This summer and fall I've tried lots of new green things trying my best to make them work and to adjust to them.  Here's the update on what I like and don't like and what's the outcome of it all - not that it's over, mind you!

Hanging the laundry up to dry on foldable racks in the laundry room:  I like that they can dry at night and not buzz an hour later when everyone is sound asleep.  I don't like that I'd need a room full of them to hold all our clothes!  The compromise is that I use them for tights, leotards, diaper covers, pillow cases and other thin clothes.  The thicker ones still go into the dryer.

Cloth toilet paper:  I certainly got the most grief over this one!  I like that it is softer and cheaper than paper.  I don't like that Sadie threw a cloth wipe into the potty and came way too close to flushing it - could have been a clogged-pipe disaster.  The compromise is that I only have cloth wipes in the master bath upstairs.  Downstairs I use Green Forest recycled TP bought by the case from Amazon. 

Cast iron pans:  Len finally did dig all his old pans out of the barn and dutifully scrubbed the years of barn debris and rust out of them, oiled them and baked them.  They are fine to cook with, but cleaning them up and storing them is a bit of a pain because they are oily and heavy.  The compromise is to cook greasy things (and of course acids too) in a not-scratched teflon pan and the rest in cast iron. 

Plastic purge:  A while back I purged all our not-safe kitchen plastic (everything besides # 5 and #2).  I also bought some pyrex containers with lids for food storage and reheating leftovers.  Just recently I found some stainless Thermos bottles on sale so we're finally on the bandwagon with safe water bottles too.  All these changes will stay.

Diluting detergents:  I probably never posted about this to begin with, but I've been watering down the dish detergent and using half the regular amount in the dishwasher.  No compromises here - it works fine to use less.

No poo:  I haven't used shampoo since we made the no poo balls a few weeks ago.  Neither has Maya or Sadie.  All our hair looks the same as ever, and I think feels even softer than before.  We use the no poo to wash, and spray lemon juice after as conditioner.  Even if you can't deal with no poo, try the lemon juice!  Again, no compromises here, this one is a keeper.

Cloth diapers:  I started this over a year ago and then backed off as Abby peed through every time.  After much support from friends, now I double her up for daytime, and triple or quadruple at night.  She still pees through occasionally, but now that she's cut way down on nursing it's not so bad.  After the hive episode she hasn't had anything but cloth even at night.  I'm a definate convert.

Cloth sanitary napkins:  Nothing invasive, nothing bleached, no latex.  Just soft, absorbant cloth.  These are a keeper too.

Soap nuts:  For hot loads (diapers, stinky dish towels) 3 soap nuts are perfect.  I drop 3 drops of lavender oil onto the soap nut bag and toss it into the washer.  For cold loads I use 6 soap nuts.  I hang the bag up to dry on the corner of the drying rack.  After 3 loads they go into the compost pile.  Len finally asked what the box of brown things in the laundry room was - I guess I had to tell him sooner or later :-)  He couldn't tell a difference in the laundry though.  No compromise here.

No toothpaste:  Since going no poo, I've also been no paste.  Instead, I wet a toothbrush and then dip it into a mixture of 2 parts baking soda and 1 part salt and brush away.  No SLS, no paralyzing mint on my tongue.  The only compromise here is that I do still use my dentist prescribed Prevident once a day as well.

Where I still need more work: 
turning off lights we don't need (I hate the dark wintry months!)
remembering to bring my cloth shopping bags into the store (with 3 kids in tow you don't really think I'm going to go back outside to get them, right?)
taking shorter showers (no excuse, I just like a nice shower)