Earth Day- For Women Only!

I have been wanting to write this post for a while, and Earth Day (eve) seemed like a great time to share it with my lady friends.  Yes, that's right, this post is only for females!  I don't think I have very many male readers, but there are a few.  Guys, you can just skip this post- we're gonna talk about girl stuff for a bit.  

Are they gone?  No?  Maybe I need to throw a few choice words out to get rid of them.
PMS
cramps
bloating
feminine products
hormones

There.  Now are they gone?  Good!  Let's get down to business.

Toward the end of last year, I stumbled upon a blog called One Good Thing, and now I'm hooked.  Jillee writes about cleaning tips, good recipes, and homemade products.  Around the beginning of the year when people were talking about New Years resolutions, she wrote about giving up paper towels for a greener home.  Way down in the comments section (I can't find it anymore), someone mentioned a greener alternative to disposable feminine products. What?!?  There's an alternative to disposable feminine products!?!  I had no idea!

It makes total sense if you think about it.  Did you know that disposable feminine products have only been around for about 100 years?  It's true!  Before that, women found all kinds of ways to take care of business using whatever materials they had on hand (without filling up landfills).  In talking with a few of my female friends, I quickly discovered I was not the only one completely oblivious to reusable products.  I did a lot of research about various products and finally decided to take the plunge.  I have been using a reusable product for my last 3 cycles.  Can I just say I love it!
Now I know some of you are totally grossed out right now.  I understand.  This is a completely foreign concept to our generation (and previous generations too).  I was very unsure at first too and spent several weeks making the decision.  

I'm not going to go into a ton of detail here, but I wanted to get the word out that there are lots of alternatives to disposable products.  Think of all the waste women create during their fertile years, not to mention the waste of money!  If you are interested in knowing more about what I am using, how it works, pros and cons, etc- leave me a message or send me an email.  I'm warning you though, if you ask for more details, you're gonna get details.  I'm a biologist and totally don't mind discussing this kind of stuff :)  I hope to hear from you!  Ask any questions you want.  We can all do our part to live a little greener.  I'd also love to hear from any of you already taking advantage of these products.  What's working for you?

If you want to do a little research on your own, there are many helpful websites.  I used this website more than any other.  I found it to have the most useful information for the product I purchased.  Make sure you click through the links on the right side of the page under "Other Helpful Posts."  The comments are also very helpful because you get opinions from a wide variety of women.  There are many other websites too, but this one was very thorough. 
If you decide you are ready to make a purchase, this website was the cheapest I found.  Prices are similar all over the place, but this site has some products with free shipping and you can sometimes get a coupon through their facebook page or by signing up for their email list.  Now is the time to switch, save, and be green!

Update 3/6/14- I have been using the Lunette cup and homemade cloth pads as back up for over 2 years now.  I cannot tell you how much less I dread my period now.  My lady parts feel so much healthier because I'm not dried out or in any discomfort.  I've saved so much money, and I love knowing I have reduced waste as well.  I will never go back to disposables!  Here's an honest review that Cosmopolitan recently put out on their webpage.   It's a nice overview of available products and thoughts from a first time user.