One of my riskier forays into eco-goodness has been my feminine hygiene products, because that's just not something you want to mess up, and frankly non-disposable alternatives are all quite expensive and not really re-sellable if they don't work out for you. My period only came back a few months ago, and I decided to just take the plunge and if it didn't work out, I'd write it off as a learning experience.
Fortunately, it DID work out, and I have to say I'm sorry I didn't switch to my current system YEARS ago. In fact, even if it wasn't eco-good, I'd be doing this anyway.
The products: 1 Diva Cup, 4 small Luna Pads. Yup, that's it. That's all. For a whole period. But, even that small amount wasn't cheap - the diva cup is around $40 from Planet Organic (I've since discovered that London Drugs sells them too, and I bet they're cheaper there) and I splurged for the organic unbleached cotton luna pads, which were $12 each.
So, good thing it worked out. What really surprised me though was exactly HOW much more convenient & comfortable than tampons & disposable pads this little system is.
Once you figure it out and do the necessary tweaks and playing, there is just no contest between a tampon and a diva cup. There's a bit of a learning curve - the diva cup was a wee bit tricky the first couple times I used it and I had a bit of leakage until I figured out how to twirl it around so it opened up fully. After that, no leaks AT ALL. None, nada, zippo, even on my heaviest days. I did have to trim the stem completely off, contrary to the manufacturer's instructions, but thanks to the internet I'd heard of other people doing that with no horrible consequences. Now I can hardly feel it at all, and as it needs changing less frequently than a pad or a tampon, I really only have to think about my period maybe 3 times a day. Plus, no string hanging out! (I was always totally paranoid about that when I went swimming.) The only concern I have is that some other people have had the diva cup extract their IUDs for them, but so far no worries on that score, and we're close approaching the point where that wouldn't matter anyhow.
The pads are just for the really light days at the end when the diva cup was overkill, and for backup, more for peace of mind than anything. But I have to say, cloth pads are a lot more comfortable than the disposables, particularly since the Stayfree ones I formerly used got reengineered and turned all plasticky with a nasty "odour-surpressing" smell. Since then the best I could find were Kotex, but even their cloth-like covers don't come anywhere near actual cloth for comfort and there's still a plastic backing which gets all nasty and sweaty and sticky if it's hot out. Plus, the cloth pads are easily adjustable if you find they're positioned wrong (unlike disposables where if you peel them off the adhesive just never works again) and they don't have any plastic that somehow twists itself around and sticks to you while you're working out.
And, since I'm washing diapers pretty much every day, washing a cloth pad or two a day is no problem whatsoever. They also fold up neatly for transport in a purse or whatever. I'm totally sold. And I'll probably never have to buy ANY "curse equipment" again. No monthly "oh crap I'm out of tampons", and Stirling is forever exempt from running to LD to buy pads. All in all, totally a good thing.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Cloth Diapers... who knew they could be kind of fun?
As a full-time mummy, I no longer had any excuse to NOT use cloth diapers. For a long time I tried to convince myself that the ecological footprint of disposables was actually similar to cloth, because cloth required so much energy and water to wash. 18 months of throwing out masses of disposable diapers has disabused me of that notion, and when I think about the energy and materials that go into the manufacturing of disposables, I feel slightly ill. That having been said, I will freely admit that if I were still working, I'd still be using them. But I'm not, and I'm not.
It took a little playing around to figure out what diapers were going to work. Thanks to the lovely women at Mothering Touch, and a convenient requirement to get my friend Sue some try-out diapers from JamTots, and a fortuitous discovery of 3 6-packs of flat flannel diapers in our closet (I have no recollection of purchasing these, but the first few months of Rowan's life are a little hazy generally), I had plenty to play with:
3 baby Kangas
18 flat flannels
2 bummis original covers
1 snugglebees fleece/hemp insert
2 snugglebees 2-layer hemp inserts
1 big-ass (forget name) 3-layer hemp insert
After playing with these for a couple weeks and feeling like a complete doofus for having absolutely NO clue how to fold a flat diaper (Eva finally showed me how to do an origami fold, which works GREAT), Beverley and I (because she got roped in too - she looks after Rowan 2 days a week) each came to the same conclusion that what works best is a flat flannel origami fold with a fleece/hemp insert, in a bummis cover. What's shocking is that this is actually one of the cheaper options, since the bummis covers are only $10, the inserts are somewhat less than that, and I already had the flats. So after an initial experimental outlay of about $70, I was able to complete the stash I needed for only another $50, and if I decide to sell the less-successful baby kangas, I should be able to recoup another $35 or so. (If anyone wants them, let me know! They're virtually new and they'll come with inserts.)
I am doing laundry every night, but that's actually not particularly onerous. The folding part is even fun. (so far...) I'm actually really pleased with how well this has turned out.
