They’re eco friendly, sustainable, natural, a green option, and if you make your own from old towels or t-shirts, they’re a self sufficient project to get stuck into, too.

I’m talking about washable sanitary towels guys and gals. I’ve been using them for years and I LOVE them.
They are cute (my favourite one is the purple one with stars and the moon on it, closely followed by the leopard print one. Or maybe the white one with the red hearts on it), soft and comfortable, don’t make me sweaty and stinky, don’t rub in the wrong places and most delightful of all, they don’t fill up the landfill with plastic that will take years to decompose.

Oh, and I never have to make a mad dash to somewhere at silly o’clock because I forgot to get supplies in.

When you consider the average woman uses around 17,000 items of sanitary protection in her lifetime; that’s an awful lot of stuff filling our landfill or being flushed into our sewerage system. Much of which ends up washed onto our beautiful beaches. (That’s an image to keep in mind when you hear a horrified reaction from people about using reusable sanitary protection.)

Every day in the UK, approximately 2.5 million tampons, 1.4 million sanitary towels and 0.7 million panty liners are disposed of either in the bin or down the toilet.

I’m saving a whole heaping pile of money too. My pads have cost me about 50 pounds (something has just gone wrong with my pound sign key - grrrrr) and I’ve had them for 5 years. That’s less than I would spend in one year if I was buying brand name disposable sanitary towels.

For you lovely seamstresses out there, you can make your own. The best instructions I have found online are on http://www.tinybirdsorganics.com

If you’re a tampons gal and can’t bear the thought of using pads, then why not try the mooncup? It’s a bell shaped menstrual cup around two inches long and made from soft silicone rubber. It is worn internally. You just take it out and empty it, wash it and put it back in. They cost around 18 pounds and last for several years. You can buy them in chemists.

Toxic shock syndrome from tampons results in 2-3 deaths every year. That is 2-3 too many. Switching to the mooncup takes away that risk.

As a further bonus, many women who switch to natural products like these report less cramping and reduced menstrual flow.

Rachael Hertogs sells washable pads made from fair trade organic cotton and hemp. (hemp is 4 times more absorbant than cotton, so use this if your flow is heavy or for night time). http://www.rachaelhertogs.co.uk

If you don’t want to use inserts, then check out the range of all in one pads at Ella’s House. http://www.ehnappies.co.uk Click on the ‘minx pads’ link.

And please, if you are a SAHM in the Uk who makes pads to sell, please contact me - I’d love to support your work and link to you here
If you want to search for them online, I have a tip for you. Many places that sell pads are washable nappy stockists, so put this in your search string too
Are you a reusable gal? I’d love to hear your experiences!

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