I stopped buying panty liners long ago. Since being laid off my job, I have been looking for extra ways to make money go farther. Instead of throwing old socks away, I have always kept them to use for other purposes like cleaning rags; I now keep them for yet another use. I lay the sock flat and cut up one side and toe, opening it up to one piece of cloth. I kept one panty liner for a pattern. I cut several layers from the pattern from the sock and discard the scraps. I had some old quilted place mats I never used and an old mattress pad that was never used. From these, I cut several layers from the pattern.
By duckie-do from Cortez, CO
I'm guessing yoder178 is speechless because s/he has never heard of this. I have never used cloth feminine products myself and am past that stage of life, so I never will, but many women in the USA and certainly around the world do. It is a growing movement. Think about it: if you use cloth diapers, how is this any weirder or more difficult?
I wonder if yoder178 has heard about family cloth yet? LOL.
I love it when people think outside the box and not only does this save money but this also ends up helping our environment including trees and our landfills! I feel badly for those of you who are spoiled and think this is an icky idea :-( You probably wouldn't have faired well before disposable was invented by nurses during WWI. Oh, and fabric is fabric whatever it's source and it's washable. By the way, women used old bed linens, etc before WWI ;-) Here's a photo of a homemade flannel covered pad like Ducky-Do is talking about.
Although I've never made or used these, I heard of a large growing movement of women who are making reusable ones of all shapes and sizes. It seems to me that some are so caught-up in the idea of making them with "used" clothing, that the idea has gone right past them. From what I've read, you can make them with any absorbable fabric. Using nylon fabric in the last layer will make them leak-proof.
Yes, this is what women used to do before disposables were invented. My suggestion to those who would be interested in this if it were not so time-consuming is to simply use the rags without sewing them up. And as for the sock-on-the-foot thing, one bleaching before use will put an end to that problem.
I'm all for ideas that make sense and save money and the environment. Thanks for having the guts to share this tip with everyone.
