Have you ever noticed that most interviews of famous women (especially if they are sex symbols) include this question? Sometimes they say “What is the one thing you can’t like without” and I always think “air”, but the answers are things like “My #12 red Mac lipstick” or “My Prada stilettos”.
If I was asked that question (not that I am claiming to be a sex symbol;), I would have to answer baking soda!
We use it in baking, wash the house with it*, brush our teeth with it, put it under our arms, and now I’m washing my face with it. I tried it on my hair but that experiment failed.
I do, however, highly recommend it as a facial cleanser. I was having a hard time with finding or making a good cleanser that didn’t leave my skin dry and pimply at the same time. Yes I am a thirty something with pimples-what of it? Finally I broke down and started washing with Dr.Bronners mild baby soap, which I can buy in bulk at Grass Roots, Big Carrot or Eco-Existence. It works great! Just wet your face and rub the baking soda on until it looks like a mask. Then rinse it off,with hot water, then cold. If I need to moisturize I use a little coconut oil, and if I want to exfoliate I use baking soda. It kind of tingles and leaves my face feeling clean and soft.
* Since we have had a child we use baking soda way more than borax because borax is a little caustic. We use baking soda and vinegar for the toilet, sinks, bathtub, walls, and diaper pail. We also use baking soda on pots and pans that have had food burnt onto them. Just dump a bunch in with a bit of water and let it sit overnight before scrubbing ( a scrunched up and knotted onion bag makes a great scrubber).

I made a new batch of deodorant with patchouli for Kyle and he is fine now. I made myself another sandal wood batch since I didn’t have a problem, and I didn’t really like the smell of the straight patchouli- smells like Dettol to me. Then, I shaved my arm pits. Now the sandal woods is no good. Ouchy ouch ouch. I suppose I will have to use the patchouli stuff until my hair grows back.
Speaking of hair, my hair on my head has been a disaster since trying the no poo method. When I gave it up, we still had some Lush solid shampoo, which was nice, but now we are out and I am trying not to buy more. I did cave and buy Burt’s Bees conditioner, even though I know they are owned by the evil Clorax. Well karma got me and my hair looks dull and heavy. The beeswax just sort of sticks- I knew that from before, but I forgot. So, I am still looking for a shampoo recipe. I tried Auroras glycerin soap and it was no good. I tried http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/OLBA08EA/BabyMildLiquidSoap.htm and my hair was too tangly so I put the tiniest bit of coconut oil in and turned into a greaseball. Even after I washed it out my hair looked wet when it was dry.
I bought Soap Works solid shampoo and conditioner (way cheaper than Lush) and it is also no good for me. It really does leave my hair squeaky clean but I can’t get a brush through it after. Sigh- I may have to cave in and go back to my beloved bulk Giovanni products from the Big Carrot.
I am currently making protection creme from Stephanie Tourles’ Herbal Body Book. I’ll have to let you know how it turns out. My skin has been dry and crackly so I’m hoping it is as good as she says. I am also hoping I can whip until it’s creamy, because I have been whipping it and whipping it (LOL, that sounds bad) and it is still a pot of oil. Gotta go do some more whipping. Stay tuned for more exited DIY hygiene talk.

It’s day 5 of home made deodorant and diaper wipes solution. Kyle and I both like the pit stick (cream) and Aurora also seems to be doing fine with the wipe solution. Yaaay!
Kyle asked if we were really saving money by making our own deodorant and the answer is …DEFINITELY!
I usually spend about $20 every month or two(depending on the season) on a block of deodorant to share. My materiel costs for making our own were:
-$9.99 for Sandlewood oil in Jojoba oil (as opposed to $49.99 for pure sandlewood). I used about 7 drops. It hardly looks like there is any gone. I estimate if we only use it for deodorant, it will last for at least 20 batches, which means this time I used $.49 worth.
-Approximately $0.10 for baking soda (bought it bulk from Grassroots)
-$.7.49 for the coconut oil. I think I used about1/5th of the jar, so let’s say $1.50 this time.
That means this batch of deoderant costs $2.14. Even if you count my time, which was about ten minutes, it’s way less than what we were paying before.
I’m still searching for shampoo recipes. I found some that were simple enough but they called for all natural baby shampoo-ugg! If I’m going to buy all natural baby shampoo, I’ll just use it without all the fancy extras.

