March 17th, 2010
The daffodils are blooming and the first robin of the year has been spotted hopping on the lawn — for lots of us that means one thing: spring cleaning! If you’re like me, you might actually secretly look forward to this yearly tradition of scrubbing your home from top to bottom; the feeling of renewal combined with a sparkling bathroom just can’t be beat. But is it possible to do it all without harmful cleaning products?
The answer is: of course! GladRags Gabbers, your Green Goal this week is to try out at least one of the below eco-friendly — and budget-friendly! — cleaning tips. Be sure to comment on this post to let us know how you did!
- Wash windows and mirrors by combining equal parts white vinegar and water.
Spray mixture onto surface and wipe off with scrunched up old newspapers for streak-free glass!
- Sprinkle baking soda on bathroom countertops, sinks, or in the tub. Scrub with a damp sponge or cloth to get rid of grime and build-up. Cut a lemon in half and rub it on tough stains for some extra elbow grease.
- Mix 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil with 2 cups of water to create a great kitchen disinfectant spray!
- Thirty minutes before vacuuming, sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on carpets to help eliminate any odors in the rug.
- Add 1/2 cup white vinegar to a gallon of water to safely and effectively mop hardwood floors. Don’t like the smell? Add a few drops of an essential oil, like soothing lavender or uplifting citrus scents.
*Image by Suat Eman
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March 16th, 2010
We’re excited to announce that GladRags has joined the partner program of Powell’s Books, one of the greatest independent booksellers around!
What does that mean to you? For starters, have you noticed the new link in our sidebar to our GladRags Reading List? Check it out to see a list of our recommended reads in a variety of topics — and be sure to check back frequently as we’ll be updating the list as we come across new books! Also, expect to see links to related books at the bottom of upcoming blog posts.
And, when you make any purchase from Powells.com after clicking on a link from this page, we’ll receive a portion of the sale — so you can support GladRags and Powell’s! You can also sell books you no longer need back to Powells.com for cash or store credit.
Do you have a great book you think we should review or recommend? Please comment and let us know so we can share your suggestions with the rest of the GladRags community!
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March 15th, 2010
Menstrual Monday is your place for menstrual news, art, musings, and more!
- Mona Eltahawy has collected a variety of very interesting stories and poems about menstruation into five blog posts: Menstruation, Menstruation II, Menstruation III, Menstruation IV, Menstruation V. If you are looking for an engrossing read, check them out!
- The New York Times shares an amusing and insightful article on what menopause is
like, called Fast Forward to Old Age, Please.
- Plasticcupcake has an adorable whale menstrual cup pouch (see picture) for sale on Etsy. On her blog, Sugar n’ Stitches, you can see other super cute menstrual cup pouches, including a hamster and a fly!
- If you’re feeling crafty yourself, we found this great knit menstrual cup pouch pattern on All is Full of Yarn.
- This article about a Professor [who] Discusses Men’s Roles in Menstruation Ads makes me wish I could take his class at Marymount Manhattan College. How interesting! Academics should tackle the role of menstruation in our culture more often.
- Going on a trip soon? Travel Insights 100 has an insightful article called No Tampons, No Problem: Alternative Products for Female Travelers.
- Wild Mother Arts posted a fabulous article on Moonwise Monday: Washable Cloth Pads.
- Consumer Reports has an article on Tampon Alternatives!
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March 10th, 2010
Eliminating the “dirty dozen” from your personal care products can be a tough chore that leaves your head spinning with ingredients like imidazolidinyl urea and thimerosol. Your challenge this week is to check the label on at least one of your personal care products. Does it contain any of the ingredients listed in the Green Guide’s dirty dozen? If so, start thinking about how you can replace that product when it runs out — and ask yourself if you really need to use it at all!
One of the most fun ways to ensure your bathroom cabinet stays chemical-free is to skip buying commercial products altogether! Making your own beauty products is simple, inexpensive, and eliminates any worry that your new facial cleanser contains scary cancer-causing agents. And when you make it yourself, there’s no added packaging to be tossed into a landfill when you’re through.
Simple Facial Mask & Scrub*
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sugar
- dash of ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Mix the ingredients well in a small cup or bowl. Smooth mixture onto face, avoiding eyes and sensitive areas, and scrub lightly for a moment. This can be a little drippy, so be sure to apply it while over a sink or in the tub! Let the mask sit on your face for 5 to 10 minutes, scrub lightly again, and rinse with water. Pat face dry with a towel and enjoy how soft and moisturized your skin feels!
*As with any new skin care product, always do a spot test on a small area of your skin first.
Did you try this recipe? Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought — or share DIY beauty tips of your own!
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March 3rd, 2010
Here at GladRags we are always trying to find new way to conserve and save. Inspired by Simple Organic’s Green Goal Setting, we have decided to present you, our faithful readers, with a new Green Goal every week! We will specifically be targeting goals that are within reach in a small time frame and a small budget. Tracy (left) and I (right) are going to try them out right along with you and share our experiences in the comments. We hope you will join us in our quest to reduce our footprint, one small step at a time!
First stop on the GladRags’ Green Goals train: cloth napkins and handkerchiefs!
Personally, I grew up in a household that used cloth napkins for all meals. I was always weirded out going to friend’s houses whose families only used paper napkins or paper
towels. Cloth napkins feel so practical and comfortable to me! They are softer and don’t fall apart in your hands like many paper napkins do after some use. There may be a slightly higher upfront cost, but as you reuse the cloth napkins they will save you money and you’ll never run out! Most of the napkins I have came as hand-me-downs from my parents or grandparents, but thrift stores are also a great place to pick some up. Sewing cloth napkins is also a great way to go — even if you are a novice sewer (myself included), this project should be fairly simple. For a great tutorial on making your own napkins check out Chez Beeper Bebe’s blog post (happy face napkins pictured are from her site).