It took a little playing around to figure out what diapers were going to work. Thanks to the lovely women at Mothering Touch, and a convenient requirement to get my friend Sue some try-out diapers from JamTots, and a fortuitous discovery of 3 6-packs of flat flannel diapers in our closet (I have no recollection of purchasing these, but the first few months of Rowan's life are a little hazy generally), I had plenty to play with:
3 baby Kangas
18 flat flannels
2 bummis original covers
1 snugglebees fleece/hemp insert
2 snugglebees 2-layer hemp inserts
1 big-ass (forget name) 3-layer hemp insert
After playing with these for a couple weeks and feeling like a complete doofus for having absolutely NO clue how to fold a flat diaper (Eva finally showed me how to do an origami fold, which works GREAT), Beverley and I (because she got roped in too - she looks after Rowan 2 days a week) each came to the same conclusion that what works best is a flat flannel origami fold with a fleece/hemp insert, in a bummis cover. What's shocking is that this is actually one of the cheaper options, since the bummis covers are only $10, the inserts are somewhat less than that, and I already had the flats. So after an initial experimental outlay of about $70, I was able to complete the stash I needed for only another $50, and if I decide to sell the less-successful baby kangas, I should be able to recoup another $35 or so. (If anyone wants them, let me know! They're virtually new and they'll come with inserts.)
I am doing laundry every night, but that's actually not particularly onerous. The folding part is even fun. (so far...) I'm actually really pleased with how well this has turned out.
A New Focus for our Lives
Two weeks ago, I abandoned my corporate career in favour of being a stay-at-home mom. Actually, I prefer the term "Domestic Goddess" but I'm not sure that my capabilities at this point warrant it. I'm working on it though.
But more than full-fledged domestic goddesshood, I'm working on being eco-good. In every aspect of our lives. So far, I've taken the following steps:
1) Quit job. This saves many, many tons of carbon emissions in the form of me NOT driving my cute but far from fuel-efficient little truck to work each day, and removes me from active participation in an industry fraught with waste and dedicated to making its products redundant as quickly as possible.
2) Buy local food as much as possible. I'd say we're at about 80% local in our diets right now. All our meat and veg is local, as much fruit as possible (except bananas of course), all our dairy and eggs, and all the honey we use in place of sugar as much as we can. What's not local are our grains (rice and wheat flour primarily), and things like maple syrup, sugar, baking soda, salt, etc.
3) Switched child to cloth diapers. This was done for two reasons - primarily the environmental reason, but also in hopes that she'd be a little less comfy in cloth diapers than disposables and would be thus inclined to start peeing and pooping like a grownup a little sooner. So far, not so much.
4) Switched me to reusable and cloth feminine products. More details on this later.
Staying home has enabled me to have at least 2-3 or more days each week in which I don't drive at all, which is great. Stirling's job is within walking distance, so he doesn't have to drive either.
The challenge is making changes that help the planet without bankrupting us. Some things, like the cloth diapers, may or may not end up being cost-effective, depending on when Rowan potty-learns and when and if we have another child. Other things, like the drastically reduced amount of driving, obviously save us a lot of money. The food is a bit hard to track, since I was buying pretty local before so it's not really a change... it really depends on the food, and frankly this is less about the environment than it is about our health - I like knowing where our food comes from, I like it fresh, and organic - buying local just makes sense for all of those things. But, for the record, our weekly food expenditures are between $150-$175 for our family of 3. Take from that what you will. We eat very little packaged food though - the occasional bag of potato chips makes its way home with us, and Stirling will pick up the odd treat from Chinatown, but that's pretty much it.
In future posts I'll go into more detail about how we made some changes and tips and tricks we've discovered. If you have any tips you want to share, please do!
But more than full-fledged domestic goddesshood, I'm working on being eco-good. In every aspect of our lives. So far, I've taken the following steps:
1) Quit job. This saves many, many tons of carbon emissions in the form of me NOT driving my cute but far from fuel-efficient little truck to work each day, and removes me from active participation in an industry fraught with waste and dedicated to making its products redundant as quickly as possible.
2) Buy local food as much as possible. I'd say we're at about 80% local in our diets right now. All our meat and veg is local, as much fruit as possible (except bananas of course), all our dairy and eggs, and all the honey we use in place of sugar as much as we can. What's not local are our grains (rice and wheat flour primarily), and things like maple syrup, sugar, baking soda, salt, etc.
3) Switched child to cloth diapers. This was done for two reasons - primarily the environmental reason, but also in hopes that she'd be a little less comfy in cloth diapers than disposables and would be thus inclined to start peeing and pooping like a grownup a little sooner. So far, not so much.
4) Switched me to reusable and cloth feminine products. More details on this later.
Staying home has enabled me to have at least 2-3 or more days each week in which I don't drive at all, which is great. Stirling's job is within walking distance, so he doesn't have to drive either.
The challenge is making changes that help the planet without bankrupting us. Some things, like the cloth diapers, may or may not end up being cost-effective, depending on when Rowan potty-learns and when and if we have another child. Other things, like the drastically reduced amount of driving, obviously save us a lot of money. The food is a bit hard to track, since I was buying pretty local before so it's not really a change... it really depends on the food, and frankly this is less about the environment than it is about our health - I like knowing where our food comes from, I like it fresh, and organic - buying local just makes sense for all of those things. But, for the record, our weekly food expenditures are between $150-$175 for our family of 3. Take from that what you will. We eat very little packaged food though - the occasional bag of potato chips makes its way home with us, and Stirling will pick up the odd treat from Chinatown, but that's pretty much it.
In future posts I'll go into more detail about how we made some changes and tips and tricks we've discovered. If you have any tips you want to share, please do!
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