Who needs an sauna or an inground hottub when you could have one of these.   I had to click through today — I love seeing what gmail adverts think I’d be interested in.  Apparently I’m the type of person who would like to  know more about a poolside toilet.

I haven’t seen nor heard from my buddy alli in a while.  Thus, neither have you — well that and the dollar I tried SUCCESSFULLY to earn by not discussing the terlit on this blog.  Proud of me, are ya?  Anyway, like I was saying, I haven’t had any trouble.  I’ve been by the book, if not by and beyond the book with this diet.  I’ve been really dedicated, I haven’t fluffed up too much which results in a really happy lower region.  I have actually gotten to the point where I thought “hmm, I guess once you hit the refill pack you’re sort of plateauing.. I wonder if it’s still working…”  I mean, I look great, I feel great, I want to run around naked all the time and I never EVER want to gain a pound back.  Tonight, Factor came home from work while I was in the shower (I had to shower after 5 hours of shopping! Gosh!)(GOLLY!)(you’re jealous)(I got good stuff)(something for Bex, too)(enough with the parentheses).  After some roly poly (you SHOULD be jealous) he put up the curtain rods, hung the new curtains, and then we headed out for sushi.

Sushi, you say?  Sushi, I say.  I read in my little Healthy eating guide that alli provided me with that Japanese is by far the best cuisine you can go for as it’s naturally low-fat.  Well great, I think.  Perfect!  I see that the best choices are to have seaweed salad and sushi — no eel though, and DER nothing tempura or soaked in goat’s ass.  We went to Friend House, which  is literally almost downstairs from us and it has a cute little garden in the back.  I ordered seaweed salad and a tuna roll.  And AH CRAP a sweet potato roll.  Well people, it doesn’t describe how it’s cooked and heidi ho, check out the DEEP FRIED POTATOES with their best friend: avocado.  To myself, I acknowledged that I would be regretting this.  To the roll I said :

“see you soon”

And Factor laughed.  I stripped the fried outer portion of of my potatoes out and I gang raped the avocado out of there.  I thought I did a decent job mutilating a beautiful roll.  But oh I knew.  I knew what was looming.  After spending 80 bucks at Duane Reade (seriously, don’t ask, I have a problem with drug stores – this always happens) I skittered home.  Probably wasn’t home more than 3 minutes when I was hit by horrible cramps.

So, in case anyone was wondering, when you’re on the alli refill pack, it still works.  And quite effectively I might add.

Factor has decided to tell me that he’ll give me a dollar if I refrain from pooptalk on this blog for a least a week.  I’m fairly pissed off at that request because it’s a not a big freaking deal.  I refrained from saying “fucking” there, by the way because I’m trying to swear less.  I think he’s embarassed of me, what do you think?

so, discuss amongst yourselves and myself: if I stop the poop talk, what shall I replace it with?  I anticipate with glee your comments.

Ug.  Factor is in the shower right now and I really have to poop.

I love the sun, I love the beach, and I love vacation.  Is it still considered vacation if you’re unemployed?  anyway, it’s coming to an end and I’m sad — I have discovered a love for boogie boarding and bobbing in the ocean.  However, the end of this vacation is being capped off with a trip back to Baltimore, MD for VIRGIN FESTIVAL!  Amy Winehouse, The Beastie Boys… M.I.A in the dance tent?  I could poop myself … and if I eat cheese fries I just might.  We have a hotel for three nights courtesy of Factor’s work!  I love hotels!  I love the little shampoos.  We have VIP tickets so I expect to meet Method Man and ask him how he feels about big business acting like they actually care about the environment.  Not really.    But I will hug him and act a fool no matter what.  Even if I just meet Factor’s friends I’ll be acting a fool.

Alright, I have to close out here because everyone keeps wandering around behind the computer and it’s irking me.   Plus, I have to get my bikini on my body and run out to the beach and make Factor play in the waves with me for a few hours.  In the 90+ degree heat.

Did I mention that at V fest it’s supposed to be in the 100’s?  Yeah.

