Things I've completely stopped buying Pt. 1

for the sake of my wallet and for the planet!

Sanitary pads/tampons

As a female species, the idea of spending SO MUCH MONEY on something that is beyond our control is appalling.

I am ultra lucky (or maybe health-wise unlucky idk) that my cycle is like 4 days maximum with the last day being a few drops already, could deal with medium sized pads and use maybe 3 pads a day kinda volume. Even so, at Venus (y'know the cheap necessities shop), it sets me aside like $4.50 a month just to contain my blood and throw away the napkin.

That's basically about 10 napkins (for me la) and $4.50 INTO THE DUSTBIN EVERY MONTH.

What about those who bleed A LOT and for longer period of time? I have friends who use the panties or diaper lookalike just to prevent leakage at night, imagine the larger amount of waste?

I'm not dissing people on the usage ah, this is biologically bo bian one. I'm just commenting from a resources point of view and I completely feel the pain for their wallets, the planet and sometimes even physical period pain.

But one day I decided to bite the bullet and just invest in a menstrual cup. At $50, this would have paid for itself in 10 months. Some people also invested in period panties but because I don't want to waste the panties away, I also bought reusable menstrual pads that can be attached on any underwear. Why the pads? Cause sometimes I don't have a clean toilet to pour the blood away and clean my hand so the pad is there to collect the flowovers. It's enough for me without needing to change out the pad in a day. If your flow is much heavier, you might need to figure out how to manage it logistically.

Let's just say you're interested in the approach but Asian culture was really a pain in the ass. Example ah, my MIL used to complain that I was washing my pads in the washing machine (2nd wash after hand washing it beforehand) saying that it's bad luck for my husband but then hor, persistence and the increase in quality of life made her shuddup eventually.

I have used menstrual cup and pad combo for about 6 or 7 years in total and I have saved more than $300? No more throwing pads down the landfill? Also cotton and non bleached stuff is just better for your health in general.

Doing my part through #underconsumption