GladRags Gab

I stumbled upon the GladRags website about 2 years while 'mindlessly' looking up cloth diapers on google.  I don't even have kids yet, but I grew up on cloth diapers, and want my kids to do the same.  Even though I had always known diapers were bad for the environment, I had never even thought about how pads were just as bad!  I had also started boycotting tampons around this time b/c one of my friends who is a pediatric nurse had a patient with toxic shock syndrome and it freaked me out.

Once I started using GladRags (1.5 years ago), I never looked back…I love them!  Maybe it's just in my head, but I think having a completely cloth pad feels so much cleaner b/c my skin can breathe, as opposed to a disposable pad that has the plastic-like lining that sticks to your underwear.  They have cute designs, prettier flowers, etc…I feel great when I wear them!  And all of my friends are getting hooked on them too…!

(more…)

As announced in last Friday's newsletter, Jennifer Purcell, a Portland-based naturopathic physician and herbalist, will be posting monthly entries on GladRags Gab discussing a variety of women's health issues.  Dr. Purcell's first topic is PMS.  Get ready for some great thoughts on this prolific 'syndrome'.  ~Diana

PMS - a word so common to women these days as 85% of us experience at least one symptom per month.  The average onset is 26 years of age and the symptoms are wide and varied.  So much so that they are now classified by an increasing number of subtypes based on predominating symptom.  But whether it is breast tenderness, bloating/distension, cramping spasms, migraines (and on a on) - it all leads to one thing - Imbalance.

This is where is gets tricky - finding where the balance lies.

Often the first place we investigate is the reproductive system itself.  But if you are ovulating and bleeding monthly the problem may be elsewhere.  A good place to look is the liver.  The liver's job is multifactorial and it is one of the most important organs of the human body.  In relation to PMS, it is a contributor in the production of hormones.  The short version of the story - if your liver is strained or overworking, your hormonal balance could be disturbed.

(more…)

What about that 'ick' factor of reusables, huh?  We all know that they are far from icky and closer to FANTASTIC but do you remember a time when you didn't think so fondly of your GladRags?  Here's what Elise remembers.  ~Diana

Hard to say what changed my mind about the "ick".  It wasn't one thing and somewhat coincided with starting a compost pile, recycling, eating more whole natural foods, organic gardening, and being a Mom…all things that have to do with preserving the environment for the future, and being less self-conscious but more conscious of the world around me.  I still have my original Keeper (and so does one of my sisters who I got started on GladRags too).  I can't go back, of course.  The Keeper is so great for everything from hiking and camping to business trips.  I don't need a box of supplies, but just some negligible space in a purse or carry-on.  Thanks for great products that last and last.  Certainly money well spent.  Hopefully, I can continue the trend–my young daughter recently asked what that isle in the supermarket was for, and I told her many women use disposables they buy each month instead of the things I have…she wrinkled her nose…"oh, they just throw them away?" (maybe that will be the new ick factor some day)

- Elise 

Take a few minutes to read E.McKibbon's beautiful words.  She tells us of the various transformations she has undergone in how she thinks about her body, menstruation and nature.  There are some great insights here - grab a cup of coffee. ~Diana 

I'm writing to say that I love your products. But I also appreciate that you give people the opportunity to talk about the wrongly- tabooed subject of menstruation, for long ago, it was something to be respected and honored.

I use your Sea Pearls tampons and your GladRags. I have never been a woman who thought periods were disgusting or a hindrance to my life-quite the opposite actually. When I was in my early teens, I looked forward to starting my period, and when it came at 14, my mother took me to our local gourmet market. She bought me a special sandwich, a piece of chocolate cake, a bouquet of flowers, and my first box of pads. I felt so special and womanly.

A few years later, I went on the pill. My period lightened significantly and only became a symbol of not being pregnant. I didn't think too much more of it than that. However, as I got into my early twenties, I became much more aware of nature. I surfed, I hiked, I lay on the beach and listened to Mama Ocean's waves, and I began to have an intuition that being on the pill was not for me.

(more…)

I have a way to fold my GladRags that I thought was unique. I remove my used pad and fold the long ends into the middle, essentially folding the soiled part onto itself. Then I use the wings to wrap up the sides and snap the snaps (upside down for them) on the top of this nice little package and it all seems very Japanese zen-like. One day I mentioned it to other GladRags employees and get a very blasé response, “Oh yeah, that way, nah I don’t usually do that.” So much for my brilliant discovery.

It worked, however, quite well when I backpacked in Nepal. I kept all the neat little square packages in a Ziploc until we camped in a place long enough for me to wash and dry them in a stream, or in one case until we got back to a hotel. In this instance, we happened to take a short flight and upon arrival in a small Nepali airport, my bag was searched. I think the man who searched the small canvas tote that I kept my GladRags in, including my Ziploc full of used but neatly buttoned up GladRags, was slightly more impressed with this innovation.

(more…)

Avid GladRags enthusiast Jenny Rose shares with us the story of the rag bag and her personal account of struggling with endometriosis (and a cyst named Janice) and the relief that she has found in GladRags.  Read on for some great takes on the 'Rag ~ Diana

My grandma Lucy, knitter and canner extraordinaire, sometimes mentioned the "rag bag” that she and her sisters shared.  In a household of women, it was a known secret – kept under the bed and well-stocked in a family of many teenagers close in age.  I don’t know if she and her sisters designed and sewed their own snapping pads or if the bag really was filled with rags as its name indicates (she died when I was 12), but I do know that she liked the quiet community it created in her childhood home.  While no one fought over cleaning the rags, she and her sisters did work together to find the best and most absorbent fabrics and argued over who got to use those rags when her period came around.

