Go Green, Clean and Save

Whether you're trying to save money or buffing your way toward saving the planet, it makes a lot of economic and environmental sense to consider earth-friendly alternatives.

All it takes is making simple changes in your home, entertaining and lifestyle habits.

An alternative list of cleaning supplies include:

-- Baking soda with water, as an all-purpose cleaner;

-- White distilled vinegar diluted in water, to clean windows;

-- Borax, to clean and deodorize and to remove toilet-bowl stains;

-- Natural soaps (castile or glycerin-based), to wash dishes.

These cleaning ingredients require a bit more elbow-grease than the store-bought standby cleaning product, but if you want to have your home a toxic-free environment, you can do so - without sacrificing cleanliness.

The stories below can show you how to stay clean - and be green - at the same time.

Green Cleaning Stories