Project Declutter: The first item to go.

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

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.

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 looks excellent. This is where I discovered what to do with this no-longer-wanted piece of equipment.