1st Anniversary

Halah.

I read my older posts....just to realize that I started using shopping bag in June 2009. Then in September I started using cloth pad. Toilet-towel (cloth wipes) in October. And I forgot when I started bring lunch box (and tumbler) for work.

Gak kerasa ya? It's been a year.

Wet Bag

If you browsing around looking for cloth pantyliner/menstrual pad, you'll see in Etsy people selling wetbag.

It's a bag for your dirty pads. Sometimes it has two compartments: 1 for used pad, 1 for clean pad.

I used to use regular small plastic bag for dirty pads, but not anymore.

While I'm still thankful for everything I have, I have to admit that this year I'm not blessed with good health....I'd been sick and got presciption. A lot.

And I ended up with plenty reseable (and reusable) small plastic bag.

Is american call it Ziplock?!

So, there it is...my wet bag...

What Would Happen...

...if I don't bring my own lunch box from home.


Waste. Waste. Waste.

I hate generating unnecessary waste.

I Hate You But I Need You

I'm talking about plastic bags!!!!!!

I live in my aunt's apartment and we still need plastic bags to dispose our garbage. And in this tropical climate, it's impossible to store organic waste more than one day. They'll decompose.

I want a small composter for organic waste, but she said no. What can I say?!!

So, it's been hate and need relationship. Sometimes I accept plastic bags when shopping, but I stay clear from the small ones.

I used to use it to collect my cigarette butts, but I don't smoke anymore.
I used to use it to wrap my disposable sanitary napkins, but most of the time now I use washable ones.

It's useless.

Anyway, here's my collection of reusable shopping bags by Greeneration

Apple

Since quit smoking, I can't stop eating :(

This is why I bring apple to my office as snack.

=> I have breakfast. Then at 10 I eat the apple. Then at 11 I'll be hungry :)

To reduce waste, I wrap my apple inside handkerchief...here's how it looks




And now....I'm thinking about cute sandwich bags in Etsy.com....

My New Envirosax!!

I just got a gorgeous Envirosax bag..

Photo: www.reusablebags.com

The material is similiar with my cheaper (probably made in China) folding bags, but I believe Envirosax was made with much environmental concern :)

And it's bigger than my cheap bags.

Wasabi Mommi

I've tried my Wasabi Mommi pads.

It comes in a set, contain 3 pads: 1 pantyliner; 1 day pad; 1 night pad.

(I forgot the length of each pad. I'll edit later)

Cost: USD 15 a set (excluded shipping and tax)

All have fleece-backing for waterproofing. All very thin. Seriously. Probably just slightly thicker than ultrathin (disposable) pads. And relatively easy to clean. Dry fast. My pads are dark colored, they have no stain.

Pantyliner:
the pantyliner is very very small, about 5"(?). While it looks very adorable and cute, to be honest, it's not too comfortable to wear. I don't know how to say this right, but the stitches just doesn't fall in the right places....
Edited: it depends on underwear I wear

Day pad:
I love the fan-design, so the flow won't go to the sides. I just won't wear it for heavy days, it's not long enough.

Night pad:
Wow, I love this. Thin but (relatively) stays in place --or probably now I'm used with cloth, I'm more careful when taking off my undies hahahha--.

So here's the conclusion.
PROs:
- no leak
- very thin.
- easy to clean
- dark color won't stain
- stays in place well (no flipping)
- relatively affordable

CONs:
- pantyliner is not too comfortable
- day pad is not suitable for heavy days.

Sew Green For You

I have the set of 2 pads in different color.


The set is for 9.5" menstrual pad and 6" pantyliner.
The 9.5" menstrual pad is made of 5 layers of flannel; the 6" pantyliner is from 3 layers of flannel. Both with PUL.

You know what's interesting? The set only cost me US$ 5 in Etsy.com
(shipping and tax aren't included).

It was no custom order so I had no 'convo' (conversation) with the seller. Shipping was fast, well.. relatively for international order.

I have the confident to wear the 9" pad in my heaviest day because it has PUL underneath. I only washed it 1 time before using the pad, and the flow went to wings (as usual!).

And no, it doesn't leak.

Then I wash it. Compared with other pads I wear that day, SGFY pad is the easiest one to clean. Dry fast.

And no stain!!!

The only thing I 'hate' about the pad is...it's pretty thick. But the thickness made the pads stays in place (no flip when I take off my undies).

Pros: affordable; no leak; easy to clean; dry fast
Cons: pretty thick

Conclusion: this is THE BEST pad if you're new to cloth. Affordable and no leak. Perfect.

Wasabi Mommi

Aren't they cute :)

Wasabi Mommi Pads

New arrival

20 Peritel Akan Stop Gunakan Kantong Plastik

I'm so happy to hear this...because I'll find cute (and cheaper) shopping bags :)


Sumber: VIVAnews

VIVAnews - Sedikitnya 20 peritel di Jakarta telah berkomitmen mendukung program 'Jakarta Bebas Kantong Plastik' pada 2011 mendatang. Mereka akan mulai mengurangi penggunaan kantong plastik untuk setiap kegiatannya.