In my life, GladRags have been a savior.  I have endometriosis (and an ovarian cyst that I’ve carried for a year and a half and named Janice).  For me, this disease means really hard-to-control periods, near-constant bloating and pain.  Sometimes this pain translates to early-morning cowering on the bathroom floor – where my uterus seems to want to jump ship.  Disposables make me uncomfortable and self-conscious (and also wasteful), and other reusable devices are too invasive and sometimes painful.  When I discovered GladRags, well, I immediately saw a difference in my body.  Not only did I feel less self-conscious and “crinkly,” I also saw a marked reduction in pain.  Perhaps grandma was really onto something when she, too, sought out soft and cozy fabrics for her own monthly visitor!

(more…)

Even before my cycle has completed itself, I am missing it. On these last days of trickling, I feel the tide turn. I’m moving out of bleeding time.

This time, on the heaviest day, I was at home with the kids all day. Tired from a recent rush of work and a few nights of hot, humid, not-so-great sleeping, I welcomed this rainy day with an indulgent long sit on the couch. I set no agenda for the day and put nothing on my list of what must be accomplished. I let myself lounge, let us all watch TV, eat snacks, read while they napped. Usually, it is so difficult to let a day be. Usually, I must get us out to the library or I must get the bathroom cleaned, or email five people. Oh, glorious heavy flow when we just were. This is what I am missing already, though the blood is not completely gone. I’m missing the deep settling into my body and my life with no other expectations put on them. I could keep this philosophy if I tried, but menstruating makes it so easy, I’m menstruating, that’s what I’m doing. And it feels like enough.

I’ve rinsed the pads, washed out the soaking pot and used the opportunity to clean the tub at the same time. See, I told you I’ve switched gears—I’m cleaning the bathroom. I’m wrapping up the washing and drying and folding and moving on to the next part of the cycle. Luckily, it will all come back around.

Michelle

I have had my keeper for the past seven years!!! wow, I can't believe it.  We have traveled through India, across the US, camping trips,music festivals, through bad breakups and happy reunions.  I had one episode on an Indian train.  It was awful and scary.  The toilets are just a hole through the bottom of the train and I emptied my keeper and it almost fell out of my hands to the ground.  But thank the lord I didn't lose my constant companion.  I am a singer/songwriter from Asheville, NC and sometimes I can't believe how much I love this product, it makes my heart swell with happiness!!!

Angi West

Thanks for sharing your story, Angi.  What a close call in India!  We all have our Keeper stories, huh?  My first time using a cup was less for menstrual purposes and more for taking a shot of liquor purposes! ~Diana

Angi's a beautiful singer.  Check her out on www.angiwest.com or on her myspace page.

I’ve recently been checking out some other feminist and woman-centered blogs, and among my favorites is Feministing.  Its mission is that “Young women are rarely given the opportunity to speak on their own behalf on issues that affect their lives and futures. Feministing provides a platform for us to comment, analyze and influence.”  Contributors draw our attention to items in the media that directly affect women.   It’s great to read writing by women, for women, about things that other media outlets tend to leave out.

Recent posts have highlighted what some folks have done to get rid of horror movie ads that depict violence against women; a woman who runs an organization in New York City that teaches oral journalism to young people; and the Harry Potter star Emma Watson, who calls herself a feminist.  It’s updated daily with lots of juicy goodness, and the comments that follow posts add rather than detract to the main story (unlike on many other blogs).  Well, just go there for yourself and see! http://www.feministing.com/

- Elizabeth 

I’m getting ready for my son’s second birthday. Usually, this would be a fairly easy event to plan—cake, balloons, a few gifts, and get the family together. But I’m stalled. I feel overwhelmed with the task, unable to come up with a birthday plan. Not because he’s turning two, but because he’s turning two on July 7, 2007, better known as 07.07.07. What can I possibly create for a two-year-old’s birthday to match the auspiciousness of it falling on 777, the luckiest number of our culture? In Lisbon, Portugal, in their largest national venue, they are unveiling the new Seven Wonders of the World on that day. Their guest list includes the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Hilary Swank and Neil Armstrong. I can’t exactly compete with the new Seven Wonders of the World. (But I will be logging on to www.new7wonders.com to find out what they are!) Across the world, SOS (Save Our Selves) is hosting Live Earth, a series of concerts on 07.07.07 to “use the global reach of music to engage people on a mass scale to combat our climate crisis.” Genesis, Madonna and Metallica are playing in London, Dave Matthews, Bon Jovi and Melissa Etheridge in New York, Shakira and Snoop Dogg in Hamburg…you get the idea. And that’s just one organization. Other people are hosting photography contests, festivals, or gathering to pray and fast. People are feeling preemptively lucky and are making big plans. 07.07.07 is shaping up to be the most popular wedding date EVER. Hotels, chapels and wedding planning websites are reporting triple their usual number of weddings for that day. Some places are turning couples away by the dozens. Las Vegas is looking at its busiest day on record, with one chapel marrying 113 couples on that day. It doesn’t help that July 7, 2007 falls on a Saturday in July, one of the busiest wedding times of the year. We can’t get married, gamble, go to a huge concert or to Lisbon for my son’s birthday. Jaden was two weeks late, and on July 7, 2005 he came in a rush for a very memorable home birth, no planning required. Maybe that’s what this will be like. All of the sudden, we’ll get to the day and…magic.

-michelle