Do you have a washing machine and dryer? Then you will be a lot happier if you get in the habit of washing them each day. You don't have to have a full load. If you need something to carry them from the pail to the washer, just use a plastic bucket. Rinse out the dry pail and let it air dry. A liner will just be one more thing to have to keep clean. Another way is to put all of the days collection along with any towels or sheets in the washer at night and let them rinse or soak. Then in the morning, add the night time diapers and anything soiled during the night and continue the with a regular wash. by the time that your baby gets older, and the mess is worse, you will be glad that you are in the habit of doing this.

I can only answer about diapers, since we're still using them. We have a huge array -- some SAHM-made, chinese textile prefolds, all the varietiese of kushies, dimples, carousal, and some rainbows. I prefer the kushies AIOs. Dimples are great for overnight with a dsq prefold (no leaks). We use the carousals for naps only b/c the snaps tend to pop open when ds is active. I've seen nikki training pants in Natural Baby catalougs. I've never tried their products, and have heard mixed reviews. Good luck - I'll be interested in reading replies b/c I HOPE we'll be doing this over the summer!

Sponges are horribly filthy- they hold bacteria even if you put them in the micro/dishwasher. I thought so too! But then I read a USDA report on putting sponges in the dishwasher with a hot dry cycle, and it said that it sterilized the sponge. I didn't believe it. So I let a sponge get stinky, brought home agar plates and sterile swabs from work (I teach physics and my lab is right next to the bio lab) and I streaked a plate. I put the sponge in the dishwasher with the heated drying cycle, and then streaked another plate. The first one was covered with colonies as you'd expect; the second was clean. Nothing was growing. It looked untouched. I had to change my tune. The dishwasher does a good job when you use the heated drying cycle. In fact, here's the USDA paper's conclusion: "Thus microwave heating and dishwashing with a drying cycle proved to be the most effective methods for inactivating bacteria, yeasts and molds on sponges. These simple and convenient treatments can help ensure that contaminated sponges don't spread foodborne pathogens around household kitchens of today's busy families." Here is a link that might be useful: The entire article

Ha! Well, so soon after the flu (and still recovering) saying I look fab is an overstatement-- but still, my hair has looked good! Outside, I don't remember if you said you colored your hair-- but I think the keratase is the single best product I've tried in years. A small amount makes a real difference in the texture, shine and color of my hair. The thickening lotion along with it is a win-win (though I haven't tried JUST the keratase, I did use the thickening tonic alone for the first few days). It is expensive.. but so is the Aveda product. You use a small amount of both so it's not such a big expense over time. Bpa, I am sorry. I havent used the velcro rollers yet. I just haven't been up to the fussing. However, as much as I remembered using them on damp/almost dry hair, my stylist said to use them on dry. Her suggestion: use a heat source on the hair (flat iron, curling iron or hair dryer)-- a couple of swipes just to get it warm-- then a spritz of hair spray (more on this in a moment) and roll them up in the velcro roller at the crown. I rolled them so that they sat right on the crown. This is for lift.. hence using the large roller and rolling them right at the crown (vs hanging lower). My stylist has similar hair to mine except she has some natural wave-- and she doesn't wash her hair daily (I do). I would think this would work great on day 2 when you just fix it and go vs washing/styling. As for hair spray-- I don't like "hold". It makes my thin hair either not move-- or more likely, it will move in chunks or sheets. Not attractive. Also, I dislike how it feels and smells. I HAVE used sprays on my brush while styling-- but that works completely differently and doesn't sit on the hair like hairspray. OK so all of that is background to explain why I use what I use.. which is a very inexpensive, very light hold hairspray: Sauve. I find that I still get a lot of movement and the spray doesn't dull my natural shine or prevent movement. I think it costs about $2 a bottle and i much prefer it to the much more expensive beauty brands. Also, I find that when my hair is a little longer, I can spray just a little bit of it underneath for a little lift. If I did that with the sebastian shaper or whatever lacquer like crap I bought most recently, I'd have "chunks" of hard hair. Hope my experiences help others.. I got compliments on my hair again today and let me tell you, I didnt spend more than 10 minutes on it from fully wet to fully dry and styled. I thank the pea size squirt of keratase and four spritzes of aveda thickening tonic. I put both in my hands first.. then finger through my hair. I put the keratase in as soon as I exit the shower. The aveda I put on right before drying.