Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Green Living Tuesday

I am beginning a new weekly topic of ideas and tips for "Green Living".  It is a topic close to my heart.  Our family is very conservation minded.  Not only is it vital due to our homesteading and wanting to conserve the resources we have on our land, but it economically makes sense.  When you consider the Proverbs 31 woman, she was very good at conserving her resources and exercised careful stewardship over them. 

A couple of years ago, I read a blog about cloth pads.  My first reaction was "ewwww, ick, and yuck"!  After that initial knee-jerk reaction, I thought about it.  I read on a couple of website where the cloth pads were sold and learned about how women use the the pads dealt with the main issue I wondered about: using them when away from home did they have to worry about leakage.  I found that they are just as reliable as the store bought.

One problem that I have always had with store bought was the soreness they caused.  Something in the materials used always caused me problems.  So, I decided to try out the idea of using cloth.  I traced around one of my store bought pads and made a couple from material that I had on hand.  I used 2 different colors of flannel so that I could tell the top from the bottom.  Inside, I used cotton batting and a piece of water barrier fabric that I had left over from previous sewing projects.  With abit of skepticism, I tried the pads out.  The first thing that I noticed was the pads are not bulky feeling like the store bought ones tend to be.  They were very comfortable.  They were every bit as absorbant. I was even able to use them post-partum without any problems.  During my pregnancy, they were effective also when the baby was playing soccer with my bladder.  Caring for the pads is easy.  I have a container of cold soapy water that I soak them in.  I usually rinse them in cold water first, but you wouldn't have to if you didn't want to.  The main rule is to never use bleach as it will cause staining. 

I have been using cloth now for a couple of years and love it.  For me, it is no different than using the cloth diapers on our little ones.  You simply carry a "wet bag" to put the soiled pads into when you are away from home.  When you get home, put them in the soak container.

If you are interested in trying these out, there are websites that teach you how to make your own.  You can also buy them online from Belle.  She uses some really cute fabric for the ones that she makes.  There are also a few other items that she has on the site that may be of interest.

When I think of the waste of money spent each year (on average $5 per month or $60 per year for one person) to buy the disposible pads, I cringe.  To some, that may not be alot of money but think about how many years a woman buys pads.  From teenager through her 50's, a span of about 40 years, that $60 a year becomes $2,400.00 that is spent over that woman's lifetime for a product that is single-use and ends up in the landfills.

When making the switch over to cloth, you will want to start out with no less than 2 dozen pads.  This will eliminate the need to launder them every day.  If you can get a wet bag, do that also.  A wet bag is simply a water-proof bag to carry the soiled pads in.  Many of the women who make the cloth papds also make the wet bags.  If you can't get one however you can use a cosmetic zippered bag or anything that is water-proof.