* In spite of all the promises made by a lot of commercial cleaning products, water is all you really need for the majority of jobs, such as wiping down tables and dusting. Water dissolves an awful lot of smears and will float dirt off. If you have a lot of dusting to do (around windowsills, on bookshelves, etc), you will need several rags, as one will get dirty very quickly. Warm water is not necessary but it can make things a bit more pleasant.
* Although doing so will make your manicure gasp of horror, the nails are superb cleaning tools. You can not beat them for cleaning the wax layers of wood or (in the case of a cable, you might need to get the last bit of residue off the spacing of the spill area with plenty toilet paper or tissues and then taking a hot iron on the spot to melt the wax so it can be absorbed by the paper). And they also help get stubborn stains and fly-out windows like.
* Newspapers are great for window cleaning. Scrunch them up and use them to buff the glass up after spraying on whatever window cleaner fancy. The ammonia based products can be tough on the eyes and nose, but dilute vinegar (the best natural alternative, closely followed by dilute vodka) works just as well. Change sheets of newspaper as soon as they look damp or they will disintegrate and leave papier-mâché all over the window, TV screen (a CRT glass screen) or shower door.
* Keep old toothbrushes. They are perfect for getting into lots of little nooks and crannies that get covered with gunk. Have one for cleaning around the hinge of the loo seat and another one for other scrubbing jobs (e.g. around filigree or fretwork in wood).
* If you have to scrub a floor on your hands and knees, get hold of one of those kneeling mats sold in garden shops. Don’t use a cushion – it will get soaked and grubby.
* Use a transistor radio or a ghettoblaster to give yourself something to listen to as you work. Cleaning can be done on autopilot. Using an iPod or other personal stereo with a headset is possible but the cords can get in the way as you work.
* A real feather duster is ideal for cleaning a computer because they use static electricity to pick up dust and dirt from keyboards and other non-plasma / LCD screens. Chicken feathers are very good, but ostrich feathers, even better, if you can get. They resemble the classic sexy maid prop, but if you want to use one for this purpose have one for work and one for … play … that work does not pick up piles of dust. Give a good shake a feather duster outside on a windy day to get rid of dust.
* Work systematically when vacuuming. As you will need to go back and forth over a section of carpet, it’s best to divide the floor up into sections and work section by section. This means you are less likely to miss any of the floor.
These tips are really helpful. I will try using the old toothbrushes for cleaning the bathroom tiles.