Sometimes I just get so sick of strong chemical smells. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of bleach. But especially now that my little guys like to help me clean, I need something that works but isn't dangerous for them to use! Enter lemon and vinegar.
White distilled vinegar works great, but smells terrible (hence the lemon). I recommend filling a spray bottle with 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar, the squeeze in a little fresh lemon.
Here's where I've seen this dynamic duo have alot of success in cleaning:
Grease on the Stove
The acid from the lemon works up the grease, especially with the vinegar. If you spray a little on, let is soak for a bit then it should wipe off. If you have big amounts of grease cooked onto your stove top, it will take a little repetition. This does NOT work on cooked on food. Vinegar and lemon also works on (allegedly) hard-water deposits. I'm a little iffy on that one, but I'll try it and let you know.
Toilet rings
Pour a little vinegar (under half a cup) in your toilet bowl, even if you don't have time for scrubbing. I used to clean house for a woman who did this. The rest of her toilette was grody, but there was never a ring in the toilet. Go ahead and let it sit overnight.
Microwave blowout
Ew. The word blowout just sounds gross! I hate it when stores advertise "blowout sales!" ... I just think of a really bad messy diaper.
Anywho, you can either use your spray bottle and let it sit for a bit, or microwave the mixture until it boils. Either method loosens up the grime and makes most of it wipe away!
Toothpaste
Ya know how the kids get a little excited
and squirt the mushy stuff all over? Once it gets hard it usually takes
tons of elbow grease to get it off. Letting it soak in a little
vinegar/lemon mixture makes it wipe up way easier.
Mopping
Floors will sparkle (and smell great!) if you fill your sink with warm water, pour in a little vinegar, and squeeze some lemons. I like to do lots of lemon, otherwise the kitchen smells like vinegar for a few minutes.
This site claims several other uses for vinegar, but I haven't tried them out so no guarantees.
As far as I'm concerned, there are plenty good reasons to grab a bottle, mix up some spray and add to your cleaning supplies.