Taking the clutter out of periods

Periods and all the paraphernalia that go with them, don’t usually come to mind when thinking about life efficiency. I certainly hadn’t thought that there was anything more that could be done in the area but then I was introduced to menstrual cups and my eyes were opened.

I began using a menstrual cup in January 2015 and it didn’t take long to become a convert. In the beginning it was a bit of a change, fast forward to the present and I can’t imagine using pads or tampons regularly anymore (to be honest they were a bit of change too but much longer ago so I’d forgotten).

On top of being good for the environment and changing the lives of women in developing countries, menstrual cups are an organised person’s dream. Here are a few ways that I’ve found that menstrual cups can support an organised lifestyle:

  1. Outfit choices remain the same during my period – sometimes certain underwear has to be worn with specific outfits, but with a menstrual cup I no longer have to alter my outfit choices to suit the time of the month. It was always frustrating while using pads to grab a dress -that required shape wear- or pants -that I knew needed a g-string- and sigh when I remembered that I needed to stick to the outfits that only required basic underwear. No more!
  2. Underwear is kept clean – once I was fully on a roll with my menstrual cup, leaks became a thing of the past. I no longer have ‘good underwear’ that I save for when I’m not having my period and ‘I don’t care if I have to toss it underwear’, I just have underwear now.
  3. There’s no trash – no more sneaking wrappers to a bin after applying a pad or tampon and there’s no need to carry around extra supplies.
  4. There’s only one small item to store when not having a period – plus there’s no more having to store a variety of pads to accommodate the different levels of a cycle. I keep a few ‘just in case I feel like reminding myself why I love my menstrual cup’ pads or tampons in stock and that’s it. It’s nice to have some more free space in the bathroom.
  5. Travel packing becomes a lot more compact – if I’m anticipating having my period while travelling, my menstrual cup takes up far less space than pads which is always a good thing. Also, it saves me from purchasing additional pads if my period comes surprisingly early while overseas and then having to store those when I return.

My menstrual cup cost me $60 from a health food store. It’s been about 18 months now so that works out to roughly $3.33 each month. In comparison to the amount I would have spent on pads, say $3.99 per 12 pads (Chemist Warehouse price), that works out to $71.82 – so I’m already coming out on top. Considering that a menstrual cup can be used for up to 10 years, apparently, I’m looking at my cup costing about 50 cents per month by that stage. Amazing!