Back in the day when I had a job, in order to keep my sanity and remember that it’s never THAT serious, I would snark happily with my favorite work pal about having an anti-social network. This stemming from the constant beta projects internally as well as random networking being built in the real world that would pepper our inboxes with “Spatula wants you to join them on FoodiesForFitness” or “I found you on MethLab, click to cook up with me!” My reaction early in the social networking game was definitely one of curiosity. I had a MySpace page for maybe a month or two, but then I realized that it’s a lot of passive aggressive reverse voyeurism+real voyeurism. I mean, seriously, who wants someone to see their back and forth conversation… not even on one page. I would get weird inbox notifications of “new pics up, comment me!” and I wanted to barf. So I got rid of that. I joined LinkedIN, but I had a job and LinkedIN was a little too action heavy for an ADHD-er like me. Now that I’m unemployed, I kind of want to keep it up to date… but like, I’d rather blog when I have time. Then there are the newish social networking type dealios (by newish I mean my mom doesn’t know about them) that are based on tagging, and ACTUAL SOCIAL EVENTS like going.com (which is more of a “tastemaker” site where the person who first discovers the info is seen as the cool kid and then everyone is sort of below them. Oooh, maybe a little info discovery social networking?) If anything, i’d rather be involved in a SOCIAL social networking site because then it’s not based on the randomness of words (dif names for the same things), but the actual human at of socializing.

Anyway, where AM I going with this. Oh, I was in the bathroom, which is where I do my best thinking, and I was wondering if there were social networks based on searches. And would you want that? I ask this because this morning I went into the bathroom, got mildly angry at all the little hairs everywhere that signaled SOMEONE shaved their beard this morning (no, not you grandma), and saw something that made me shriek. There, in the pool of standing water on the sink that Factor leaves every day were… WEIRD WORMY THINGS. They were tiny and squirmy and a little malevolent looking. I immediately bleached the hell out of them, shot off a note to Factor about not creating a worm factory and thought “hm, I should google these guys”. Ok, you’re following right? So then I thought “hmmm, what if when you searched on stuff, you could opt in to be included in a “these people searched for that too, want to connect?” roll up. But like… do I want people to know I have weird wormy things crawling on my bathroom sink (I guess I do now) — and better yet, do i want to hang out with other people who do? I look at my referrals every day on wordpress, and it always cracks me up.. the “people searched on these terms to get to your site” portion. Maybe all the people looking for “frequent urination” should hook up with the “oily butt” people.

What about the people who search on “get skinny fast”, maybe they want to know “the real ed hardy hat” people. Looking back on my history of searches, I’m not so sure “tara reid nip slip” is the network I want to build. But yes, I did search on Tara Reid nip slip.

Isn’t that the phrase?  I used to have to have an arsenal of comebacks back in school when I would get made fun of for being little.  Can you imagine that being a source of makefunofment?  I mean, seriously “you suck, you’re so tiny and adorable”.  Oh who are we kidding, I was tiny, but tiny and cute never aligned until like sophomore year in high school and then again when I was 25… and then, I have to say around 27-28 they realigned and I think I’m reclaiming tiny and cute status.  so let’s give a little wrap up, shall we?  Let’s see if the smack package is getting smaller, but still packing a wallop of dynamite.

I’ve been on alli since July6, 2007.   I also DRASTICALLY altered my diet on that day, I haven’t increased my exercise…ermmmm I mean I haven’t done crap in the way of running, so i’ve done 2 tiers of the trifecta of hotness.  Imagine how tossable I would be if I had been running all this time.  Hard to run when you’re… trying not to have the runs, ya heard?  Anyway — I have actually noticed physical differences in my own body — even though you can’t really smell your own smell when you’re around it every day (analogy people, I don’t stink), which means a buttload to me – I’m my biggest critic and if anything, I always see something disgusting in the mirror (which factor hates)(<— he hate me saying “disgusting” about myself.. just wanted to clear that up – he doesn’t hate what he sees, get it?).  I actually look down and I kind of like my stomach.  It’s not tight yet, but it doesn’t make me sick to look at.   I can tell the difference in my face, it’s definitely not as rolly and puffed up all cokehead-like.  I feel lighter.  I feel good.   I weigh 115-114 currently and that makes me feel healthy.  It makes me feel like I’m working hard at something and losing a healthy amount of weight at the right pace.  Feeling that way also makes me feel that I will try as hard as possible NOT to gain it all back in a day.

Unfortunately, one thing that I really hate physically is the bathroom/butt in general situation.  Sometimes it’s painful, the puffy stuff happening in my lower regions.  I clench, my stomach hurts, I can’t just leave the house in the morning and go running because there are some things that just won’t wait.  At night, I’m Kelly super tooty and I can’t just relax and lie no the couch.. I have to make sure Factor doesn’t hear the cacophony of the toot parade.  I think this is also effecting my ability to sleep because I’m concentrating so hard on not launching Factor off the bed.

