Hear me out: A gallon of Heinz cleaning vinegar is all you need to clean pretty much anything in your house

For big tasks like cleaning floors, I mix 1/2 cup of vinegar to 1/2 gallon of warm water, and a squirt of dish soap for good measure. If you need more cleaner, you can more vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio.

The same 1:1 vinegar to water ratio works smaller tasks like wiping down the table, too. You can fill a spray bottle with water and vinegar, or dab a cotton swab with vinegar for getting into tight spaces.

Spraying or soaking your vegetables with distilled white vinegar is a great way to remove bacteria (as opposed to simply rinsing and straining).

Pouring a quart of boiling-hot water down the drain followed by 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar works almost as well as pricey name-brand solutions.

You can use that same 1:1 ratio of water and vinegar to clean your windows and leave them steak free. We outline the method in this guide.

While it's perfectly fine for your sink, faucet, and fittings, you'll want to avoid putting vinegar (especially 6% cleaning-grade vinegar) on any metal or rubber that you can't thoroughly remove it from, as it will eventually lead to corrosion.

For stainless-steel appliances that won't get a good rinse, I use Barkeeper's Friend instead.

You should also never mix vinegar with bleach, as it can create toxic chlorine gas.

For anything that poses a serious threat, such as raw meat, you may want to break out something with ammonia in it. Short of that, distilled white vinegar is a one-step disinfectant for just about everything in your household, and, in my humblest (yet experienced) opinion, the single best way to declutter your cleaning cabinet.

Here are my favorite brands of cleaning vinegar: