**Have you ever seen one of these before?** Do you know what it is?


![59bd75b0-f22d-4eb0-8750-79c23f8c3c72.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/consciouscat/23uFWCmsbxGqT6TnvMR2tNt934VSL9KE87FPKhVHajsJTbQgr4fU3evtXe7rFUcgQymQ4.jpg)


This is a menstrual cup. It's made of medical-grade silicone. It's soft and flexible and designed to be inserted inside the vagina in order to catch the ~~fluid~~ blood leaving a woman's body when she gets her period.

This device came highly recommended to me by a nature-loving friend of mine when I was living in Ubud (Bali, Indonesia) 10 years ago.

**I used it once or twice, and it has sat in a drawer ever since.**

I loved it in theory since it's SO much better for the planet than the ridiculous amount of plastic waste created through the use of sanitary pads but I actually found it uncomfortable, even bordering on painful despite how small it appears in this photo.


![7ba2f454-aadc-4560-b5ef-b739d2fda7f7.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/consciouscat/23xVRJy6SPmxukYwfLWWX6H4f1VKjCkCKr5ZubgTmWDF45LymfUimwB6XnBYWSz2AFNzu.jpg)


These aren't very well-known. And I can see now why they struggled to become popular:

- You need great hygiene habits, as well as access to clean water, because to insert the device you have to put able to put your fingers inside yourself

- Many women wouldn't feel comfortable with doing this process because of the amount of shaming so many of us have experienced around our bodies and especially around our sexual organs

- If I found it so very uncomfortable no doubt other women have too

- And it wasn't cheap. I think this cost me around $50 AUD... which is why I didn't want to chuck it out!

But over the last decade, period underwear, that also used to be 'fringe' has now become far more accepted in the mainstream.And now I have an underwear drawer full of the things.

Which is why it's ridiculous for me to hold onto this menstrual cup any longer.

I don't feel I can give it away. Apparently, I can cut it up into little pieces and scatter it in the garden. Or just pop it in the bin. 

All I know,
is that it is time
to let it go.

---

If you're a ~~woman~~ person who is curious to learn more about menstrual cups, [this website](https://www.menstrualcupsaustraliaonline.com.au/) looks excellent. This is where I discovered what to do with this no-longer-wanted piece of equipment.