"Belum bisa disebutkan nama-nama peritel tersebut. Kalau sudah lengkap dan pasti, akan diumumkan,” ujar Gubernur DKI Jakarta, Fauzi Bowo, Sabtu 20 Maret 2010, seperti dikutip dari situs milik Pemerintah DKI Jakarta.

Melihat dukungan yang cukup besar dari peritel, Fauzi optimis pengurangan kantong plastik di Jakarta dapat dilaksanakan pada pertengahan tahun ini dan Jakarta bisa bebas dari kantong plastik pada 2011.

Proses sosialisasi terus dilakukan agar warga Jakarta memahami bahwa kantong plastik merupakan polutan yang sangat merusak sifatnya dalam jangka panjang.

Gubernur mengimbau warga Jakarta untuk mulai mengurangi pemakaian kantong plastik. Kontrol terhadap masyarakat bersama dengan Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia (YLKI) dan LSM pecinta lingkungan akan segera dilakukan. Pengawasan mulai dari sumbernya yakni pabrik hingga departemen store sebagai pengguna kantong plastik kepada konsumennya.

Deputi Gubernur DKI Jakarta Bidang Tata Ruang, Ahmad Haryadi, mengatakan, pelaksanaan program pengurangan kantong plastik dimulai bersamaan dengan hari ulang tahun Jakarta yang jatuh pada Juni mendatang.

"Saat ini sedang disusun rencana aksinya. Diharapkan sudah ada langkah konkret yang dapat diluncurkan pada ulang tahun Jakarta, 22 Juni tahun ini," kata Haryadi.

Kepala Badan Pengelola Lingkungan Hidup Daerah (BPLHD) DKI Jakarta, Peni Susanti, juga mengakui saat ini sudah cukup banyak peritel yang bersedia mengurangi kantong plastik.

Peritel dan pasar-pasar tradisional di Jakarta segera melaksanakan program satu hari tanpa kantong plastik. "Program satu hari tanpa kantong plastik ini merupakan salah satu langkah awal. Kemungkinan akan dilaksanakan bulan depan atau April tahun ini," ujarnya.

Saat ini BPLHD DKI sudah menyiapkan solusi pengganti kantong plastik, yakni berupa kantong baru yang terbuat dari bahan baku yang lebih mudah terurai.

Moonlite (Cloth) Pantyliner

I ordered 6 Moonlite pantyliners from Etsy.com. I took 2 and sell the rest.

It's made of 2 layer of fabrics, the seller asked me what kind of fabric I wanted...I don't know anything about fabric, so I answered "anything, as long it has velour on one side"

So I got 6 pantyliners, made of 12 kind of fabrics :D

Anyway, Moonlite is a pantyliner, no waterproofing, made from 2 layers of fabric.

Mine are purple (bamboo fleece + BSFT --can't find the definition of BSFT. Probably it's bamboo-S(?)-french terry) and red (bamboo velour + organic sherpa)

The red cloth is thicker than the purple one.
The purple is very very very thin. It's thinner than most of my cloth liners.

Love it!!!

New Arrival

Mama Bear cloth pads..These aren't my order. 7" menstrual/pantyliner.


Fussybutt Face Round. I'll use this for facial cotton substitution.


Fussybutt Moonlite (pantiliner) and wipes. Will keep 2 and sell the rest. Yang wipes buat sapu tangan.

Quick Review of My Cloth Pads

I'm trying to make simple review of the menstrual cloth pads I have now:

Saffa pantyliners
Made of 4 layers of flannel.
Pros: thin (well, relatively); easy to clean; dry fast; affordable
Cons: at first uses I got rash. Then if became more comfortable after many many many washes :D

Mollyliners
These are pantyliners. I even wear it on my lightest days
Pros: easy to clean; dry fast
Cons: nothing, except it's little bit bulky if you're not used with cloth pantyliner

Fussybutt Moonbow
You'll read many many good reviews on this pad, but I don't like it.
Pros: it's very thin, except the 14" pad
Cons: It takes longer time to dry after you wash it; easily stained ; the long pads (> 9" long) flip when you take off your undies.

Freshmoon AIO
Pros: The 9" pad is very very thin; relatively easy to clean; the 11" pad stays in place, not flipping around when I take off my undies.
Cons: The 11" is bulky.

Epicerma
Pro: the pantyliner is very very very thin. Love it! The menstrual pad is easy to clean.
Cons: the menstrual pad is very small and I use it on my lighter days. My flow goes to the wings. Also the serge around the menstrual pads touch my legs, I'm afraid it would irritate my skin. Expensive.

Honeybee Hill hemp insert pad
Pro: thin without the inserts
Cons: takes longer to dry; stained easily; bulky with the inserts in.

