned food from the bottom of an aluminum pot or pan, wet the burned food, cover with baking soda, and set aside for a couple of hours. Then scrape, wash, and rinse the pan.

12. To clean chrome, rub on a thin paste of baking soda and water. Let it dry, then buff the chrome with a clean, dry rag.

13. To clean gummed-up holes in a steam iron, mix well 1/3 cup white vinegar and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Pour this into the iron and heat just until iron begins to steam. Turn off iron and empty. Fill and empty twice with warm water to rinse.

14. To clean stovetop, glass, or percolator coffeepots, fill with cold water, add a little baking soda, boil for a minute or so, and rinse clean.

15. To clean wooden rolling pins, bowls, and cutting boards, sprinkle on baking soda, dampen with a little water to make a paste, and rub with a sponge. Then rinse well and dry with a cloth towel.

16. To get the odor of cat urine out of a carpet, sprinkle baking soda on the area. Leave it on for several hours, then vacuum it up. If necessary, repeat the process with fresh baking soda.

17. To help keep the odor down in a cat's litter box, sprinkle baking soda in the bottom, then add a layer of cat litter.

18. To remove a lingering odor in your microwave oven, wet a cloth with warm water, wring it out, and dip it in baking soda. Lightly scrub down the inside of the oven.

19. To remove coffee or tea stains from a cup, wet the cup with vinegar. Then dampen a rag with water, dip it in baking soda or salt, and swab out the stain.

20. To remove mustard stain from a counter, rub in a sprinkling of baking soda with a damp cloth or sponge.

21. You can clean the starch off the bottom of an iron by making a paste of baking soda and a little water, rubbing it on the iron with a soft cloth, and wiping it off with a clean cloth.