There's nothing better than good old baking soda, vinegar, and some dish soap. Cheap and safe.

To clean out clogged drains, use the Cobra Zip-It. It's just a piece of plastic with "teeth" on it. Stick it into the drain, and pull it out--all the hair and stuff comes out with it. Takes less than 15 seconds, no chemicals, and only costs about $4.

On occasion, Brillo or SOS pads come to my rescue and to extend their life after use, I store the pad in a small covered container in the freezer. The pad is easily defrosted with warm water and retains its scrubbing and sudsing capability for multiple uses.

To unclog drains, I use baking soda, then white vinegar, and chase it all with hot water after it bubbles a bit.

For keeping the drains clear, use washing soda (made by Arm and Hammer) once a month. Follow the directions on the package and use lots of hot water. I live in a house built in 1914. I need to be gentle on the pipes but more importantly gentle on the environment. The pipe in my bathtub was problematic until I started doing this monthly.

This works great in shower drains but is a little harder for the sink. Use your toilet plunger to unclog the drain. The one I have will hold a little bit of water so I fill it up, place it over the drain and plunge just like if the toilet is clogged. For the sink it is best to tape up the drain whole at the top of the bowl otherwise you will end up with a huge mess! Works great...and uses absolutely no chemicals!

www.mrsmeyers.com - natural, great smelling stuff for cleaning, laundry, even pets!

hair clogs? pour bleach down drain and let set overnight.

sink clogs - pour baking soda into drain then small amounts of vineger severak times until bubbling stop. very old time method. this is as eco friendly as you can get.

Method's cleaners smell fantastic and they purport themselves to be somewhat green. They are one of the few cleaning companies that don't make my eyes itch and burn.
"How Clean is Your House" on BBC America offers tons of natural cleaning tips. Since their goal is to get the offenders to keep cleaning after the show, they try to teach them how to clean using stuff around the house - lemons, newspapers, shaving cream, vinegar. Good Stuff.

I love Melaleuca cleaning products. Even cleaning ladies will clean with them because they actually work. This company is great! They have been green for 22 years. You can check out the website at www.melaleuca.com. If you are interested in ordering please contact me at www.yoursimplelife.info

My brother shared one of his green ideas and it has become my favorite. I clean water spots, etc. off mirrors and glass using a 0000 steel wool pad. No chemicals at all!

To clean silver jewellry and silverware, line a porcelain sink with aluminum foil, lay the pices on the foil, making sure each item touches the folil. Use a generous sprinkling of baking soda, pour in boiling water, and instantly everything is clean (no rubbing or chemicals needed). You can reuse the Reynolds wrap after rinsing it off.

The green cleaners at the stores are ok but many still contain chemicals... sort of like a marketing scheme to entice the buyer... The Shaklee ORGANIC super cleaner is very cheap ($11) and makes 48 gallons of cleaner - similar to something like 196 bottles of Lysol. http://www.shaklee.net/lunace/product/00015
My sister bought me the Get Clean starter kit and I have switched to ONLY this brand for my family including three small children. Other than that, I would try vinegar and water but even that is more expensive than the Shaklee cleaner I mentioned above.

I just bought "Zip-It" at Target and it looks like a very large zip tie with a serrated edge. You run it down your drain and it pulls up hair and gunk in the teeth. I love it, it works and I don't have to use any chemicals.

I, too, love the Shaklee Get Clean line of products! Shaklee is a great company that has been around for over 50 years! They are on top of all the latest research and the laundry products are fabulous and very gentle. And it is all super concentrated which means it lasts forever! The Scour Off is great for cleaning grout, too! You can even use these products to clean carpets! Find them at www.shaklee.net/lauren

Imus "Greening the Cleaning" products are absolutely the best I have found. I had my own small cleaning business and the first time I tried them I NEVER bought a toxic cleaning product again.
Also, the proceeds go to the Imus Ranch for Kids, so it is a win-win situation!

to keep drains clear and clean use baking soda and vingar. Pour baking soda in drain followed by vingar then flush with hot water.

I have used a combination of baking soda, salt, and white vinegar for years to unclog the sink and shower. Try one cup of baking soda, one cup of salt, and one cup of white vinegar down the drain (in that order). It will foam up and sizzle, then do its thing! Let it sit for about 20 minutes, then rinse down with hot water. For bigger clogs I'll double or even triple the ingredients and repeat once if necessary! This is especially easy because we often have these items in the house already!

I have found a small Indiana company which makes fantastic green cleaning productions! They are all enzyme based, and work just as well as any product I have used for cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms, carpet, glass, etc. Their website is www.enzymeenvironmentalsolutions.com, and you can order their stuff off their website. I highly recommend trying it. You be happily surprised.

I have been using the Get Clean line for over a year from Shaklee. I LOVE them - mainly because they are so effective. The fact that the oven cleaner is made from cherry pits makes the nastiest of jobs pleasant (almost!). It smells great and is pink!! I started my home business based on these products. You can find them, and other natural products for the family at www.shaklee.net/sarahmaffet

I read about The Natchez Solution in your magazine in January. It is great. They blend beeswax, lemon oil and mineral and works great for cleaning and shining kitchen cabinets. The grease and grimes just disolves and The Natchez Solution does not harm the finish, it actually covers scratches too..

I love Mrs Meyers products, especially the lemon verbena surface scrub which can take off burn food or soap scum gently and easily.

For slow moving drains, I put 1/2 cup baking soda, followed by 1/2 cup salt and then 1/2 cup vinegar down the drain. Let set for about 5 minutes, then pour a tea kettle of very hot water down. It not only clears the pipes, but it deodorizes them at the same time.