1. COMPOST: Need extra compost material? Ask a neighbor to save their coffee grounds and egg shells for you. Most people drink coffee and eat eggs. It is very convenient to save these 2 compost materials in a coffee can or other container. Collect from your neighbors weekly. Then surprise them with some fresh garden tomatoes or a delicious bag of garden greens as a thank you for their efforts!

2. CLEANING: If you are like me, you despise using store-bought chemicals to clean your home. They are expensive, have strong smells and if you can find the ingredient listing on them, most are chemicals we cannot even pronounce. Not things I want around my children, for sure. I clean virtually my entire home with a vinegar, water and orange concentrate solution. In a 32 ounce spray bottle I mix 15 ounces of white vinegar, 15 ounces of water and 2 Tablespoons of Earth Friendly Products Concentrated Orange Plus All Purpose Cleaner (I've had this 22 ounce bottle of concentrate forever!). Invert the bottle a few times to mix the products together and clean away! I clean my stove, kitchen counters, mirrors, windows, glass doors, kitchen floor, car windows, bathrooms, kitchen table, etc. ~ basically anything you would use Windex or 409-type products on. When you use this on mirrors or glass doors for the first few times, it may take some elbow grease to get them streak-free because of the soap scum buildup from the other cleaning products. Use a piece of newspaper and before you know it they will shine!

3. LAUNDRY: For laundry, my all-time favorite products are the Shaklee Laundry Products. We use the fragrance-free powdered laundry detergent - it only takes 1 to 2 ounces for a full load (that's 2-4 Tablespoons - talk about economical)! Most people use WAY too much laundry detergent and have residue in their clothes and their washer - try this test - put a small load into your washer and turn it on without adding any detergent. If you still get suds, then you've been using too much detergent and have soap residue in your clothes.

Note: If you are interested in getting Shaklee products without having to sign up to distribute, zip me an email, as I am already signed up as a distributor.

4. LAUNDRY: I make my own fabric-softener that I spray directly into the dryer from the Shaklee Soft Fabric Concentrate. I mix a solution of 1/3 of the Softer Than Soft with 2/3 water and spray 6 to 8 sprays in the dryer before adding my clothes.

5. DISHWASHER: Again, I love the Shaklee dishwashing powder. It only takes 1 to 2 teaspoons (yes, that's correct) of their powdered detergent for a full load of dishes. One package of this dishwashing powder usually lasts me about 6 months!

6. HAND CLEANING: Most of us do not wash our hands long enough. Remember that fingernails are dirt and germ magnets. We should wash our hands in the hottest water we can stand with soap for at least 20 seconds. If you are teaching children, 20 seconds is the ABC song once or the Happy Birthday song twice!

7. KITCHEN SINK: To make your stainless steel sink shine like new, fill it with hot water and 1 cup of bleach all the way to the rim. Leave it for at least one hour. Drain and RINSE WELL. Then use some cleanser and be sure to rinse it clean. You can clean around the rims with a sharp utensil. Faucets clean well with an old toothbrush and dental floss. Wipe the sink clean with spray cleaner of your choice. If you wipe your sink dry at night and occasionally wipe with spray cleaner, it will shine for a long time.

8. GARBAGE DISPOSAL: To keep it smelling clean, cut grease and keep the blades sharp you can occasionally run ice cubes and lemon wedges through it.