Guess i should read the whole post before I start blabbing. Still newbie to the forum. Lots of goods ideas already expressed.
-c

I bought a carpet sweeper - non electric of course. I also bought a Rubbermaid Reveal Mop that I refill with water and vinegar for my laminate floors. Someday I hope to remove all the carpeting and replace it with hard flooring so I could do without a vacuum cleaner.
http://reviews.rubbermaid.com/7419/RP091920/reveal-spray-mop-reviews/reviews.htm

I make my own laundry soap...
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8873216915823507728#editor/target=post;postID=3939416051609439302

It's very simple and also works for multiple cleaning uses - toliet, dishes and general cleaning. The ingredients are compact and easy to store as well.

Morpheous71 - bleach will not remain stable over the course of years - it loses it's potency and will apparently turn back into salt water. It' also not very good for you to breath in. Vinegar does just as good a job with no nasties (as someone else mentioned!) and will remain stable. If your retreat has a septic system using a lot of bleach will also kill the bacteria in the septic system and it will not function as it should.

Thanks, I never new that, do you have any idea on bleach's storage duration then?
-c

Here's some info that I saved from Frugal Squirrels http://www.frugalsquirrels.com/vb/showthread.php?t=203510 > This is just a portion of it - the rest is an indepth paper on water treatment which is an excellent resource and worth printing out IMHO.

This PAGE is copyright to Alan T. Hagan. athagan@sprintmail.com The WATER TREATMENT FAQ is the property of Patton S. Turner. Copyright © 1997, 1998. All rights reserved.

Bleach: Ordinary household bleach (such as Clorox) in the US contains 5.25% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCL) and can be used to purify water if it contains no other active ingredients, scents, or colorings. Bleach is far from an ideal source due to its bulkiness (only 5% active ingredient), and the instability over time of the chlorine content in bleach. Chlorine loss is farther increased by agitation or exposure to air. One source claims chlorine loss from a 5% solution at 10% over 6 months if stored at 70° F. Nevertheless, this may be the only chemical means available to purify water, and it is far better than nothing. Normal dosage is 8 drops (0.4 ml) per gallon. Allow the treated water to sit for 30 min., and if there isn't a slight chlorine smell, retreat. Note: USP standard medicine droppers are designed to dispense 0.045-0.055 ml per drop. Use of other solvents or some chemicals can change this. The dropper can be calibrated against a graduated cylinder for greater accuracy.

I forgot to mention that many people suggest Pool Shock - its a granular chlorine that can be mixed to make a standard bleach which can then be further diluted to purify water. I don't have the exact amounts required and would prefer not to guess since this is a life and death issue.

I bought a carpet sweeper - non electric of course. I also bought a Rubbermaid Reveal Mop that I refill with water and vinegar for my laminate floors. Someday I hope to remove all the carpeting and replace it with hard flooring so I could do without a vacuum cleaner.

Anita, how is the carpet sweeper on stairs?

I have to leave the carpet on the stairs or my cats can't get up them 😆 but the rest of the carpet has now been removed.

While doing housework this morning I got to wondering if anyone has given any thought to how to clean after the SHTF.

I have just a bit of wall to wall carpet left on my stairs, the rest of my floors are just hardwood with throw mats. I already do my dishes by hand. I have a scrub board, wringer and line for the laundry, not that I use them now. I can't think of any other things that I clean using electricity. Am I missing anything?

Vinegar and water for most household surfaces like floors, tables and glass. Between 2:1 to 1:1 water to vinegar will be fine. Don't use it on marble.

Bleach and water for kitchen sink, food prep areas and washrooms. Just be careful on laminate counters. You don't need much and one bottle of bleach goes a long way when used as cleaner. Take a standard sized spray bottle, fill it with water. Take the stem out and dip it in the bleach about 3/4 the way up. Repeat two more time and shake to mix. There's your cleaning spray. Also 7-8 drops of bleach per gallon of water will purify the water and it should be added to any water that you plan on storing. Just make sure you shake well and then leave the cap off to let the gas escape for a few minutes before sealing it up for good.

For scrubbing stains or tough grime make a paste out of water and baking soda. Scrub well and when you are done spray with the vinegar water combo and wipe clean.

Bar soap for laundry and fabrics. Any kind will work although I am not a fan of the strong smelling scented soaps. Bar soap can also be used to clean the dishes.

All are fairly cheap. Buy entire cases of vinegar, bleach, baking soda and bar soap at Costco and stock up good.

The carpet sweeper is a little too big to use on the stairs. I wonder if there is a smaller version?? I have heard that Flylady's Rubba Scrubba works really well get cat hair and nasties etc. out of the carpets. It looks a little strange but does the job.

http://shop.flylady.net/pages/FlyShop_rubba_scrubba.asp