Keeping things clean and sanitary is one of the most important things to know about when homebrewing. There are many different types of cleansers and sanitizers on the market, and you definitely need both. You can't sanitize something that isn't clean.

Cleanser

For a cleanser, I use PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash). Just a soak with hot PBW and just about anything comes off. I also use it around the kitchen. It works great for cleaning a crock pot, baking dishes, or rangetop drip trays. My wife calls it "magic powder." I have heard that you shouldn't use it on nonstick cook ware.

I make my own PBW using a ratio of 2:1 Red Devil TSP-90 (sodium metasilicate) to Oxyclean Free (sodium percarbonate) I find the Red Devil TSP-90 at Ace Hardware, and the Oxyclean at the grocery store.
If you can't find PBW or the TSP substitute, Oxyclean itself is a pretty good cleanser.

Sanitizer

I use Star San as my sanitizer. It is a no-rinse sanitizer. When you mix Star San you can keep it for a long time, as long as the pH doesn't rise above 3. It does create some foam, but it is nothing to worry about. It won't ruin your beer. Rack right on top of it after sanitizing your fermenter or keg. I keep some mixed in a spray bottle to easily sanitize things like spoons or airlocks, or whatever. I rarely mix a 5 gallon batch of it. I have 10 ml oral syringe that I use to measure out 6 ml of Star San to mix with one gallon of water. You don't need to fill your fermenter, just get some in, and slosh it around. Properly prepared Star San doesn't stain, but the concentrated stuff can bleach things like countertops, so be careful with it before you mix it.

I used to use iodophore as my sanitizer. It is also a no-rinse sanitizer, that doesn't foam as much as Star San. It is brownish, and can stain your clothes and any tubing that you are sanitizing. I don't think that it "keeps" as long as Star San after it is mixed.

Which ever sanitizer you choose, please go with a no-rinse sanitizer. Many people use bleach because it is cheap, but you have to thoroughly rinse after using it, which could possibly re-contaminate what you had just sanitized. Star San and iodophore look expensive, but a little bit goes a long way, especially if you only mix one gallon at a time.