I will never forget spending time on my favorite east coach beach as a child and later as an adult, only to see plastic tampon applicators littering the beach here and there alongside cigarette butts, bits of seagrass and shell fragments. Applicator free tampons seemed like the way to go, but there are even better choices with reusable products listed below.
The Diva Cup, and others like it, are washable/reusable and you can sterilize them between cycles. It takes some getting used to, but once you get comfortable, it's a game changer. Just make sure you empty it accordingly if before doing anything really active to avoid accidents. Speaking of that, I find it's always a good idea to double up with some reusable cloth pads, covered next.
Reusable cloth pads also take some getting used to and can seem expensive at first, but once you have enough for a week's needs you're set, for a long time if you take care of them. They are available from a variety of sellers on Etsy, but the moon pads from Marley's Monsters are the next ones I'll try. They have a whole page of products for "moon time." To wash them use a handheld bidet sprayer first to rinse them (see next), then just throw them in the hot wash and line dry. Sunshine is good for helping sanitize them and also for bleaching them out. You may want to consider getting them in a dark color.
We got one of these for rinsing cloth diapers into the toilet, but it has come in really handy for other things to, like rinsing reusable pads and rinsing out the Diva Cup. It's also great for rinsing off 3 am surprise vomit from kids' pajamas, etc... and rinsing out items sprayed with spontaneous bloody noses. The version we have is over ten years old, and still working great, we just have to make sure the on/off valve is always in the off position when not in use and that we shake out the little shower head after use to drain it all the way. They are easy to find online.
My peri bottle was a leftover from childbirth, but I held onto it and have found it great for rinsing out the Diva Cup when I am away from home and my handheld bidet sprayer. Peri bottles are available online and probably at pharmacies.
Reusable wet bags are a great way to carry around and store your supplies. Sources that carry reusable pads often carry wet bags too. I really like the PlanetWise wet bags. They are pricey, but they last a really long time so it's worth it.
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