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Are you tired of the mess or cost of pads and tampons? I know that I have gotten tired of my period just because of the hassle of what is needed in advance of its arrival. Not that I get embarrassed anymore having to put a box of something or other in my cart at Wal Mart, but it does get to be a pain. Of course, the actual pain of a period is another reason to hate it. The older I get, the less often I can use tampons because when I use one, it makes my cramps worse. So I'm doomed to using pads all the time and feeling dirty for as long as it lasts that month.

Okay, so last month, I was doing some research into other ways to stop producing so much garbage, and I was giving thought to using cloth pads so that I wouldn't be throwing so much away every month. Then I stumbled upon the Diva Cup on a eco-friendly online store. It's made of silicone, and there are two sizes, one is for women under 30 who haven't had children, the size two is for women over 30 or women who have had children (like me). I decided that if I wasn't pregnant again by the time of my next period, I would buy myself one (our health food store here carries them). Well, no pregnancy, so I held to my word and bought one yesterday. I've been using it for less than 24 hours, but already, I'm in love! I have a new monthly best friend! It's a little tricky to insert to begin with, but even after the second time, I'm used to it. I can't feel a thing, it doesn't leak at all, and it won't fall out because there is a seal created when it's inserted properly.

The Diva Cup (and the Keeper - www.keeper.com - another type, made of rubber instead) is a cup (go figure) with a stem and it catches all your blood flow without leaking out. It is worn low, rather than high like tampons, and it doesn't soak up your natural moisture like tampons do. Also, unless you are using unbleached organic cotton tampons, you are putting potentially harmful chemicals into your body. The Diva Cup is much safer in this way. Mass produced tampons are full of toxic dioxins that can cause allergic reactions and help bacteria to breed...all in a place in a woman's body that she should be taking care of thoroughly. I don't really even want to get into all of that, though, because the other reasons for using the Diva Cup or the Keeper are just as good.

For one thing, it is a money saver. I'm a bit cheap myself, so being able to spend $40 on something that may very well last me for years is well worth it. If the average box of twenty tampons

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