Psychologically, I have noticed some differences also.  My life has gotten a little stressful and I have experienced major changes, so I don’t want to discount that.. however, I have noticed a few things even when I should be relatively at ease:

• I wake up pretty depressed some mornings
•  I have felt blinding anger and annoyance at a situation that is unequal to the situation.
• I feel pretty low energy occasionally.  Unmotivated to move, which I also chalk up with depressed.
• I get mad at alli.  I do.  I don’t like being told what to do, and I feel like I’m being bossed around by this little blue pill.  I want to go out to eat and not be afraid of the food in front of me, you know?  I want to enjoy dining out with friends.

To that last bullet there — Factor is very aware of my aversion to being told what to do and he has been so supportive and encouraging.  He tells me its working, he tells me “see, it’s a challenge, but you totally did it, stick with it” — because it’s easy to give up when something isn’t super easy, and a little encouragement like that really helps and I love him for it.

My bottle is emptying and I think I’m near the end, so I have a decision to make as I close in on that last little bossy blue pill.  To refill or not to refill?  I need the structure and the guidelines and the schedules… and the feeling that as I pop my pill into my mouth while I’m eating my meal, I’m getting that extra boost of help.   Will i be able to continue on eating better, cutting out horrible fat and feeling overall GOOD about myself if I don’t refill.   I can’t imagine how someone who is truly morbidly obese must feel at this stage.   It’s a different alteration of life for someone in those shoes and I’ll bet the emotions are higher and harder than what I’m feeling.

What to do what to do.

In the words of The Smashing Pumpkins, I’m just a rat in a cage.  I know what’s going on.  I took Sociology.  I know I’m being trained through negative reinforcement NOT to overindulge in fat.  Replace the uncontrolable embarassing toilet results with electric shock and you’ve got “rat-smack” dashing around the cage reacting when shocked with fear.   Fear is keeping me from the fat.  And truthfully, I’m a little worried about the psychological effects of being really uncomfortable about the #2 toilet sitch.   Factor hates that I talk about this, but… I used to like pooping.  right?  I mean, it’s great.  You do it and you’re done and it’s the beauty of the human body getting rid of the garbage it doesn’t need.   Now, I approach the toilet with hesitation and anxiety.  I don’t like it.

Other than that, my main problem with this is that I am controlled by my intestines.  Seriously!  I was up earlier than normal this morning, but i still couldn’t really get on with my day until I was (am) sure that my morning activities are done.  That’s why I’m sitting here, drinking iced coffee, blogging away… I can’t leave to go grocery shopping until I’m 100% positive the um, coast.. is clear.  I feel ok now, so maybe I’ll head out.   I don’t feel sick, I’m being really good with the fat intake — in fact, yesterday was great and when I weighed myself I was happy too… I just don’t like NOT KNOWING if I’m going to have a bad reaction.

I’m interested to see the first year wrap up of alli results.  I would imainge that an FDA approved drug would have to give a status after a year.  What happened to people who abused it (because I’m sure they’re out there), what emotional side effects occured, what unreported “treatment effects” occured and resulted in alli altering their recipe?  Will there be an alli+ with appetite surpressent?  Will there be an alli competitor?  Will there be special alli undie pads?  Will alli team up with cleanbutt.com?

I can’t read tea leaves or toilet paper, but I predict changes, new partnerships… and more sales of Preparation H.

“vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvrtb” – my cellphone, as I’m closing in on Trader Joe’s wine shop

“yo!” – me

“hey there” – Factor

“dude, I just ran into Viktor and who I think is his girlfriend, Swoozan, in the hall.. with another cat!  I think they’re meth addicts” – me

“I was wondering who you were talking to out there” – Factor

“yeah, and this time, Viktor came out of a different door… I think they own both doors, but it’s like one apartment in there.  Either that or he was skulking around in her apartment…anyway, what’s up?” – me

“So, yeah, I was thinking… while you’re out, maybe get a plunger” – Factor

This makes me chuckle of course, but it’s also something that I keep reminding myself to get every time I perch on the porceline.

“sure, no problem” – me

“I mean, you know, I’m just saying, it’s something we should have” – Factor

“wait a minute, are you calling me from the bathroom?” – me

“…no. why?”

