One of the most underused and eco-friendly cleaning products is rubbing alcohol. To get your bathroom sparkling clean and disinfected, reach for a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a microfiber towel. Douse the towel with a little rubbing alcohol and start wiping; it's a great way to clean surfaces, faucets, chrome fixtures, etc. And when the alcohol evaporates, it kills germs and leaves a clean, streak-free finish.

You only need to raid your kitchen pantry to create an easy, all-natural insect repellant to keep your potted plants and seedlings from being attacked by pests. Grab cayenne pepper and garlic powder and sprinkle them around the plant and on top of the soil. It's a perfectly harmless, all-natural additive that won't hurt plants, but that insects hate. You can also boil water with garlic to make a garlic spray; when cool, use a spray bottle to mist the mixture onto leaves, stems and anywhere you think insects may be attacking your plants.

Almost all inflatable toys for the pool or beach -- like balls, rafts and floaties -- have one thing in common: They are made from hard-to-recycle polyvinyl chloride or PVC plastic. But if your old pool toys are punctured and won't inflate, that doesn't mean you have to toss them into the trash. Look for PVC repair adhesive at your sporting goods store, which can patch small punctures and holes in minutes. It's also useful on camping equipment like tents to seal tears or holes to make them water-resistant for unexpected showers.