Horse-Chestnut Soap
It is not generally known that the horse-chestnut contains a soapy juice, not only useful in bleaching, but in washing linens and stuffs. The nuts must be peeled and ground, and the meal of twenty of them will be sufficient to mix with ten quarts of hot water, with which the clothes may be washed without soap; the clothes should then be rinsed in spring-water. The same meal being steeped in hot water, and mixed with an equal quantity of bran, will make a nutritious food for poultry.
Source: Recipes for the Million
To Wash Greasy Tin and Iron
Pour a few drops of ammonia into every greasy roasting-pan, first half-filling with warm water. A bottle of ammonia should always stand near the sink for such uses. Never allow dirty pots or pans to stand and dry; for it doubles the labor of washing. Pour in water, and use ammonia, and the work is half done.
Source: The Easiest Way in Housekeeping and Cooking, H. Campbell