4.23.2018

Film Photos: Deception Pass and Anacortes 2012

These are some favorites that I never shared. We stopped to walk around Deception Pass and went on a (mostly whaleless) Anacortes whale-watching tour our first year living in Washington.










4.16.2018

Intentional Living: Feminine Hygiene Products

Chemicals in where?
No thanks, please let's not go there.
Cotton is enough.

Feminine hygiene products. If that doesn’t apply to you, feel free to tune out today.

I’ve been extremely excited about the influx of healthier feminine care options into the market lately. It seems crazy that we’ve all been using these chemical-laden products for so long without second thought. Or if you haven’t had that thought yet, maybe it’s time!



My favorite company to offer organic products is Lola. I’ve been using their products for over a year now. They have a great subscription system that is fully customizable. I get their organic tampons in all sizes (and have not tried their pads.) I prefer the design of their compact applicator tampons the best. They come in light, regular, super, and super +, but the applicator is plastic. I’ve switched to buying the cardboard applicator for regular and super (they’re currently not available in light and super+) because they are fully biodegradable.

Another great company offering organic tampons is Sustain Natural. I buy other products from them, but decided not to buy their tampons because they only offer regular and super and their boxes aren’t fully customizable. However, their applicators are made with bio-plastic, and I just really like this company.

Speaking of applicators, there is a new product out of the UK called Dame currently running on Indiegogo. From their site: “D is a reusable tampon applicator. It uses self-cleaning technology and medical grade materials so you can enjoy the comfort of an applicator without the plastic waste.” I’m intrigued.

All great options, but you can even find organic tampons on the shelves at your local stores now. Even Brandless is selling $3 boxes!

In switching from conventional to organic tampons, I’ve realized that they work just as well, but maybe hold a little less volume than you’re used to. So in the time you would expect to wear a regular sized conventional tampon, you may want to bump up to a super organic one.

Finally, do you flush your tampons? I can’t unless I want to risk an emergency plumbing bill. Our house has a sewer pump that doesn’t handle anything beyond organic waste and toilet paper. But in general, you just shouldn’t. Main line sewage clogs are becoming a big problem, and I’d like to do my part to make it easier to create reusable drinking water. This article covers it.

A couple months ago, I realized how much toilet paper I was going through to wrap used tampons for the trash. I was hoping to find an eco-friendly way to dispose of them and came across MaskIT! I highly recommend this product. According to their website, one female goes through 24 rolls of toilet paper to cover one year’s worth of tampons (I think I went through more than that.) Their MaskIT pouch is made from plant starches, vegetable oils, and compostable polymers and is completely biodegradable. It’s easy and hygienic, and I’m just so happy to have found them. They even sent me a hand-written thank you card with my order that reads “Small changes make a BIG difference when we work together! Thank you for helping us save trees!”

I only talk about tampons here because that’s my preference, but if it’s not yours, hopefully you’ll still think about the products you’re using. There’s always the Diva cup, but I’m just not there.

This post contains affiliate links. You can read the Amazon Affiliate disclosure in the sidebar. Please know I only ever post links I personally support and think may add value to my readers. Thank you for supporting the blog!

4.12.2018

Intentional Living: The Basics

Plastic everywhere,
But not in my body please.
We can do better.

I’ve realized lately that there are a few earth-friendly tasks that I assume everyone does. And it’s sadly just not true. So I’d love to share these actions that I find to be very basic and easy to implement into your daily life.

1. Recycle everything you can. Find your local recycling program’s requirements and learn them. Tape the guidelines to your refrigerator or your recycle bin and do your part. Nothing that is recyclable should end up in your trashcan.

You can always just get another little bin to hold your recyclables, but if you’re looking for a good system, we’ve used these slimmer connectable trash cans in the past, and recently switched to this stackable Muji system. Ideally, I would try to stay away from plastic bins and have stainless, but I find this to be a good solution for now based on price, convenience, and size.


Our Muji trash bin: recycling on top, trash on the bottom, and compost in the freezer. :)

2. Use steel or glass water bottles. There is no need to buy plastic water bottles unless you had a lapsed moment where you forgot your reusable water bottle, aren’t near home, and can’t find a place to give you a glass of water (happens to us all). I highly recommend Klean Kanteen (stainless) and Bkr (glass), both of which I wash in the dishwasher (always a big selling point for me.)

If you like that bottled water comes filtered and want to be able to refill away from home, I recommend keeping a GoPure water purifier pod in your reusable water bottle.

3. Do not have plastic straws in your home. You will be just fine without a straw. Or, buy a plastic alternative straw. I have 4 stainless straws (2 regular and 2 smoothie sized). They also come in glass, bamboo, and there are compostable plant-based packs on amazon. You have options. Then, try to pass on that straw when you’re out and about.

If we can make these three simple adjustments the new baseline, maybe we can have an impact on this.

This post contains affiliate links. You can read the Amazon Affiliate disclosure in the sidebar. Please know I only ever post links I personally support and think may add value to my readers. Thank you for supporting the blog!
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