In honor of Menstrual Hygiene Day, I want to share the contents of my period bag! Every menstruating person should carry one. I just recently put one together this year after 10 years of getting periods and boy, I wish I had done it sooner. When I’m prepared for my period, I feel way more comfortable and clean. Ever been caught by the Red Sea in the middle of a public restroom? Here are some things you can carry with you so that you never have to resort to the toilet paper nest ever again.
1. Emanui Menstrual Cup Cleaner - If you use menstrual cups, you need a cup cleaner. I tried to get into cups before, but they ended up living in my bedroom drawer because emptying them in public was such a disaster. I’ve seen a few by different brands, but none seem to have a design like this one. This cup cleaner not only saves you a lot of mess in public restrooms, but it can also be used to sanitize your cup between uses! If you don’t want to dedicate an entire pot in your kitchen to cup cleaning, just fill Emanui with water and pop it in the microwave for 3 minutes.
2. Saalt Menstrual Cup - This cup. My god. I haven’t experienced any leaks since I started using this brand. I started with the Diva Cup and I could never get it to work for me. It rarely opened and the suction never held up, causing a lot of leaks. I might as well have not been wearing a cup at all. But I enjoy the clean feeling of no pad and not being plugged with cotton, so I took a quiz online to see what cup would be right for me. Three different quizzes paired me with this goddess goblet right here. This shape fits my body perfectly. Saalt also works with WISER, an organization that provides sustainable period products for girls in rural Kenya. This is a big deal. So many young girls in this area don’t have access to proper menstrual products, causing many to miss school or risk infection by attempting to manage their period with unsafe materials. When you buy from Saalt, you support your menstrual health and the menstrual health of girls across the globe. (Crochet pattern: Uterus Menstrual Cup Cozy by Schmeel)
3. Midol and Summer’s Eve Towelettes - There will always be cramps for me. I’ve accepted my fate, but that shouldn’t suggest that I have to endure it drug free. I have also accepted that toilet paper is not enough to feel clean after emptying my cup or changing my pad, so I keep these baby wipes for adults on me.
4. Lola Liners - These are 100% organic cotton pantyliners with plant-based bioplastic and non-toxic adhesive. No fragrances, dyes, or bleach. It’s refreshing to see a brand that doesn’t shove the flowers and pink in my face. Something about the heavy “girl power” narrative that most pad companies use in their commercials/packaging rubs me the wrong way. “Yeah, I’m a girl and yeah, I’m on my period, but I can still do things!” Anyone who menstruates knows they are capable of doing things while they’re on their period. Who is this commercial really for? Not everyone who menstruates identifies as female. Not every person who identifies as female wants their power to be juvenilized or labeled as separate from anyone else’s power. Why not call it “woman power” or just “power”? How many adults requested for their pads to be bright pink with flowers?! That’s something a child would want, right? That’s something a man would design for a woman. I don’t know. Just rubs me the wrong way. Give me plain, solid color wrappers please. Lola is a woman-owned company, by the way.
5. Always Pure Cotton Flexfoam Pads - They’re not flowers, okay? They’re cotton. My previous rant still stands. The flexfoam is amazing. Other pads left me feeling kind of swampy in the pants. Not these. They are also unscented. Who decided to make scented pads in the first place? I keep pads close during my period. The menstrual cup is my main squeeze, but some days are more sensitive than others. Every few cycles, my first day will not facilitate entry under any circumstances. I just don’t feel like stuffing anything up there. That’s where these bad boys come in... or don’t. I haven’t made the transition to period underwear or reusable pads just yet. I need more cleaning information and dinero before I take that leap. In the meantime, I use these.
