This post brought to you by Softcup. All opinions are 100% mine.

When it comes to our periods women have other options, beyond the traditional tampon or sanitary pad, though you would not think so by looking at most store shelves. Tampons and pads reign supreme and yet both have so many issues, healthwise and environmental, that it makes sense to look at the other options.

Pads are sumpremely uncomfortable (like wearing a diaper), they leak, and they end up in landfills in mass quantities. Tampons give us a bit more freedom but they rob us of moisture and put us at risk for Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) which is pretty nasty. Both are made with bleached materials and a host of not so savory chemicals.

Years ago I made the switch to a menstrual cup and have never looked back. I sing their praises to any woman who will listen and lately many women have asked me what I think about the disposable cups on the market like SoftCup. I never tried them so I didn’t have much to offer other than my initial reaction which was that I do not prefer single use disposable products. This week though I decided to give it ago in the name of research of course, and see I thought about them. I was pleasantly surpised to find that that I like them very much.

It is a cup that collects that menstrual flow and instead of washing and reusing like you would with a regular cup, these are meant to be tossed in the garbage after each use. They are much safer for you then a tampon, with no known risk of TSS. It’s hypo-allergenic, latex-free and completely safe when used as directed. I think they make a great intro product for any woman looking to see if a cup will work for them.

Insertion was easy. You just squeeze the cup together and insert by pushing down and back as far as it will go. I found it easiest to insert in the shower. Getting it out had me just a bit worried but that was no big deal either. You just bear down a bit and hook your finger under the rim and remove (keeping is steady to avoid a spill). After that you can dump the liquid in the toilet (or let it go down the shower drain), stick the cup back inside the wrapper, and throw away.

What I liked best: They are very comfortable (can’t even feel it). I could exercise as usual and this was a biggie for me because I love my CrosssFit classes and I have had issues with my regular cup during strenuous exercise. On heavy flows days I will skip class but that would not be necessary with the Softcup. I could swim while wearing it and and even have sex while wearing it without any kind of mess whatsoever ( I was very impresed). It can be worn for 12 hours.

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We don’t have any dogs in our home…yet. We badly want one but we are renters and it’s just too much stress to have a pet at this time. To get our fill we have to make regular trips to Nana’s house where there are two furbabies available to love on.

Every year the #1 Christmas gift priority award is bestowed upon those dogs by my kids. Forget everyone else in the family…as long as those doggies have full stockings we are all good.

This means I have to be on the lookout for more planet friendly options and there are many at the Only Natural Pet Store. I recently got an email highlighting their new 2 Ball Toss & Tug Toy. It’s a durable, inventive toy made entirely of reclaimed materials, making it more eco-friendly. The rope is repurposed climbing rope and the balls are reclaimed. Made in Colorado too! I know two someone’s named Zoey and Koko who would love these…

Also Read: Healthy Pets, Green Pets

Ecocentric Mom is a monthly product subscription service. I have reviewed a handful of these services on this blog and have always really liked the concept. It makes me feel like I am getting presents when every month something is delivered to my door with surprise goodies. Even though you are paying for it, it is still tons of fun. This particular box is designed to provide you with an array of earth friendly goodies for mom each month.

I got a box from Ecocentric Mom to review this month…their first month in service. Let’s dig in shall we?

Orgain Creamy Chocolate Fudge Nutritional Shake – This is a really interesting product. It is part protein shake and part veggie/fruit smoothie. It is designed to be a meal replacement shake or just a nutritional booster. I think it will make an awesome post workout refresher after CrossFit today. It has 24 vitamins and minerals and real fruits and veggies, all organic. The only thing I don’t care for is the fact that it is sweetened with brown rice syrup. As a paleo I probably will not continue buying.

Natural Vitality Natural Calm Organic Cherry Flavor - We love Natural Calm products so this was a welcome addition to the box. We are big fans of magnesium supplementation.

Tree Hugger Bubble Gum - My kids rarely get gum (see why here) so they were all over the two bags of gum in this box. It is naturally colored gumballs, gluten free, cane sugar, nut free, dairy free, kosher, and made with a sustainable chicle gum base. I had some myself and adored the cinnamon. Yum!

Laura Brooke Cosmetiques Guava Lip Glaze – Made with organic, natural ingredients. I will testing this out at BlogHer next week but so far I like it.

Vaska Scent Free Laundry Detergent - I have used Vaska before and liked it. I am sure I will feel the same this go round.

Naturally It’s Clean Floor Cleaner - I love the orange scent of this. I typically just use vinegar/water or maybe some Dr. Bronner’s so it is nice to use something new. Made with water, plant based enzymes, coconut oil surfactants, essential orange oil, and natural orange color.

Green Body Green Planet Shampoo and Conditioner – I got four little bottles. Two are the Energy blend (body and fullness) and two are the Revitalizing (cleanse and nourish) blend. Their formulas consist of 13 organic plant extracts and oils meant to nourish the hair and scalp. They are also sulphate free! I plan to take these to New York next week (BlogHer) and will replace the hotel shampoo and conditioner bottles with these.

Lastly the box came with a 100% natural cotton sport pack, coupons, and a brochure highlighting the products and giving out online coupon codes for many of them for anywhere from 10% to 40% off online purchase.

You can join Ecocentric Mom here for as little as $17 a month and free shipping.

