It's not so much cleaning but I always find cooking some lemon or lemon rind in a pan gets rid of cooking smells nicely!

I've started using a mix of vinegar, washing up liquid and water in a spray bottle to clean my old cast iron bath . First treatment was left on overnight , then used daily . It was a magical transformation , old stains disappeared , now it's shiny , white and bright !

I think the mix was 1 cup of vinegar to 1 washing up liquid then topped up with water .

Cottonwool earbuds are brilliant for getting into small cervices & cleaning things. A long brush for cleaning vases etc use dry is great for behind the radiators.

Baking soda, vinegar, lemons, borax, news paper for glass & windows - we really do not need chemical cleaners. I have a great little book on baking soda - uses for the home.

For almost any kind of stain, make a paste of baking soda and water. Rub this into the stain, then pour on distilled vinegar. It will bubble out the stain is far cheaper than buying the leading brand. If the stain doesn't come out immediately, soak the item (still with b.s. and vinegar) in just enough water to cover for about 30 minutes, then throw in the washer.

I also use baking soda to clean the bath. An old toothbrush gets into all the nooks and crannies. Just rinse clean and buff with a rag.

To shine up mirrors and shower glass, fill a spray bottle with windscreen washer fluid and spray onto the glass. Squeegee off for a brilliant shine.

To remove ink from clothes, spray with hairspray then launder as usual.

For the tops of kitchen cupboards that have got a thick coating of grease topped with dust on them I use really cheap baby wipes to remove it all in one go, then just wipe with a damp cloth. If it's really bad, nail polish remover will get it all off, then I follow with rinse of mildly soapy water and dry.

I clean other people's houses and like to achieve a high standard in the time I have and this is really quick fix. Not really very green but it's ok as a one off.

If you haven't discovered 'magic sponges' yet then pop over to your local pound shop. They are brilliant from removing all sorts of marks and you only need to add water no chemicals.

I second that Property Reviver! Without the magic sponge, my corian worktop would look very sad!

Elbow grease.

Newspaper for cleaning mirrors and glass, scrunch it up and rub.

Get someone in.

Never throw away old tee-shirts they are great for all sorts of cleaning jobs.

For cleaning glass on a mulit-fuel stove. newspaper, bowl of water and kitchen roll. scrunch up the newspaper and dampen with the water, dip it in your ash tray and rub the glass (works brilliant) then buff off with the kitchen roll.

newspaper for windows, Vinegar, Bicarbonate of soda, borax, lemon juice

You can use some essential oils in cleaning. What I didn't know was that different essential oils have different cleaning benefits. For example some like peppermint and oregano have antifungal properties so they would be useful in protecting against mould and mildew in the home. Oyjers like tea tree and thyme have antibacterial qualities so might be used in the kitchen. If you're interested in using chemical alternatives essential oils for cleaning can be an option.