On My Soapbox About A...Soap Box

Some of the things I wanted to post about, when I thought about doing this blog, was efforts and ideas to be a more zero-waste traveler. Up until COVID-19, we were a family that traveled quite often. Now, I don’t know when we will travel next. However, I imagine and hope that we will still take some “local” trips in the near future so there are still some travel-relevant changes and things to try out and post about. In preparing to travel during our last trip, I was reviewing what toiletries I needed to bring. I actually never really bought travel-sized, single-use toiletries on a regular basis but I do still have a small stash of random shampoos and lotions in the depths of my bathroom cabinet from who knows where. I think that my inventory of small bottles of toiletries has come mainly from hotels and samples from random places. In my thrifty mindset, I admit, I definitely used to take shampoo etc. when I would stay in hotels. As I transform into a more waste-reducing mindset, I plan to not only NOT take single-use hotel products but also to not even use single-use hotel products anymore. Those small bottles really are so very wasteful and good news, some major hotel chains are on board with doing something about it (click here)!

Although I never really bought travel-sized items, I did often use travel-sized reusable containers to fill up with my regular shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. It started more as an effort to save money rather than reduce waste, but I have found that these things often conflate. However, as I was packing, I realized that I did not have any more random samples of liquid body wash and since I had discontinued liquid body wash for the adults in my household, I needed a container to bring bar soap—a soap box. I chose this one for travel for a few reasons: 1) it has its own soap lift type of thing so that the soap doesn’t just sit in water and become gooey, 2) it has a tight band that wraps around and ensures tight and leak-free transport if the soap is not 100% dry, and 3) it’s cute and fits with my aesthetic. I really like this product, it has worked very well, and it will definitely be a part of my regular travel gear.

Enough Is Enough. Period.

Enough is Enough. Period. These words can refer to a lot of things and feel pretty relevant these days. Interpret them as they suit you. For me, right now, they refer to a lot of current events, they refer to a message I convey to my kids almost on a daily basis when I am at my wits’ end, they refer to the year 2020, and in the context of this blog, they refer to a literal period—AKA menstruation. This particular post is clearly more relevant for women and may also be TMI for some so please be forewarned. But I think it is a super important topic when trying to reduce waste.

I first started really thinking about period waste when I was a grad student and on a super tight budget of $40/week after all of my living expenses were paid (rent + bills). This budget was for groceries, going out (nearly impossible), toiletries, and anything else I may have wanted. Needless to say, it was tough. And there was one week when my period started and I realized that buying tampons was going to eat up a hefty chunk of my budget. I was pissed off. I was pissed off that women HAVE TO spend money on something that is as much part of their physiologies as breathing is. So I first started to think about why there are not sustainable and reusable menstruation products that would significantly reduce the cost of something that happens generally every month for many, many, many years. I went to researching it right away and unbeknownst to me, I discovered some products. I didn’t feel ready/interested enough to try a reusable pad as I hated pads anyways but I was super interested in a natural sponge. The second thing my research made me think about was the environmental impact. I was imagining how many women there are in the world and how most of them use some type of disposable menstruation product, several times a month, every month, for many, many, many years. A quick internet search can lead you to various articles about the environmental impact of how we tend to our periods. So to make a long story short, motivated by financial and environmental factors, I used a natural sea sponge for many years. The thing about sea sponges is that you have to be quite comfortable with your body and blood. Because there is not a string (unless you put one on), sometimes you have to reach for it when taking it out and then when you rinse it out there can obviously be a lot of blood on your hands, quite literally. You also need to have a decent water source near you for rinsing which makes it less than ideal in bathrooms with multiple stalls and just a few sinks, especially when a bathroom is full of people. I found myself in some awkward situations but surprisingly never had any embarrassing catastrophes. I also begun carrying a water bottle with me whenever I was on my period for the purpose of rinsing.