None of the above leak.

Greeneration Shopping Bag

My newest collection...


Folding bag from Greeneration. I purchased those on Eco Product Fair in JCC. The grey one is ultra-cute, about size of small plastic bag. Love it!

Little Info..

A friend informed me about this site: http://rumahPopok.com

It's a site about cloth diapering. I don't have kids right now, but the information is very useful.

And the best part? Most of the fabrics are locally-made.

Epicerma Review

I reviewed Epicerma panty liner before.

I like the panty liner, but I don't like the menstrual pad that much.

The menstrual pad is thicker than the panty liner, the serge (obras-an) little bit bothering me...friction with my legs :(

I used it on my lighter days..I just don't think a 7.5" would give enough protection.

And I was right.

My flow went to the center of the pads..and the wings :( But it was a light day so I don't mind.

Used it in light days, I didn't notice any leakage.

Now the hardest part: washing.
Compared with Honeybee Hill pad I used that day, Epicerma was much much easier to clean.

And no stain!!!! Yippieeee!!!

Overall: this expensive pad is good on your lighter days...and it cleans well...no stain.

Nice Comment About This Blog

Yesterday I posted my Maybelline Mascara link to a friend's FB wall. She loves cosmetics and cats, so I think I should 'promote' my blog to her :)

She was a high school friend and now she lives in Germany.

Here's her comment:
"Raaa, blog isinya menarik & easy reading, gw baca2 tadi pas lg di jalan, hehehe jd lebih tau ttg elo, ternyata elo environmentalist sejati (peduli lingkungan), bravo Ra :) Gue pertama2 datang ke jerman "dipaksa" misahin sampah jd 4 macem, "dipaksa" bawa kantong belanjaan sendiri (klo lupa kudu bayar or else bete sendiri krn susah bawa belanjaan pake tangan). Lama2 jadi biasa :)"

Thanks for the 'interesting and easy reading'. I hate complaining on my blog (that's what FB for, complaining!!!) and I don't write anything 'heavy' such as politics..simply because I have no idea about it.

I also keep my sarcasm opinion to myself. Hey, this blog is public. Everyone can see this.

But I 'hate' the 'true environmentalist' comment...because I'm not.

I still pollute the air: I drive 2300 cc car (sometimes 3000 cc)....I smoke....and I still live on coffee in sachets (Good Day Choco Orange?? Yummy)...I don't do composting because it's too complicated to do in small apartment..I don't shut down my computer when I leave it...and same thing for air conditioning!

Steal vs Splurge...in 3R Context

When it comes to price, most of the time you get what you pay for.
And if you don't, it's your bad luck :)

I splurge on shoes and leather handbag. They'll last long so I don't toss them away in 1 year.

That means I generate less waste.

Same thing when it comes to beauty. My makeup aplicators (powder puff, makeup sponge) are MAC. They last more than 2 years, compare that to IDR 5000 makeup sponges that degrade on 10th application.

I have a cheap Tammia blush brush and now they shed (they suffer hair loss hehehe) and I have to toss it away. This is when I say

"more is less...More (cost but) less (waste)"

How about my cheap -but supercute-- folding shopping bags?
Hmm..who knows how long they'd last. This is why I don't use them on heavy stuffs. For that purpose I use stronger --and uglier-- shopping bags.

Cheap top (clothes) is another story. I can give it away to my neigbour when I'm bored with them.

But there are 2 things that I don't spend my money much:
Hair elastic and cigarette lighter! Simply because I lost them everywhere..

Simple Calculation of Cloth Pantyliner

oh, this is odd.
I switch to cloth for environment, not for savings.
But I think I should make simple calculation on how much I can save on using cloth.

This is based on my needs so probably it won't suit you :)

I'm moslem so I change pantyliner 2-3 times a day because I have to be clean for praying. Yes, even a tiniest spot is considered dirty, so I have to change it.

Here's the assumption I use:
Having period of 6 days; the cost of disposable is constant all year long; 1 month = 30 days.

So I'll begin the calculation. Using disposable pantyliner will be:
24 days/month x 3 pads/day x 12 months = 864 pads/year.

Wow!!! You'll throw 864 pads per year!!!

And now I feel terribly guilty of generating such waste before I switched to cloth..

And if the cost of 20 pieces of C*refree is IDR 5000, you'll spend IDR 216,000 per year.

Now compare it to the cheapest cloth pantyliner I know, made by 4 layers of flannels. It costs RM 10 each in Tiny Tapir site. With shipping cost USD 7.5 , let's just say it costs IDR 37,500 in Indonesia.

With my needs, I'll need about 6 liners. So I'll spend
6 pads x 37,500 = IDR 225,000

It's slightly more expensive than the disposable, but the pads will last you 3-5 years!
--even if you had bad-quality pantyliner, you'll reduce 864 reusables per year--

And if you can sew, you can make it on your own...and cut more expenses.