“because it sounds all echoey.. you are SO calling me from the bathroom!” – me

“bye!” click. – Factor

Factor and I stared in amazement when we saw the advertisement for cleanbutt.com.  Mainly because we’re idiots.  But mostly because I felt like “yo dude, I should work for those people”.  I think maybe alli should contract up a good partnership with these people.

I so want one.

If you actually read my previous posts (you are so into self punishment, aren’t you?) then you know that last night I had a tussle with temptation. I love a good burger. And a burger with blue cheese? Be still my red meat loving heart. I didn’t order one but I DID have Nate, Factor’s friend pastly from childhood and more recently from Buenos Aires, cut of the tiniest sliver and share a piece with me. I thought I was in the clear. What I didn’t take into consideration was how the mushroom had been marinated as well as the state of the salad dressing. I didn’t eat the whole salad because portions when eating out are too big and they scare me in a “please don’t let this make me crap my pants” way, but I ate most of the mushroom.

This morning while I sat watching Factor eating his eggs and we drank iced coffee as Nate slept, I felt an amazing lurch and hooooof from under my stomach. I felt a pain in my right side that was urgent. Urgent like whatever it was needed to get out. Remember in Poltergeist when the dad drinks all the tequila with the worm? He swallows the worm and then it later TURNS ON HIM and violently escapes out of his mouth… super sized? Yeah, that’s what I thought needed to come out. I tried to play it cool, humming and squirming in my seat as Factor kept going back into his room for one more thing before leaving. I was in the panic zone as he meandered toward the door, and as i kissed him goodbye for work, my hand closed the door and sweatily locked it as I shoved myself toward the bathroom. There was a split second where I knew if i had been in public and had been more than 3 steps away from a bathroom, it may have been underwear armageddon.

This is where the details end my friends. Well, maybe one more, just because I swore I would be honest for other alli users and of course for the “you have to laugh at yourself” theme that is my life. Try to think about what italian dressing looks like when it hasn’t been shaken.

Have a nice day.

A great place to start being an eco warrior is in the bathroom, where most of us start our day!

Toilet Talk

We buy recycled toilet paper that comes wrapped in more recycled paper which you can use as wrapping paper before recycling again (woooah, are you dizzy yet?) If you are really HARD-CORE(yeeah!) you can cut out toilet paper altogether. Check out this site, which explains that cloths or rags work just as well as toilet paper. http://radicalfrugality.info/paper-products.html .

Another TP alternative is a little squeeze bottles with a spout to wash “down there” instead of wiping.

Also, we reuse our bath water to flush the toilet with. This doesn’t actually have to do with being garbage free, but it’s something extra we do for the environment. Our system is kind of complicated, but that’s because I’m a bit of a clean freak. The basic idea, which Kyle got from his German boss, is to save the bath water then use a big bucket to scoop in into the bowl of the toilet. Here’s my system:

1. Get a large Tupperware container ( large enough to sit in, scruched up) and keep it in the bathroom. Also get a big bucket (about mop sized) and a smaller one (yogurt container) to scoop the water with.

2. Put the plug in when you are having a shower
3. When you finish use the big bucket to scoop the water into the Tupperware
4. After using the toilet, use the big bucket to “water bomb” the bowl of the toilet and everything will flush down.
5. Put a small bucket full of water in the toilet so that there is water sitting for the next time.
6. Use a towel to wipe up the water you have inevitably spilt on the floor

*****Alternately
4. Use the small bucket to scoop from the Tupperware and fill the big bucket to “water bomb” the toilet. This way you won’t splash water on the floor. Follow step five, but skip six.
*** If the Tupperware is already full, and it is nearing time to clean the tub anyway, you can leave the water in the tub, however; if the tub is sparkly clean and the Tupperware is full, just fill the buckets and then pull the plug
*****If you shave a large beard, or your head, or excessive body hair while in the shower, just pull the plug and then wipe the tub down with a rag and some vinegar.

But how do you brush your teeth?

I use Fuchs “V” tooth brushes. They also have one’s with detachable heads, but those one’s come in a throw away package. Mine comes in a hard plastic carrying case you can use to keep things in, including your toothbrush if you want! The toothbrush is plastic made from corn so it eventually biodegrades. I do find they don’t last as long as a regular toothbrush, but I think I tend to keep them longer than I should so that may be a good thing!

http://www.lotuspress.com/images/FuchsPOP/fuchs.htm

Preserve looks good too, but I’m afraid of them because they are so big. Contrary to popular belief, I have a very small mouth.http://www.recycline.com/products/preserve.html

As for what goes on the toothbrush….

