Old cloth diapers, white vinegar, and baking soda. Almost anything, even in my very farm-y VT house with four kids and two dogs and lotsa farm critters outside, gets clean with that. And the house smells great because vinegar gets rid of stank w/o leaving a weird fragrance behind. Open the windows and viola! sweet smelling home!

When I do use cleaners, I always buy Ecover or 7th Gen... but have to say Ecover is by far my favorite. Um, and Soap Nuts, though seemingly crazy, work really well with Borax for laundry.

Old T-Shirts and hand towels that were given to me by friends who didn't quite have a handle on my aesthetic are used, mostly. Scrub brushes, and mops with detachable, washable brushes/pads on the ends. I'm starting to experiment with the "green" cleaners, so recommendations are helpful!

I wish I could clean with vinegar, but the smell of even diluted vinegar makes me dry heave.

We have four Ikea "Urban" chairs around our dining table. They are made of white polypropylene, and after a while they really start to look gray and grungy. You'd think they'd be easy to clean, but the plastic has a slight texture to it and the grunge just gets in there and stays, almost like a stain. The only way I used to be able to get it off (kind of) was with a potent de-greaser combined with a LOT of scrubbing. Very toxic and unpleasant.

Then when my mom was visiting she bought a package of Mr. Clean's "Magic Erasers". They are little foam pads that have some kind of microscopic abrasive embedded in them. I generally try to stay away from disposable cleaning items, but these babies are PERFECT for the chairs, and you don't need to use any chemicals, just a little water. With a little light rubbing the grunge comes RIGHT OFF, it is amazing! They actually work better than the degreaser ever did.

You do need to watch out for the abrasive quality on some surfaces though. I use them on our painted satin white woodwork and it isn't noticeable. But once I tried them on a door that was painted dark red and I could see very faint scrubbing swirls.

Magic Erasers
Old Dishtowels and Dishcloths
Various handled scrub brushes for bathroom tilework/grout, sinks, pots & pans, etc.
Bar Keepers Friend
Fantastik Orange Spray Cleaner

I get the $3 12-packs of multicolored terrycloth washcloths from Target. You can identify the dirty or clean rag based on color, and they are cheaper than sponges, washable, reusable, and good for everything but the most stuck-on grime. I think you can find them in the bathroom section.

10 pack of micro fiber towels from auto section at WM
White vinegar
Baking soda
Borax
Bar Keepers Friend

Thanks to these items my allergies to chemicals have settled down & my budget has too.

I third the magic erasers comment. They are amazing! I had a serious mold problem, and a combination of tilex and magic eraser made my walls/tile look great, and the mold hasn't come back!

It should be said that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: not having pets and leather sofa have saved me so much cleaning. One more thing to think about before getting that new puppy...

Microfiber towels!!! They are the best for whatever the job is, dry for dusting or wet with water for scrubbing. Anyone who hasn't tried them has to.