About the same time I got my new bed I also got a new pillow. Hurray! Before getting to test drive the Savvy Rest Shredded Latex Pillow you see above I was using some organic cotton pillows that frankly were not that comfortable. In fact I was using two of them at once because they tended to get flatter and flatter with each passing day. I ended up passing my pillows on to my daughter, along with my old bed actually. While neither is that great IMO they are better than what she currently had. Why is it that kids pillows always end up stained and gross even if you have rules about food in the bedroom???

Anyway, Savvy Rest sells lots of organic and natural bedding products including natural mattresses. When my pillow arrived it came over stuffed so I had to remove quite a bit of the shredded latex filling. I ended up bagging it and it will hang out in my closet until I figure out a way to reuse it. It is super soft Dunlop and natural Talalay latex rubber that is shredded into tiny pieces. I am am not big on the big blocks of latex that make up contoured pillows so this seemed like the perfect compromise. The cover is organic cotton.

I have been using it for a few weeks now and I quite like it. Being able to add/remove the filling allows you to customize it to your preferred comfort level. If you like a firm pillow no problem. If you like a soft pillow that is no problem either just remove the fill as needed. I find that I needed to remove quite a bit since I have a memory foam mattress that I tend to sink into. I imagine I could make another pillow with what I have left over. ;) Plus the cover is removeable so that it can be washed if it gets dirty.

Helpful Links: Savvy Rest on Facebook  | Savvy Rest on Google+  |  Savvy Rest on Pinterest

I have a giveaway for US readers. If you would like to win a standard size, shredded latex pillow then fill out the Rafflecopter form below. A winner will be selected at random. Good luck!

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Disclosure: I received a free pillow to review for this post but my opinions as always are my own.

A company called The Conscious Box recently contacted me and asked if they could send me one of their “boxes”. I had never heard of the company before but I was familiar with what they were offering. I have seen it in one other place and fell in love with the concept. For whatever reason I never ordered though. Instead I would just see a link or a mention somewhere and think to myself that “gee I need to order of one of those” and then promptly forget. Thanks to this inventive company I finally got my goodie box! It is just as fun and exiting as I suspected it would be.

The idea is that you buy a monthly subscription and get a box filled with mystery goodies delivered to your door each month. You have no idea what will be in the box only that it will be a mish mesh of green and ethical goodies. Each month you get pure and natural products from organic food to vegan beauty supplies. The companies behind the products are all ethical and purpose driven businesses and the hope is that you will discover and fall in love with some wonderful new products and companies. You get to support companies that are working to make a happier, healthier planet, and a healthier you with natural and safe products. There is a card in the box with tips for ways to reuse the cardboard box your goodies came in. LOVED the idea to use it as a window box and plant flowers in it or use it as a picture frame! Attached to the box is a card with the monthly theme. For November it was gratitude, which is an easy sell when you open such a yummy box. The little quotes about gratitude were awesome at any rate.

I think the reason I love this concept so much is because I love surprises. Getting a surprise box every month is so much fun and I get to try stuff I might not otherwise have tried. Almost every single thing in the box was new to me. Woot! This is what came inside my November box:

A Mary’s Gone Crackers Double Chocolate Cookie – Yum! Dark, rich chocolate and by a company that makes several crackers that I love. I had no idea they made cookies though. Guess I haven’t been to Whole Foods in awhile. The only issue I had is that it has soy in it. As you may know… soy and I are not on good terms.

Funky Monkey Dried Pink Pineapple – Another yum. Major yum. They are vegan, raw, and gluten free. My kids descended on these like vultures and begged that we keep buying. These would be perfect for school lunches IMO.

Living Nutz Bodacious Banana Bread Walnuts – We are not newbies to Living Nutz. They are fracking awesome in our estimation. We had never had the Banana Bread Walnuts though. Yummo! They do in fact taste just like banana bread. You can buy them at Raw Food World.

KIND Almond and Coconut Bar – I have seen these around but never tried one before. Whoa baby they are good!

Honest Kids Tropical Tango Punch – What can you say about juice boxes really? My 5 year old drank it up and claimed to liked it, LOL. They are organic, contain half the calories and sugar of most children’s drinks, and have no high fructose corn syrup.

CocoaWell Pills- These I had never seen before. Apparently they give you a dose of cocoa without the calories and fat you would get from eating chocolate. The cocoa is infused with green tea and acacia catechu – nature’s richest sources of pure plant flavanols. Fair trade!

Glee Gum – We got mint and lemon-lime. Glee Gum is a natural gum alternative, with no preservatives, artificial flavorings, or colorings. It is also the only gum on the market which contains chicle in its gum base. It is not 100% plastic free gum but it comes much closer than other gum products. My 11 year old son liked the mint flavor and my 7 year old daughter HATED the lemon-lime for the record.

Pharmacopia Organic Verbena Body Lotion and Body Wash – These two smell divine, that’s for sure. Since we don’t buy products like these they seemed like a super luxurious shower treat. Formulated with certified organic ingredients and an aromatherapy blend of essential oils.

100% Pure Nourishing Cream – We got Vanilla Bean and Green Apple. – Haven’t tried them personally since I am not big on lotion and I don’t have a need for it really but I suspect I will enjoy them sometime this winter.

Loved the experience of getting this box and I will definitely have to become a subscriber!