Quick question

[conuly]

When you are on your period (or when somebody you know has her period, and you actually know this), how many pads do you use every day? Because my getting paid and my getting ready for that time of month happened to coincide, happily, but buying enough for a full week is going to cost a lot more than I want, so I figured that for one month I could just wash laundry more often, and add more next month, and so on, until I have as many as I want - right?

But, for the life of me, I can't remember how many pads I go through daily. Well, it's not like I can't just buy pads if I get too few to start, so... how many?

Edit: Damn, I'm stupid sometimes. I meant to have a number of slots to say "you need less" in those questions. Well, if you think I'll need less, tell me in comments.

[Poll #1072634]

Edit: Seems a lot of people use about 4 a day, and I'd probably want an extra big/thick one for overnight, because I like my sheets. Okay. I can do that. I have great sympathy for those of you who change your pads much more often than most do (and me, to be frank) - you're either very heavy, or much more fastidious than the rest of us.

Comments

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

Cloth pads don't have to be fully laundered before re-wearings within the same cycle. I rinse mine, then soak them for about a day, and hang them to dry I re-wear them if needed, and then launder at the end of my cycle.

Note: I do not use AIO pads. I know they take longer to soak out and to dry, so if you're talking about AIO pads, this may not apply.

[conuly]

Yes I am, and thank you for the information. However, I really can't afford to buy more than a few day's worth right now (and my period really does last just about a full week, though it's not as heavy as it used to be, which is good), so I don't think soaking a full day is practical right now.

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

Are you buying commercial cloth pads? It's much easier (well, I mean cheaper) to come up with a full set if you make them yourself or buy homemade ones on eBay.

I made a set of 6 covers and 6 liners (2 each of medium, heavy, and night, for both covers and liners) from organic cotton and it only cost $5. We bought enough fabric for about 10 people and split the cost, so I'm not sure how that would work on a smaller scale.

I bought a set of 5 flannel covers and 5 hemp liners on eBay for something like $10-12. These two sets are more than enough for me (also with a full week-long period), so I haven't looked for any on eBay recently. The price could be much different now, though I'm sure it's still going to be cheaper than commercial.

As for a full day of soaking, I'm not even sure that would be enough for AIO anyway (but I'm also not sure how they will do going into the laundry without being soaked out first). This is one of the reasons I don't like AIO (the other being that I like to be able to change only the cover or the liner if only one part needs it, instead of having to "waste" a whole pad).

[conuly]

Yes, I know, but I really don't feel up to sewing anything right now. And, it'd take longer - first I'd have to get fabric, which wouldn't be such a big deal except I end my day so late. Then cutting and sewing, which is a night's work or two, and... gah. Another time, maybe as my month-long project.

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean there. I've been meaning to sew some for ages! It's not because I need more, but because I prefer the cut and fabric of my cotton pads to the flannel/hemp ones.

Well, whatever way you go, here's a laundering tip (sorry if you already know this): Don't use fabric softener sheets or liquids on loads with your pads, because it harms their absorbency. (Maybe you already don't use fabric softener at all, I don't know. I don't use it, but instead put a little bit of vinegar and water in the rinse agent holder instead.)

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

-redundant instead

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

I don't personally own a vagina, but were I to have one, this is most likely the solution that I would utilize.

http://www.keeper.com/

[conuly]

I don't much like having things stuck up in me, and I'm not spending a lot of money to get a big thing that lasts 10 years to stick up in me... unless it vibrates.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

hmmm... If only they could make a product that could do both...

...

On second thought, that sounds like a messy idea.

[peebs1701.livejournal.com]

I'm a Divacup (http://www.divacup.com) lady myself.

[latenightparty.livejournal.com]

Me too. I haven't relied on pads in so long that I couldn't remember enough to answer the poll!

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

Perhaps one of these days I'll get a sex change and then I'll be able to compare both products and make a decision for myself, but it's clearly not something that will occur in the foreseeable future.

On a mostly unrelated note, I believe that in the future, sex changes will not be surgical, but will be much more similar to the ways that animals that change their sex accomplish the feat... Which I would imagine is somewhat painful, but not unbearably so.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

And your icon is amazing.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

your icon is terrifying...

...in an "if only I could come up with a justifiable reason to steal it, I would in an instant" sort of way.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

You have enough loyal friend here that if you needed us to paypal you pad money, you know that we would.

[peebs1701.livejournal.com]

I bet there would be fewer MTFs if periods came along with the deal. Or maybe doctors would just start throwing in endometrial ablation free.

WRT the icon, it is freely stealable. Credit is in my userinfo. :)

[conuly]

And I love you all for it :) But I *can* buy these myself... it'll just take a few months to have a good stash built up. That's okay.