I used to use Tom’s of Main Toothpaste, because it came in a recyclable aluminum tube, but it seems that they are not making those anymore. Instead they have plastic tubes with a throw away plastic seal. ARGGG! (OOOPs, my bad. They are still making those. I just accidentally bought Nature’s Gate instead of Tom’s. Tom’s is still a pretty good option because at least you can recycle the container.) So I’m going to make my own tooth paste. I haven’t tried yet, but here’s a recipe. It’s from this site.

http://mizar5.com/toothpst.html

MAKE YOUR OWN TOOTH POWDER. Thoroughly mix 3 parts baking soda (the cleanser and sweetener) with part salt (the abrasive) and funnel the compound into a short small-mouthed container such as a pop or beer bottle. You’ll find that the creation has a satisfying, different taste and leaves your mouth feeling very fresh and soothed. If you’d like, add a few drops of peppermint or wintergreen oil to the concoction – or mix the home “brew” half-and-half with a commercial tooth powder – to give the dentifrice a more pleasant flavor. I’m going to flavour mine with fennel because it’s my favorite!

***January 28, 2007 – I made this for a TV crew and tried it after they left. It’s really yucky. I don’t know if I can do it. The texture is nice, but it’s salty!!! I will need to find something to sweeten it with.

Cleaning your ears and other orifices

Many people just use facecloths. I have lots of piercings to clean and I just really like having clean ears, so we do use Q-tips of sorts. We buy organic Essentials biodegradable cotton swabs. They are expensive. I think $11.99 for 180 at Grassroots. Sometimes they are wrapped in plastic, when they are not, I buy them- I should really write the company about that.

Primping and Pruning (Razors)

Right now, we both have our old (non-disposable of course) razors with the changeable blades, and we just go as long as possible without changing the blades. Ideal bite did a tip on hair removal and suggested straight razors (very cool, but I’m too accident prone for that), electric razors, or recycled razors by Preserve. I would like to switch to the recycled one, but then the one I currently use would be garbage. Catch 22! Anyhow you can look for yourself at ideal bite (they are great). I’ve also included a tip they did about sugaring and will let you know when I try it.

http://idealbite.com/tiplibrary/tip.php?tip=20061120&title=Sugar_Sweet_Glam_Gamshttp://idealbite.com/tiplibrary/tip.php?tip=20060425&title=A_Cut_Above_-_Eco-Friendly_Shaving

Lather up!

Soap Works has amazing soap you can use for washing all your parts (body, face, hair) and for shaving too! You can get them at a lot of health food stores and they have no packaging at all, not even a sticker! I get mine at Etherea, or Tutti Frutti. We use Lush cinnamon Solid shampoo, which you can also use to wash your body. It lasts for a really long time and you can get a handy stainless steel carry case for traveling. If you use conditioner, Lush has solid conditioner as well. It doesn’t work well for me, and I’m still looking for a good conditioner with refillable containers. Grass Roots has some but none of it works well in my hair! I’ve tried olive oil and coconut oil both both turn my hair into a greasy mess! The body shop no longer refills containers and neither do a lot of the hairdressers (in fact all that I have asked so far). Every one stopped with refills after the SARS scare. Anyhow the hunt is still on.

The pits

We use aromaco solid deoderant from LUSH Cosmetics.
It smells like patchouli but works very well. Also we bring our own bag and ask them not to wrap it. Don’t get the Aromacreme instead, even if they are sold out of Aromaco! Aromacreme has witch hazel in it and it burns and causes rashes. Ouch!

Aunt Flow
When it comes to menstrual supplies, there are many alternatives to mainstream pads and tampons, which are as bad for our bodies as they are for the earth. I use cotton cloth pads, which I wash out and use over and over. If I need to be more discreet I use natural sea sponges. ***** Anna just alerted me that sea sponges are animals! That means this method is not vegetarian, and also no longer my method of choice. I think I will shell out the $50 for a keeper.*****Many of my friends like the keeper or the diva cup, which is a little cup you insert. The awesome part is that it lasts 10 years!Check out these sites for more info: http://www.grassrootsstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=187http://www.oxyboost.com/cleaning_pages/cloth_menstrual_pads.html (http://www.grassrootsstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=187)