Handkerchiefs are a whole different story. Growing up, we always had a box of tissues. Having had allergies and frequent colds, they have always been useful to me. The tissues with lots of lotion in them were the best as they did not make my nose raw after many uses. In college, I started to feel guilty for wasting all this paper and energy. I started using toilet paper to save money and waste as the cheap toilet paper I use is thin and does not include lotion. Lately, I have been trying to use handkerchiefs more often. Handkerchiefs are also easy to make or cheap to buy at vintage stores. GladRags offers some very soft organic handkerchiefs, too!
Some people have been using cloth napkins and handkerchiefs for years, so this goal is already second nature for them. We challenge you to reduce your paper towel use even more by declining paper napkins with take-out food or carrying your own cloth for hand drying in public restrooms!
Tracy and I hope you will join us in finding fun, simple ways to make our lives even greener. Leave a comment to let us know what you’re doing to conserve or share your own tips with us!
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March 2nd, 2010
*Rolling On the Floor Laughing My GladRags Off
Periods can be a lot of things: uncomfortable, a relief, embarrassing, cause for celebration, a reminder of womanhood, taboo, and more. But funny? We think so — and so did Laura S. of Ohio who sent us this story:
One evening on a car ride with my parents, husband, and ten year old nephew, I started singing the song Rock Around the Clock. When I sang the first line of the first verse, my husband busted out laughing. Only I understood why. The first line of the verse is as follows:
“Put your glad rags on, join me hon. We’ll have some fun when the clock strikes one. We’re gonna rock around the clock tonight…..”
Although “glad rags” can mean “stylish clothes,” my husband had only ever heard of the term GladRags to mean your reusable menstrual pads, hence, his laughter! (My husband didn’t believe that I was singing the correct words until we looked it up on the internet.) So now, whenever he sees me reaching for my GladRags, he asks if I’m getting ready to rock around the clock!
We know you have at least one silly period anecdote — from the time your four-
year-old set the table with your “special napkins” to what happened the first time you wore your Moon Cup to school — and we want to hear it! Goofy photos, like this one of 9-month-old Max wearing a (clean) GladRag as hat, are also valid entries for the contest. Even better, the submitter of the most laugh-out-loud hilarious tale will win a Cloth Pad Sampler Kit!
How it works: Post your story or image as a comment on this entry by 3/17/10. We’ll pick a few favorites and to be voted on on the GladRags Facebook page. The story or photo with the most votes wins a Sampler Kit!
So come on, make us laugh!
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March 1st, 2010
Menstrual news, art, entertainment, activism, and more! It’s a short one today.
Joni Christine has won the Moon Cup Kit contest by posting a comment on last week’s Menstrual Monday blog entry. Please email us by the end of the week at orders@gladrags.com to receive your prize!
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March 1st, 2010
March Monthly Friend: Mary
Name: Mary
Age: 26
Hometown: Laramie, WY
Current location: Laramie, WY
Occupation: University Staff
Interests: Dogs, cooking, coffee, travel…
Dreams: To be a great mom (in 12 weeks when my baby is due!)
How long have you used reusable menstrual products?: 1 year
Reason for making the switch to reusables: I always found regular pads to be so uncomfortable, sticky, and frankly made me yeast-prone no matter how often they were changed. I know a lot of people are worried about the environment, and I care about that too of course, but the bottom line for me was comfort. I picked up GladRags at my local organic co-op and loved them! I have since switched over completely.
Funny anecdotes, deep thoughts, or anything else you’d like to share: So I noted above that I am 28 weeks pregnant. You might think, why does she even need GladRags??? Well let me tell you… it wasn’t too long into the pregnancy that I began to realize that when you are pregnant, everything drips like a faucet. I was at the library a few months ago in an elevator, trying to crane around to look past my belly to see what was on my pants when my boobs started leaking milk too. 
I may not be having my period, but if I don’t wear a liner every day it looks like I peed my (stretchy) pants! No fun at all. This is the adventure that is motherhood, I suppose. Since I had used GladRags my last few periods before I conceived, they were the natural choice for protection with the increased discharge and I am so grateful! Not only do I leak but I sweat too and I think I might die of heat rash if I had to wear sticky plastic every day. Yuck. Not only have cloth pads been good for me, they have been good for my baby too. I’ve been inspired to stock up on reusable breast pads and cloth diapers! These more natural options just feel right, and that’s important when I’m making choices for the little girl I love the most.
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February 22nd, 2010
Hello! You have reached GladRags’ Menstrual Monday. You’re one stop shop for all the newest menstrual news, art, politics, musings, and more! Let’s get right into it and see what we have this week.
- Dr. Machelle Seibel writes about vaginal pH and how different events and items can effect it. He notes that tampons can absorb the natural fluids that vaginas need to
maintain pH. Read his very interesting and short article if you need another reason to not use tampons.
- The Diva Cup commissions a fun informative video about why eco-conscious ladies should use alternative menstrual products in Eco Menstrual Innovations: Diva Cup Give Pads and Tampons the Green Boot.
- Animal New York brings to light what happens When Men Create PMS Ads (see photo) shows us some confusing imagery and targeting techniques. Apparently, a Chilean ad campaign for a midol-type product is attempting to market their product to men to buy for their female significant others. What do you guys thing of this ad? Funny? Disgusting? Sexist? All three?
Bonus: Truth Be Told blog is hosting a GladRags giveaway and review. You can win a color pad sampler pack! Find out the many ways to enter here.
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