Just because you love having a clean home or workspace doesn't mean you have to subject yourself to the multiple chemicals contained in your typical off-the-shelf cleaning products, especially when you consider the jury is still out on how safe they actually are. We hope this past week has been an educational experience for you, as you navigate through your potential cleaning options and also learn which ones you may be best to avoid.

☆ Vinegar isn't just a condiment that goes well with your fish and chips, it can also be used for multiple purposes around the home and in many cases, replace more toxic chemical cleaners.

☆ Speaking of vinegar, there are a lot of other items around the home that can double as do-it-yourself cleaning products including lemons, vegetable or olive oil and eucalyptus oil.

☆ Who knew there were three categories of vacuum cleaners and that some are actually greener than others? Leafy Green dives into the mystery to find out if you're destined to live among piles of garbage forever all in the name of conserving energy or if there's a earth-friendly way to get rid of your dirt.

☆ Living in a chemically-inclined world is reality, but that doesn't mean it has to be part of your everyday existence. Some products should probably be avoided and we've got one dozen - a dirty dozen - to get that ball rolling.

☆ Baking soda isn't the only natural cleaning kid on the block - Borax is inexpensive and can be used for a variety of purposes including in your laundry and on your carpet, just to name a couple.

» Ecollo (Squeaky Clean)