Make It. Whiter clothes [A clean house on the cheap].

In a past incarnation of my life, I worked at a dry cleaners and one of my few responsibilities was making the concoction for getting clothes whiter. I always imagined dry cleaners using some special mixture of chemicals and detergents that the average person can't find at the regular supermarket, but in fact all the products we used were available to anyone with a Costco membership card.

To whiten clothes, just soak the clothes overnight (or longer) in cold water in a mixture of one small scoop of Oxiclean and one small scoop detergent (Kirkland works really well). The next day, (or two days later if that's possible) just wring out your clothes and wash in a white cycle with no other detergent. Just clear water. Dry as usual.

It is amazing how much grime and dirt comes off your clothes using this method, even if you're a tidy person. I love doing this so much I asked for Oxiclean for Christmas to take home to Chile.

-- Lauren Williams

Make It. Taking the smoke out of clothes [A clean house on the cheap].

After a weekend of going out and being surrounded by smokers and all kinds of potentially foul smells, sometimes your clothes can reek. But leaving your clothes outdoors after a party will take nasty smells out of clothes.

Here in Chile people smoke everywhere, in bars, restaurants, parties, anywhere you can think. Combine that with the $4/load of laundry, and it seems like you either spend a fortune on constantly cleaning your clothes, and increase wear-and-tear on clothes, or have clothes that smell.

This extends the longevity of your clothes between cycles and works incredibly. I've done this numerous times and the next day my clothes are always free of the nasty smells of the night before.

-- Lauren Williams

Make It. Laundry tips [A clean house on the cheap].

It's Friday, which for many people means it's almost laundry day.

One way to keep your clothes fitting just right even after several washes is to always undo the buttons, zippers, Velcro and any other thing that binds one part of your clothes to another. Even if it's a button you don't use often, the agitating washing machine pulls at button holes and zippers making them weaker and less likely to hold up over time.

In order to keep your pants, shirts, and dresses from embarrassing oops-that-wasn't-supposed-to-come-undone moments, undo the buttons before a load of wash. It takes an extra minute, but is definitely worth it.

-- Lauren Williams

Make It. Line drying [A clean house on the cheap].

Laundry. Pretty basic stuff. Most of us are taught how to wash, dry, and fold a load of clothes as one of the first chores we have when we're kids. My laundry life was recently changed when I discovered the wonders of using a drying rack instead of a dryer and I probably will never go back.

First, It's environmentally friendly. Just set up your clothes and let Mother Nature work her magic. No electricity needed. Your clothes retain their shape better and (this could be my imagination) but they don't seem to fade in color as quickly.

It's safe. I've never hesitated to leave the house because I left clothes out to dry, unlike the dryer which you have to be home to watch. And because it takes a few hours for your clothes to dry, it actually feels quicker. You're not bound to the house because you're doing laundry. After the wash, just hang up the clothes and you can continue about your day. If you leave white clothes outside on a drying rack or line, the sun naturally bleaches your clothes and kills germs that may have survived the wash cycle. There's actually a whole movement to use drying racks instead of dryers because of the many benefits associated with it.

It's really amazing. I can't believe I haven't discovered this before.

A quick Google search yielded many options for line drying. In my apartment I have a pull out accordion-style drying rack mounted on the wall in a bathroom, but there are many varieties. This one, though, nicely folds away after you're done drying your clothes and isn't bulky.

Oh, and did I mention it's free? No electricity bills, no saving up quarters. After the initial investment of purchasing a rack, you're all set.

-- Lauren Williams

Make It. Using vinegar [A clean house on the cheap].

Vinegar is another one of those household staples that everyone has, but isn't necessarily sure what to do with. When I recently moved, I had four different containers of vinegar, but almost no other food. Rather than own a litany of cleaning products, a container of vinegar can be used in laundry, cooking, degreasing, and just about any kind of household cleaning.

It is because of its high acidity, that vinegar works so well as a cleaning agent. ONLY use white vinegar for cleaning, removing stains, and other household improvement projects. Never try to clean your coffeepot with balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar. It will definitely be very regrettable, and will probably result in you needing to buy a new coffeepot.

Among its many uses, vinegar can be used in laundry to remove foul smells and stains, clear out hard-water deposits in your coffeepot, and is far more environmentally friendly than many other cleaning products.

It really is a miracle product. It's great at getting grease off of something, can be used to deodorize, and can even freshen wilted vegetables. It can also be used to clear up hair product buildup by adding a teaspoon to your shampoo.

This website has other amazing tips on how to use vinegar when cleaning your house.

-- Lauren Williams

Make It. Scrubbing pots [A clean house on the cheap].

Around the holidays our pots and pans get more use than usual. Green bean casseroles, lasagna, and especially those roasts leave tons of residue that's tough to get off.

What my grandma used to do was after cooking let the pans cool, then fill them almost to the top with water, and turn the burner back on to loosen food remnants that got stuck on the pans. She actually used to use this as a "gravy" for the dog's food -- it sounds kind of gross now, but I guess in the 1950s on a Midwestern farm, it wasn't that crazy.

I've tried this with things that don't perfectly sit on the stove's burner, like a casserole dish or other heat-resistant cookware, and it works just as well. If there is food especially caked on, pour a tiny bit of soap (not for the dog) in the pan and let that bubble.

You will want to watch the pan, because it will start to boil quickly and can boil over.

This works really well, and you won't even have to get out the Brillo pads.

Also, to get the residue out of candle holders you may have been using to light up the house this holiday season, freeze them. Put the candle holder in the freezer overnight, then tap the container upside down into the palm of your hand. All the residual wax from candle should fall out.

-- Lauren Williams

Make It. Clean shoes [A Clean House on the Cheap].

Windex. Once relegated to just cleaning glass surfaces, is actually amazing at whitening tennis shoes. Spray a little on the rubber part of your tennies and rub with a clean, dry paper towel. Instantly, they are whiter. Be sure not to get any of it on the canvas part of the shoe because it will bleach your shoe, doing more harm than good.

The Dryer. Or, as I call it, "the iron." I can't iron. I can do basically any household task, but when it comes to ironing I put more wrinkles into clothes than I take out. And I hurt myself. It's quite a sight actually. But, for those like me, who don't want to wear wrinkly clothes, but are useless with those dastardly irons, throwing an article of clothing in the dryer with a very moist (but not dripping wet) rag will do wonders for your clothes. And, unlike time consuming ironing, you don't have to stand there and work at it. You can just go about your business and voila! Your clothes are ready. Thank you, Mr. Dryer.

A clean microwave seems to be something relegated to the land of unicorns, pixies, and Santa Claus. At times, it feels like they just don't exist. Quite often you can go to the cleanest person's house and still find a raunchy microwave. And reasonably so. Food gets cooked on there, and after a few uses, they can get plain filthy. But, put a half glass of water in the microwave and cook for a minute. All the gross food is steamed away, or easy enough to clean off and the steam reaches the less visible parts of the microwave, like in the holes in the side area.

Send me your tips and I will try them out and post the results!

-- Lauren Williams