My Thrifty Ways to Save Money

Caterina · 8 October 2016 at 9:52PM

Florence_J wrote: »

In my local area a young woman made headlines because she has invented and sells resuable/washable sanitary towels made from terry cloth like fabric. She put them on a local south wales facebook selling page but was met with a lot of abuse-people called her disgusting-and whilst I can see they might not be desired by everyone I think they are no different to a moon cup and plan to investigate further.

I used reusable/washable sanitary pads for much of my fertile years, not always as sometimes they were not sufficient protection, but mostly after day 2 they would be OK. I must have saved a fortune, but also avoided a lot of landfill junk, which pleases me enormously.

There should be a thread somewhere here on OS about reusables. Also if you google it, you can find a lot of patterns to make your own.

katkin · 8 October 2016 at 10:08PM

I've made cloth sanitary pads for years. Not needed them very much in the past year because of the menopause, but I keep a few around.

Not only is it thrifty and better for the environment; they are very comfortable too. Never had a problem using them and I think it's crazy that some would harass those who do or make them.

I have a pic in stock of some of mine, these were made out of oddments of fabric, are different sizes and thickness. All cotton of one sort or the other.

If this isn't an appropriate pic for the forum could one of the mods please take it down

What a strange thing to be posting on the internet of a Saturday evening! :rotfl:

Nargleblast · 8 October 2016 at 10:18PM

Seems odd that anyone would object to pictures of colourful sanitary pads, and yet pictures of nappies are seen everywhere!

melanzana · 8 October 2016 at 10:19PM

katkin wrote: »

I've made cloth sanitary pads for years. Not needed them very much in the past year because of the menopause, but I keep a few around.

Not only is it thrifty and better for the environment; they are very comfortable too. Never had a problem using them and I think it's crazy that some would harass those who do or make them.

I have a pic in stock of some of mine, these were made out of oddments of fabric, are different sizes and thickness. All cotton of one sort or the other.

If this isn't an appropriate pic for the forum could one of the mods please take it down

What a strange thing to be posting on the internet of a Saturday evening! :rotfl:

They are obviously unused.

How do you keep them as pristine as that after use? We all know that bloodstains are notoriously difficult to remove. So if you have to spend money and time on products to remove the ahem....stains, well where is the saving?

katkin · 8 October 2016 at 10:29PM

I may have taken this pic after making this batch.

Steep in cold water with a little milton asap. Some fabric will bleach, but most are ok. Then I boil wash them using biological powder in the machine. Not had too many problems with stains, but if it was a heavy day, I'd use darker fabrics.

Ex pyjamas make good ones, especially brushed cotton.

SailorSam · 8 October 2016 at 10:38PM

Nargleblast wrote: »

Seems odd that anyone would object to pictures of colourful sanitary pads, and yet pictures of nappies are seen everywhere!

And bearing in my that this thread is all about, what you can do to save money. Now you don't need them, you could always use them as oven-gloves.

Nargleblast · 8 October 2016 at 10:46PM

SailorSam wrote: »

And bearing in my that this thread is all about, what you can do to save money. Now you don't need them, you could always use them as oven-gloves.

Or pot holders, remember those squares of knitted or crocheted wool with padding?

Now what other thrifty uses could you invent for cloth sanitary pads that don't upset the squeamish? Actually, the pads in the picture look too pretty for their intended use.

Caterina · 9 October 2016 at 2:22PM

Katkin they are so pretty!

The best way to wash them I found is to rinse repeatedly until the water runs clear, then if not putting in a washing cycle straight away, keep in cold water and salt. Then put on a cool wash with mild detergent, as natural as possible (to avoid chemical residues in your delicate parts). Important ALWAYS use cold water because warm to hot "sets" the protein in the blood and makes it difficult to remove the stain.

Caterina · 9 October 2016 at 2:25PM

melanzana wrote: »

They are obviously unused.

How do you keep them as pristine as that after use? We all know that bloodstains are notoriously difficult to remove. So if you have to spend money and time on products to remove the ahem....stains, well where is the saving?

I was never fussed about a bit of bloodstain, it was my blood anyway and i knew they were washed and clean and that nobody else was going to look at them and judge me LOL. Forgot to add in my previous post, an excellent stain bleacher is sunshine so I would hang them to dry outside whoever it was possible.

VfM4meplse · 9 October 2016 at 2:48PM

Caterina wrote: »

Katkin they are so pretty!

The best way to wash them I found is to rinse repeatedly until the water runs clear, then if not putting in a washing cycle straight away, keep in cold water and salt. Then put on a cool wash with mild detergent, as natural as possible (to avoid chemical residues in your delicate parts). Important ALWAYS use cold water because warm to hot "sets" the protein in the blood and makes it difficult to remove the stain.

Honestly it sounds too much like a faff to me (bearing in mind I prefer to have a plentiful supply of clothing / bedding / towels etc because I prefer to wash infrequently during the colder months!). I wouldn't be tempted to give it a go even if I used STs, and if you're not fussed about brands, supermarket tampons are more cost and time effective.

However I am inspired to turn worn out flannelette PJs into patchwork items now.

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My Thrifty Ways to Save Money

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