Spring Cleaning

In light of earth day, on the 22nd of this month, I decided to find alternative ways to do my spring cleaning this year. Instead of loading up on Lysol and Windex to clean up the apartment, my roommates and I plan to use only simple, non-toxic agents to clean. The website from which I gathered this information on cleaning is:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/green-cleaning-spring-cleaning-460303.
-One of the best tips, in my opinion, is using tea tree oil in place of antibacterial cleaners. I have heard several times that the use of chemical antibacterial products is increasing the resistance of certain bacteria populations. Adding this oil to cleaning solutions is a great idea for toilets and kitchen counters and cutting boards.
-Why vacuum if you don't have to? Beating rug outside with a broom doesn't use any electricity or require emptying a dust collector into a trash can which can waft the dust back into the air in the home. And with the same note, sweeping floors with a broom is also more energy efficient. And plus, brooms can reach places that a vacuum cannot.
-The website includes several recipes for cleaners specific to different parts of your home. Many of them include water and baking soda, vinegar, or lemon juice. All seem like simple, inexpensive agents that I am willing to try out.
-For more difficult stains that require something more abrasive, the author suggests trying kosher salt. The rough granules should help to loosen debris on hard surfaces.
-We like to open and close the windows often in our apartment according to the weather, and so the glass now has plenty of smudges and fingerprints. Their suggestion: use vinegar diluted with water and newspaper to wipe the glass clean. In our case, we will end up using old class notes to be discarded. (They claim that the newspaper will minimize streaks caused by paper towels.)
-The tip I found most interesting includes a use for ketchup. This semester we have been using some hand-me-down pots from my aunt. It is a pretty nice set that I plan to keep for a while. I noticed when we first got them that they were slightly tarnished on their copper bottoms. I am hoping that with their recommendation, I can lift the stains by rubbing the ketchup on the bottoms of the pots.
So instead of using harsh chemicals and supporting the businesses that make them, try some of these new approaches to cleaning. I plan to report back with the results of my spring cleaning efforts.