I think I stopped using a sponge after my first pregnancy, I can’t really remember. But my periods seemed heavier after having a baby and sponges just didn’t feel sufficient unless I also wore a pad and that essentially defeated the purpose. I also seemed more swayed by the potential risks of sponges that didn’t seem to affect me as much before, probably because any risk seemed more risky to me since becoming a mom. So then I started using tampons again. I didn’t have the same financial considerations anymore but I still thought a lot about the environmental impact so I used tampons without applicators, preferably organic. I did use panty liners on heavier days/nights but I tried to always buy the ones that were not individually wrapped in plastic. Once you start thinking about it there really is a lot of waste between the products themselves and the packaging. I read one statistic that said that it takes 500 to 800 years for an average nonorganic pad to decompose whereas a cotton tampon takes around 6 months. I didn’t fact check this and I don’t really need to, to know that it just makes sense that nonorganic materials will take A LOT longer to decompose. I also didn’t actually need any statistics to be motivated to make changes because I know myself how many products I need for one period then multiply that by 12 months (a year) and then by the average number of years a women menstruates and then by the average number of menstruating women there are on the earth (and more females are born every day)—it’s enough to realize that period products MUST generate an enormous amount of waste.

Fast-forward to present day. Over the last year I have been shifting to a more zero-waste way to tend to my period and I feel good about my system. FIRST, I bought some Thinx. I love Thinx. However, they definitely do not work for me as well as they are seemingly advertised (meaning I can’t use them alone except on exceptionally light days). But I don’t need to buy panty liners anymore and that is a big plus. SECOND, I started used a menstrual cup. I don’t know why it took me so long. I also don’t know why the first time I tried last year I couldn’t get it right, but I have the hang of it now and it works well. Although just as with a sponge, you have to be comfortable with your body and blood. And also just as with a sponge, I think I will be carrying water with me for use in public restrooms, just in case, as they can be messy sometimes. This is also where having the bidet is helpful. I realized though that I seemed to need to empty the cup on heavy days more frequently than I would need to change a super absorbent tampon so I still felt like I needed a bit more support than just the Thinx, especially at night. THIRD, I made some reusable pads. As I said before, I hate pads and I wasn’t ready to try reusable ones before but I thought for this purpose, as just a back-up, I could get onboard. I had a bunch of bamboo charcoal cloth diaper inserts which worked really well as diapers so I figured they would work well enough as back-up panty liners. So I cut some up and made panty liners. I rinse them out if they get soiled and then drop them in the laundry. So on my heavy days/nights I use a cup, Thinx, and a reusable pad. On medium days a cup and Thinx. And on light days, just Thinx. I still have some tampons around and probably will always make sure I do have some around for situations where I might feel better/safer using them. And I don’t feel bad or guilty about it. But it sure does feel good when I go through a whole period not having used any disposable products and not generating a single piece of waste. Period.

As a final note, the good thing about the plethora of menstruation products available is that there is a whole spectrum of changes that you can make to reduce period waste—you can create your own combo according to your own comfort level. These are the changes I can think of:

• use tampons with cardboard or biodegradable applicators instead of plastic applicators

• use tampons without applicators instead of with

• use tampons individually wrapped in paper instead of in plastic

• use a menstrual disc or menstrual cup or some other reusable product instead of a tampon

• use pads/liners that are not individually wrapped in plastic

• use reusable pads/liners instead of disposable one

• use period panties instead of disposable products

• use organic products if you are using disposable products

Happy Perioding.

Squeeze Please

In continued acknowledgement, honor, and support of Black Lives Matter, HERE is a little something to read about the intersection of climate and racism. The article indicates that “The rich have a bigger carbon footprint than the poor, but it is the poor who are more likely to be people of color in this country and who are often most vulnerable to the impact of climate change.” Yet another important perspective to consider.

*Awkward transition*

I think like most kids, my kids love squeeze pouches. And I assume like most parents, I find them to be extremely convenient, especially while on-the-go. But let’s face it, they are a money suck and super wasteful. Enter the reusable squeeze pouch. There are many, many, MANY different kinds in different shapes and sizes that exist out there. The ones you can see here in the pics are the ones that have worked well for me, for no particular reason. Here are some of the pros and cons I have realized:
PROS
less wasteful, less expensive, complete control over the ingredients so…ideally healthier
CONS
a bit annoying to open when washing, need to be prepped

As far as what to put in them, I usually just blend some combo of whatever I have that seems tasty and healthy. I usually mix some fruits and veggies and sometimes I add flax seeds, chia seeds, plain yogurt, oils…again, whatever I have that seems to make sense. And you can use fresh or frozen ingredients or some combination. My kids love them. I normally keep them in the freezer and then pop one in their lunch box or whatever bag of food and snacks I prepare for an outing. It also then serves as a kind of ice pack but then defrosts by lunch time. We are all a big fan of these.

