I’m very easy going, and can get along with nearly anyone I meet. But there’s one week out of the month that no one wants to be around me. My hair is usually in disarray, I’m wearing sweats and I’m very cranky. If you’re a woman, you know what I’m talking about because chances are that you probably go through it too.

If it wasn’t for the cramps and headaches, I’d probably still be cranky because I absolutely despise the mess that comes along with the monthly menstrual flow. I’ve been called everything from a germaphobe, to an obsessive compulsive clean freak (although you probably couldn’t tell if you saw my cluttered living room right now).

Pads, in my opinion, are the epitome of grossness. You’re basically sitting in an adult diaper that moves around, leaks and is just no fun to sit on. Tampons are better as far as being “neater,” but they run the risk of TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome) and death (go read your box, it will warn you that it could kill you), not to mention they contain a bunch chemicals that women are putting inside their bodies. Can you say eeeewww??? And have you noticed that your cramps are worse when you wear tampons? I have!

Suffice it to say I have been ready for an alternative for a long time.  I didn’t want to use cloth pads, because despite the fact that they are greener they don’t eliminate my issue with mess.  That’s why when I learned about menstrual cups, after initially being weirded out, I was ready to try them. How bad could they be right?

So what is a menstrual cup? It’s a cup that you insert into “you know where”, and it collects the blood from the cervix. Drop your jaw off of the floor, and hear me out before you quickly click away and never return.

For the first two days of trying out the menstrual cup (I got the Diva Cup brand), I did have a few issues and continued to wear pads to catch a few leaks. It took me several tries to finally figure out how to get it inserted correctly.  Once I figured it all out and got it in right, I was flabbergasted, to say the least. Here’s what I discovered:

1. When a menstrual cup is inserted correctly, you can’t even feel it.  If I wasn’t very conscious of it, I would forget it was in there!  If you can feel it or it is uncomfortable, then it’s not in right.
2. Cups can be emptied twice a day: Once in the morning when you get up, and then at night before going to bed.  This is one of the most amazing things to me.
3. You can still go to the bathroom while a cup is in.
4. There is no risk of TSS, because the cup doesn’t absorb anything.  All it does is collect.
5. A cup is by far cleaner to deal with than pads or tampons.  All you do is empty it, wash it with a fragrance-free mild soap and then reinsert it.  If you are in a public place, just empty and reinsert it, then wash it later when you get home.   After your cycle is over, you can clean the cup by boiling it or soaking it in s a diluted hydrogen peroxide mixture.
6. Cups are non-toxic and are a great way to go green!  No more filling landfills with pads or tampons.
7. If the cup is in correctly (which you figure out how to do pretty quickly), then there are no leaks!!!  If you know you are about to start your period, then just insert the cup and you don’t have to worry about any leaks happening.
8. Cramps become non-existent.  At least this was the case with me.  The chemicals in pads and tampons, as well as the rubbing of these products are what cause a lot of cramping.  Caffeine does this too, so I’m sure to stay away from caffeine the first two days of my cycle.
9. Cups save you money.  For $25 you can get a Diva Cup on Amazon (best price I have found), and you never have to buy pads or tampons again.  If taken care of properly, a cup can last years or even decades.

Now I know what you all are thinking, because I was thinking it too: GROSS!  After giving the Diva Cup a try, everything is cleaner and more sanitary than it has ever been during one week out of the month.  It’s like I don’t even have a period anymore!  I hope you will not knock it before you try it, or think that I am just a whack job for putting this out there.  This is the best thing I ever could have done for my period, and am happy to say that this obsessive compulsive germaphobe, now has a happy “clean” period.