For counters, floors, windows, tables, toilets, everything, I use a half water, half vinegar solution with a few drops of essential oils in it. And I’ve been having lots of fun experimenting with different essential oils. So far, I’ve tried tea tree, eucalyptus, orange, lavender, and cinnamon. I want to try peppermint next. So far I like the eucalyptus and lavendar the best. Cinnamon is OK.

When I mentioned to a friend that I didn’t know what to do with all the weeds that are multiplying at a dizzying rate all over the yard and I didn’t want to use harsh chemicals to kill them off if I’m going to have babies running and crawling around, she sent me this.

Kill weeds dead with a good shot of vinegar. For best results, don’t dilute with water and choose a time to spray weeds when there’s no sign of rain. Household vinegar is around 5% acetic acid concentration which will do the trick for baby weeds. If you can find a stronger vinegar (like pickling which is about 9%), that will give better results for more mature (and stubborn) weeds. (From TipNut.)

And this morning, when the fumes from the diaper load were a little much for my pregnant nose to handle, I went to one of my new favourite sites, Broomhuggers, where I found this treasure trove of vinegary wisdom. Then I got my trusty WalMart vinegar-cinnamon-water spray bottle and voila! … Bad smells were banished.

Go here to find out how to do the following using vinegar.

• Kill bacteria in meats.
• Dissolve warts.
• Grow beautiful azaleas.
• Kill unwanted grass.
• Deodorize the air.
• Relieve itching, a sore throat, a cold, or a cough.
• Relieve arthritis.
• Cure an upset stomach.
• Turn a chicken bone into rubber.
• Condition dry hair.
• Repel ants.
• Keep drains open.
• Remove decals or bumper stickers.
• Prevent lint from clinging to clothes.
• Prevent ice from forming on a car windshield overnight.
• Prolong the life of flowers in a vase.
• Prevent soapy film on glassware.
• Unclog a shower head.