(Now, if anybody's prepared to front me $75 to replace my wrap which seems to be lost, or to come to my house and *find* my wrap... that's another story. But that's also quite a bit of money, more than I feel like asking for. I'll replace it on the cheap. Same quality, not as pretty a fabric.)

[thornleaf.livejournal.com]

I sincerely hope there is no female performance artist with a penchant for bodily fluids reading this.

:)

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

Cloth pads don't have to be fully laundered before re-wearings within the same cycle. I rinse mine, then soak them for about a day, and hang them to dry I re-wear them if needed, and then launder at the end of my cycle.

Note: I do not use AIO pads. I know they take longer to soak out and to dry, so if you're talking about AIO pads, this may not apply.

[conuly]

Yes I am, and thank you for the information. However, I really can't afford to buy more than a few day's worth right now (and my period really does last just about a full week, though it's not as heavy as it used to be, which is good), so I don't think soaking a full day is practical right now.

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

Are you buying commercial cloth pads? It's much easier (well, I mean cheaper) to come up with a full set if you make them yourself or buy homemade ones on eBay.

I made a set of 6 covers and 6 liners (2 each of medium, heavy, and night, for both covers and liners) from organic cotton and it only cost $5. We bought enough fabric for about 10 people and split the cost, so I'm not sure how that would work on a smaller scale.

I bought a set of 5 flannel covers and 5 hemp liners on eBay for something like $10-12. These two sets are more than enough for me (also with a full week-long period), so I haven't looked for any on eBay recently. The price could be much different now, though I'm sure it's still going to be cheaper than commercial.

As for a full day of soaking, I'm not even sure that would be enough for AIO anyway (but I'm also not sure how they will do going into the laundry without being soaked out first). This is one of the reasons I don't like AIO (the other being that I like to be able to change only the cover or the liner if only one part needs it, instead of having to "waste" a whole pad).

[conuly]

Yes, I know, but I really don't feel up to sewing anything right now. And, it'd take longer - first I'd have to get fabric, which wouldn't be such a big deal except I end my day so late. Then cutting and sewing, which is a night's work or two, and... gah. Another time, maybe as my month-long project.

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean there. I've been meaning to sew some for ages! It's not because I need more, but because I prefer the cut and fabric of my cotton pads to the flannel/hemp ones.

Well, whatever way you go, here's a laundering tip (sorry if you already know this): Don't use fabric softener sheets or liquids on loads with your pads, because it harms their absorbency. (Maybe you already don't use fabric softener at all, I don't know. I don't use it, but instead put a little bit of vinegar and water in the rinse agent holder instead.)

[neurotica0.livejournal.com]

-redundant instead

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

I don't personally own a vagina, but were I to have one, this is most likely the solution that I would utilize.

http://www.keeper.com/

[conuly]

I don't much like having things stuck up in me, and I'm not spending a lot of money to get a big thing that lasts 10 years to stick up in me... unless it vibrates.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

hmmm... If only they could make a product that could do both...

...

On second thought, that sounds like a messy idea.

[peebs1701.livejournal.com]

I'm a Divacup (http://www.divacup.com) lady myself.

[latenightparty.livejournal.com]

Me too. I haven't relied on pads in so long that I couldn't remember enough to answer the poll!

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

Perhaps one of these days I'll get a sex change and then I'll be able to compare both products and make a decision for myself, but it's clearly not something that will occur in the foreseeable future.

On a mostly unrelated note, I believe that in the future, sex changes will not be surgical, but will be much more similar to the ways that animals that change their sex accomplish the feat... Which I would imagine is somewhat painful, but not unbearably so.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

And your icon is amazing.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

your icon is terrifying...

...in an "if only I could come up with a justifiable reason to steal it, I would in an instant" sort of way.

[sporks5000.livejournal.com]

You have enough loyal friend here that if you needed us to paypal you pad money, you know that we would.

[peebs1701.livejournal.com]

I bet there would be fewer MTFs if periods came along with the deal. Or maybe doctors would just start throwing in endometrial ablation free.

WRT the icon, it is freely stealable. Credit is in my userinfo. :)

[conuly]

And I love you all for it :) But I *can* buy these myself... it'll just take a few months to have a good stash built up. That's okay.

(Now, if anybody's prepared to front me $75 to replace my wrap which seems to be lost, or to come to my house and *find* my wrap... that's another story. But that's also quite a bit of money, more than I feel like asking for. I'll replace it on the cheap. Same quality, not as pretty a fabric.)

[thornleaf.livejournal.com]

I sincerely hope there is no female performance artist with a penchant for bodily fluids reading this.

:)