Because I promised to take care of her!

[Klayton]

Well, lets talking about the one thing most men AVOID at all cost.

The Mrs monthly visit. You betya. It isn't going to stop ladies and gentleman when SHTF (not unless your in starvation mode and your bodyfat is below 3%). So we MUST decide what we are going to do. Some of us, including yours truly, has a little girl that will someday learn a key difference of little girls and young women.

So, looking at tampons to last a lifetime,,,, hmm thats ALOT of space and ALOT of $$$.
Looking at maxipads to last a lifetime, thats even MORE space and still ALOT of $$$.

Well, here are two solutions I am thinking about:

http://www.mooncup.co.uk/about-the-mooncup.html

The above would be an item to allow the ladies of your home to be able to do daily stuff without the ever uncomfortable pad choice. Activity based solution.

For nights, and to allow their woman parts a break, I am thinking of getting these:

http://www.gladrags.com/p-48-gladrags-bucket-kit.aspx

These from what I have read are terribly large in size but VERY VERY effective. That would lead me to have these for my ladies for hours of sleep, for reasons just mentioned. Sleep (minimal movement) based solution.

So dip that hat brim down, take a deep breath, and lets talk about something we ALL know we will have to "deal with" some day...

And so the discussion begins:

[BAK]

I actually spoke to my girlfriend about this once. Both of us are from the former communist countries in eastern Europe. Her response was "Pfft, I first saw a tampon when I was 16". Apparently back then women used cotton gauze for this purpose. The biggest issue according to her was washing it since you couldn't afford to throw it out every time. Additionally since you had to line dry it (no washing/drying machines), you HAD to make sure that it was super white otherwise you'd be the talk of the neighborhood. How fun must that have been.

[MustangGal]

There is another product similar to the moon cup - I have never heard of it - called the diva cup. Most women I have heard talk about it, have very positive things to say.

The diva cup, along with the cloth pads are very popular in cloth diapering circles. They may be bulky, but I think they would have to be better than what was available a hundred years ago.

[Benn Gleck]

OK Klayton turn in your man card.:)

[Bull]

It sounds like there may be a market for one of us entrepreneurs to take advantage of and develop a new product. I think this is an important issue for a woman, for many reasons. But honestly, I would like t hear the woman chime in on what they think. I simply don't know what would be good. Was there ever a time when woman used something that could be re-used, like when you used the old diapers, you had to wash, rather than the disposable ones? Surely there was something. I'm sure there was something, even like the gauze that was described above, but one would think there should be a better, more comfortable, and effective alternative. You've hit on an important thing to consider, so to me, it seems that to narrow it down, you have to think about what would be best to be re-usable, or what would be best to be disposable. Either one obviously has it's own, unique pros and cons. But that seems like a good starting point to narrow down the best possibilities.

[arcangel911]

Somehow in the coming collapse, I think women will take what you have on hand. Beggars cant be choosey. Hopefully, the ladies have tried them out beforehand, but what you have on hand maybe the only thing they can get for a while.

[eeyore]

When i have seen this talked about on other forums, the ladies said that those cups caused more infections. I have no idea.

Thanks for the link about the pads. Some where i have a how too on them, but i imagine that it would easier to at least start with a manufactured product and then switch to a home made product later.

[MustangGal]

http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?ref=auto&q=cloth+menstrual+pads&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

Lots of stuff available through Etsy. This is stuff that is mostly made by work-at-home-moms. Trying to earn a bit of extra money so they can stay home with their kids. They most likely cloth diaper their children, so they will be very familiar with which fabrics are most absorbant and which are waterproof.

ETA: Disposable pads and tampons don't have to be terribly expensive. If you have a Walgreens nearby, you can combine coupons, register rewards, and sales and get them very cheap - often even free.

To get even into more "men don't wanna know" territory, post child birth - if your wife/woman/beloved/significant other are of "child bearing age", you might consider laying in a supply of preemie prefold cloth diapers - for the Mom, not the baby. In that instance, the diva cup is a big NO-NO and the cloth pads probably won't be sufficent.

[Klayton]

OK Klayton turn in your man card.:)

LOL did that a loooong time ago when I let my first daughter paint my face with makeup... how humiliating...

