Yes, it’s that time of the year again when you have to wear grubby clothes and arm yourselves with a dust cloth and a broom. Yup, it’s time for spring cleaning. But what do you do if you’re a little more sensitive to chemicals than dirt and dust? Easy!

That water-soluble effervescent powder/tablet (a.k.a. alka seltzer) is not only good for indigestion, it’s also a good toilet bowl cleaner (hmm… that just doesn’t sound right). All you have to do is to drop a couple of tablets in the toilet bowl. Wait until all the fizz is done, flush, and then simply walk away.

Old socks and five-year old winter mittens can be worn on one hand and use it to swipe over dusty surfaces. This is better than dust clothes, as they will not rise up in the air where you can breathe each and every particle. With those finger slots, you can even clean furniture or frames with deep grooves on them. You can use a pair. Squirt one mitt with water for those harder-to-remove spots, and then keep the other dry -one for cleaning, one for polishing. When you’re done, all you have to do is to remove from your hand and plop in the washing machine.

Use white vinegar or plain baking soda diluted in water. Put the solution in a spray bottle. Both odor and stain on glass, tile, and fabrics can be wiped away without using those factory-made cleaning chemicals.