Girls Only!

If you are a guy you will not want to read any further.  If you don't mind learning more about a girls monthly cycle and making it 'Greener', then read on!

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So I have found that most books, even the "greenest" don't talk about a girls cycle even though there is a lot of waste included.  Even the best books don't go into enough detail.  The only reason I don't ever bring this up is most people think it is gross to use anything down there that you reuse even though in history disposable is a very new concept.

Read more on the history of pads- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanitary_napkin 

I am not going to get into the history of pads and tampons, there are plenty of other websites for that.  For the purpose of this blog just keep in mind that disposable has not been around that long but periods have been around since Eve.

I am not a advocate of tampons because they disturb the balance of yeast and bacteria.  If you have to use tampons there are greener choices that Seventh Generation sells.  I am sure there are others but I am not an expert on tampons.  If you do wear tampons ask yourself this question... Do I really know what I am putting into my body?

Why are disposable pads bad?  During you next period count how many pads you use, and multiply that by 12. That is how many you use in a year.  Multiply that by 40 (because the average age to start a period is 12 and the average age to stop is 51.  I add on a year because not only are multiples of ten easier to work with but also we have more then 12 periods on some years because periods are every 28 days.)  For me it was 9600, but I have short periods and light periods.

This website says you will go through 16,800.
http://www.treehugger.com/style/bleed-with-pride-make-it-yourself-menstrual-pads.html 

Still not convinced? Here is a great article on what you are putting on your skin. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/22/feminine-hygiene-products.aspx

I started making my own pads about a year ago.  There are plenty of designs online.  All I did was use a pad that I normally wore and mimicked that one for size.  I used old flannel pj's that were falling apart and PUL fabric which is used for waterproofing baby diapers.  This was one of the very first things I have ever sewn. You don't have to be good at sewing because no one else will ever see it.

Here are some free patterns on the web-

https://sites.google.com/site/shewhorunsintheforest/0011

http://www.borntolove.com/d-list7-make.shtml


If you want to use reusable pads but don't have the time to make them-

http://www.etsy.com/search?q=reusable%20pads&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US&ref=auto5


Here is how I clean my pads- http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-a-Reusable-Menstrual-Pad