[Klayton]

It sounds like there may be a market for one of us entrepreneurs to take advantage of and develop a new product. I think this is an important issue for a woman, for many reasons. But honestly, I would like t hear the woman chime in on what they think. I simply don't know what would be good. Was there ever a time when woman used something that could be re-used, like when you used the old diapers, you had to wash, rather than the disposable ones? Surely there was something. I'm sure there was something, even like the gauze that was described above, but one would think there should be a better, more comfortable, and effective alternative. You've hit on an important thing to consider, so to me, it seems that to narrow it down, you have to think about what would be best to be re-usable, or what would be best to be disposable. Either one obviously has it's own, unique pros and cons. But that seems like a good starting point to narrow down the best possibilities.

Both items I listed are re-useable after cleaning Bull. :)

[Klayton]

http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade?...ery&ship_to=US

Lots of stuff available through Etsy. This is stuff that is mostly made by work-at-home-moms. Trying to earn a bit of extra money so they can stay home with their kids. They most likely cloth diaper their children, so they will be very familiar with which fabrics are most absorbant and which are waterproof.

ETA: Disposable pads and tampons don't have to be terribly expensive. If you have a Walgreens nearby, you can combine coupons, register rewards, and sales and get them very cheap - often even free.

To get even into more "men don't wanna know" territory, post child birth - if your wife/woman/beloved/significant other are of "child bearing age", you might consider laying in a supply of preemie prefold cloth diapers - for the Mom, not the baby. In that instance, the diva cup is a big NO-NO and the cloth pads probably won't be sufficent.

MutangGal, if you're referring to after childbirth, I have seen women slightly wet maxipads, freeze them and use that to bring down swelling, ease pain, and then also absorb.. well you know....

[Karen]

Why not just sew your own reusable pads? It can't be that difficult. You could make whatever size or thickness you need. I would guess most folks here could sew such simple things as these.

[Patriotic Sheepdog]

Naturally Cozy Washable Feminine Napkins/Cloth Menstrual Pads.

From their website...

Naturally Cozy Feminine Napkins/Cloth Menstrual Pads are made with absorbent cotton and terry cloth inserts sandwiched between a water-proof layer and the highest quality soft, comfortable flannel, fastened with sturdy plastic snaps. The insert fabric is triple stitched to the flannel layer insuring no bunching occurs during washing or use. Napkins are double stitched at edges for a superior seam binding. Available in your choice of printed flannel or 100% organic cotton flannel.

Some of their products...

Naturally Cozy Washable Feminine Napkin/Cloth Menstrual Pad, Individual -- $9.50 per pad
Naturally Cozy Overnight/Postpartum -- $14.00 per pad
Naturally Cozy Washable Feminine Napkin/ Cloth Menstrual Pads - Set -- $110.00 per set (11 pads)
Naturally Cozy Panty Liners -- $40.00 per set (14 panty liners)

[SCinPNW]

Klayton, I just wanted to thank you for starting this thread. This is something I have thought about over the years and looked into for myself and my daughter. I have even purchased the Diva cup, but did not really care for it. I also looked into the cloth pads but did not want to invest the money so I have invested in paper products. With that said, this past summer I purchased a sewing machine for some projects I wanted to work on and this thread inspired me to start making my own cloth pads. I found some websites that offer directions and patterns and decided to "just do it" as Nike says. ;-)

Anyway, yesterday I went to Jo-Ann's fabrics as they are having a huge sale right now and I purchased flannel, heavy terry cloth, this flannel-like material that has a thin piece of plastic running through the middle of two-layers to make it water proof, and cheese cloth. The cheese cloth came as a recommendation from the lady at the fabric counter. She was from some other country such as Vietnam or somewhere, not sure as English was not her first language. Anyway, she asked me what I was making and when I explained she said that in her country the women liked using cheese cloth because it was more absorbent and it dried faster. So I decided to add that to my cloth pads and see how it goes. Last night I started cutting everything out and will start sewing them together today. I will let you all know how it goes. Also, I ended up making my own pattern which was very easy.

It feels good to have one more thing I can check off of my list.

Thanks again,
SC

[slygirl38]

I agree, I really have to say I didnt think about this and Im a woman lol, but i will def make my own thats a simple task.