GREEN YOUR: PERIOD.

Okay, I admit it.  I’m a Diva.

Not the prima-donna-attention-hungry-my-way-or-the-highway type {well, maybe a little}, but the DivaCup-wearing-never-have-to-stand-in-line-with-a-box-of-tampons-again kind.

WARNING! This post delves deep into world of feminine hygiene.  If you are uncomfortable with words like VAGINA or MENSTRUAL CYCLE, squeal at the thought of BLOOD, thank god you are a MAN and don’t have to know what TAMPONS are, or are freaked about by FEMALE ANATOMY then this post is not for you.  Cover your eyes, plug your ears, sing La La La and hit your back button now!

Not sure why you’d have to sing, unless you read out loud, but that would be pretty hard to do with your hands over your eyes now wouldn’t it?

Still here?

Alrighty then.

The DivaCup is a small {ha!} silicone cup that you insert into your vagina to collect blood during your menses.

Still here?

Good.

I know, right?  The first time I saw it I thought, You want me to put that where?

Trust me it’ll fit.  And you won’t feel it.

Which is the same thing I can say for some former loves.  And I ain’t referring to the fitting.

The first hundred tries took some finagling to get the thing into place.  I’m kidding, it only took 20 or so attempts to get it right.  After some internet research and thorough direction reading I finally figured it out.  Who knew you could learn something from actually reading the directions?

Proper insertion is all about the bend.

They call it the “U” fold.  Here’s what you do.

Seems simple enough.  But, it does take some practice.

Don’t fret, you’ll get it.  Remember how freaked you were the first time your mum showed you a tampon? Ah! The horror! I remember it vividly.

It’s kind of the same thing.  After you stop hyperventilating and uncover your eyes once you realize your mum isn’t actually going to show you her coochie coo, it’s no big thing.  Just another part of daily life in the wonderful world of being a woman.  {Wish I had thoroughly read the directions on that creation application before checking the box for female.}

Now I know what a lot of you are thinking.  Eww! Gross.

Well, yes and no.  You have a vagina.  It bleeds.  Deal with it. {You should have read directions better too.}

It’s no worse than changing a diaper.  Actually, I would much rather deal with a DivaCup for 5 days out of the month than look at baby shit 5+ times a day every day all month.  Just sayin’.

Know what’s grosser than gross?

Tampons in the trash.

Never have to deal with that when you use the DivaCup.  Your husband will thank you.

Twice a day you empty, wash and replace.  That’s it.

You can sleep with it in too.  In that case you’ll need to empty in the morning, so make that three times a day.  Morning, noon and night.  Depending on your flo.

Mister bought me that off Etsy.  Ain’t he sweet?

Flo’s got a point though.  With the DivaCup you always are prepared.

No more digging through your purse for tampons or, dreading the moment you realize there are none in your purse as you sit empty handed in a public bathroom stall.  Toilet paper does not do the job!

In this situation everything you need is already with you.  Just empty the DivaCup into the toilet, wipe clean with toilet paper and reinsert.  Whew! Catastrophe averted.

You don’t even have to take your purse to the bathroom with you!  Or try to discreetly stash a stick in your pocket.  Or waste a bunch of toilet paper wrapping a used one up so no one has to look at it in the trash.  Or ever have to buy tampons again!  How sweet is that?

I know I sure don’t miss standing in line with a box of tampons when inevitably some hot guy gets in line behind me.  Happens every damn time, I swear.  How you doin’?

Ain’t doin’ that every again.

Then there’s the whole green aspect.

I’m talking greenbacks.  $$$  Dinero.  Moola.  Money.  As in the money you will save by using this product.

Most women spend between $150 to $200 annually on disposable feminine hygiene products.  The DivaCup costs up to $40.00.  The website says to replace it annually, but silicone lasts a long time.  I started using it over 3 years ago and am only on my second.  I’d still be on my first if the dog hadn’t ate it.  {Strange, but true.}

Money aside, let’s talk about the other kind of green for a moment.

Women, on average, experience a lifetime menstruation span of 41 years (11-52). From use of disposable feminine hygiene, an estimated 12 billion sanitary pads and 7 billion tampons are dumped into the North American environment each year (1998). More than 170,000 tampon applicators were collected along U.S. coastal areas between 1998 and 1999.

Most tampons and pads contain surfactants, adhesives and additives. In addition, most pads contain polyethylene plastic whose production is a pollutant. Also, dioxin, a known carcinogen, is a by-product of the bleaching process of tampons containing rayon. In landfills, many of these substances can leach into the environment (groundwater, streams and lakes) causing serious pollution and health concerns.  - DivaCup.com

This was an easy choice for me.

I can’t afford to do a lot of things I would like to help the environment – like solar panels, a hybrid car, or geothermal heat, but I can afford to do this.  In fact, it saves me money.  Now that’s going green.

EcoStiletto’s Rachel Breaks Down the Reusable Cup from EcoStiletto on Vimeo.

I was not compensated nor did I receive product for this post.
I just love my DivaCup and felt like telling the world about it.

If you’re ready to make the switch, you can find a deal on the DivaCup at Amazon, but I recommend purchasing from Lunapads.com.
You can also find it in stores locally.

Tagged as: GREEN YOUR: BATHROOM {GROOMING - HAVE AN ECO PERIOD}, PRODUCT REVIEWS: PERSONAL PRODUCTS {OF THE FEMALE PERSUASION}, YOU CAN DO IT: GOING GREEN, YOU CAN DO IT: SUSTAINABLE LIVING {WASTE REDUCTION}