*And if you happen to have a dehydrator, if you make a large amount, you can use the same puree to make fruit leathers…another yummy snack.

In (or On) Your Face

I have used cotton balls for beauty-related things probably since I started doing beauty-related things. So probably since junior high school…at least for nail polish remover. My most frequent usage has always been for applying face toner. I also sometimes used them to remove eye makeup. For many, many, many years I would halve them because I realized that I almost never needed a whole one. So in my world, particularly as a poor student for so many years, I was saving money and being less wasteful. But still, that’s A LOT of cotton balls over the years. At some point, I moved on to organic cotton balls when I felt that I could afford them; I figured they were better for the environment and probably my skin as well. And then more recently I discovered reusable bamboo makeup remover pads—even better for the environment, my face, and my wallet. I now use them for my toner. They do the job really well and I love them. They are soft but also with a very, very slight amount of friction. The texture is kind of like a baby washcloth. I bought 32 of the ones that are just over 3 inches (they often come in sets of 16) and I keep a stack of them in a basket and then use another basket to put the used ones in (see photos). I then drop them in the washing machine with my laundry whenever I need to. I think many places that sell them provide a mesh bag for laundry to keep them all together, but I found that they did not come out very well-washed and kind of stuck together in a mashed up ball. Right now I only have white ones but I have seen black ones too. I imagine some might prefer these for eye makeup or nail polish, which might stain…so they just won’t look as dirty after you wash them…if that matters. I have also used them for nail polish remover and they work well enough. I set aside a few exclusively for this purpose. I am a fan.

Back to Basics

While most of us are still staying at home and physical distancing, I thought I would take a detour from my originally planned path and focus on topics that could be beneficial in this situation, such as reducing the need to buy certain ‘essential’ things. Aside from being better for the environment and our wallet, it’s particularly relevant to our current situation so that we don’t have to go to stores as much (for those who are concerned) AND so that we don’t have to potentially scramble and worry about whether or not these kinds of things are in stock anywhere. We all know toilet paper has been a big one and I WILL be posting on that but not now.

The unpaper towel, as it seems to commonly be called, is essentially a cloth. It is a cloth used instead of a paper towel. That’s really it. It is basically what people used before paper towels were invented and what many people around the world still use. So it’s nothing new or inventive. You can buy them expressly made for this purpose or you can also just buy/use cloth napkins or washcloths or kitchen rags. Some people sell ‘fancy’ ones that snap together and can be rolled like a roll of paper towels so that you can still use a paper towel holder. It had been on my mind for awhile to make some unpaper towels and I finally did! The current pandemic lit a fire under me and I pulled out my sewing machine and got to it. For the fabric, I actually bought flat sheets at a thrift store several months back before everything was shut down. I was initially going to buy some new fabric but in the spirit of zero waste, I opted to reuse. I feel super lucky that I found the ones that I did so quickly. I found white flannel and gray jersey sheets—the exact types of fabric and neutral colors I wanted to try. I wouldn’t recommend regular cotton sheets or fabric. The flannel and jersey absorb nicely. I’ve also seen some made with terry cloth or old towels. I washed the sheets really well and then I cut them into rectangles which measured approximately 12 inches x 9.75 inches. I did not plan the size ahead of time or measure when I cut. I only know the size because I just measured them, just now, to help convey a sense of size. I cut the sheets in half then those halves in half and so on and so on until the size made sense for my usage. I didn’t undo any of the seams at the top or sides of the sheet. I wanted this to be easy. I think the sheets were queen-sized so I got a fair amount out of them. I did cut them all the same size more or less though because I wanted to make them 2-ply. After that, I put 2 rectangles together, right sides facing out, and just sewed them together with a zigzag edge. I used contrasting thread just for an accent. And that’s it. All done.

Figuring out a system of usage is another thing. I don’t really like to have cloths strewn all over the place. I store the clean ones, ready for use, rolled up in a wire basket on the kitchen counter. I made a lot of them so there always seems to be enough in circulation and we don’t ever seem to be running out. After they are used, they go in a 2.5 gallon trash can under the sink that serves as a cloth and rag hamper. I also am in the process of getting a small counter-top-rag-drying-rack-thingy because sometimes we only use one corner of a cloth to clean something but it is not really dirty. The one used spot can easily be rinsed and then hung to dry for reuse. But I think we pretty much have it down now and I love that I don’t have to worry about buying paper towels.