This post is dedicated to you, Shirley!

My stepmom Shirley is an environmental trendsetter. She’s been anti-straw FOREVER. She was using reusable bags decades ago. And she’s been composting for as long as I can remember.

We recycle! And I know that’s been making her proud, but I learned this past year that we could be doing more. I also noticed when I shifted my diet and started eating cleaner, we had more food scraps compared to when we were eating pre-packaged foods that could be tied up and eaten again at a later date. Thank you, preservatives.

And then I got a juicer. There’s plenty of food waste that comes with that!

I knew enough about composting from my visits hOmaha, but I wasn’t entirely sure what it was. Composting is the process of recycling organic material (think food scraps, yard debris, and non-recyclable paper – like tissues) into soil. At my parent’s house, they pile their composting right in the backyard. Shirley composts to have good replacement soil for her garden and flowers. “Yard debris,” in her case, also includes manure from six of her horses.

DenverGov.org’s site on composting really helped me to further understand why it’s beneficial to compost. When organic materials end up in landfills (by the way, organic materials make up 58% of Denver landfills), the materials decay without oxygen which creates methane, a climate warming greenhouse gas that is “21 times more potent in its heat-trapping capabilities than carbon dioxide.” Yikes. Composting reduces greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in less methane emitted into the atmosphere. In 2005, 25 million tons of food waste was sent to landfills in the US.

“The greenhouse gas impact of composting this mass would be the equivalent of removing 7.8 million passenger cars from the road.”

I’ve met people who have argued that organic foods are worse for our environment or composting is just as bad. I wasn’t educated on the topics at the time to be able to debate. I have a far better understanding now. Methane is far more damaging than the carbon dioxide our cars emit. Therefore, “the benefits of composting organic material far outweigh the environmental ‘costs’ of collecting, hauling and processing organic material with trucks and equipment that burn fuel.”

Joining the Denver Composts Program was super easy. It did take several weeks for us to get our bins, and we’ve learned a thing or two, like don’t go to England for two weeks without first emptying your kitchen bin.

How it works:

• Since we don’t have a yard, we put our compostable materials into a biodegradable bag. Those bags get stacked throughout the week in a larger bin that goes to the curb to be collected every Tuesday.
• When Denver Recycles empties our compost bin each week, they take the organic material to a commercial composting facility. “The organic material goes through a natural process that transforms it into compost which is sold to local farmers, landscapers and individuals.”
• Composting is a fee-based service costing $29.25 each quarter. It’s worth it to me and making Shirley proud!

DenverGov.org also has a page on their website that teaches the art of Backyard Composting.

Since starting to compost earlier this year, we’ve experience more than one occasion where we didn’t have any trash to take out! I’m even considering trading in our trash bin for a smaller one.

Are you composting yet? If not, please check to see if this is a service provided in your area.

 

Once a year I go see my integrative medicine doctor, Dr. Carriere. Hands down, he’s one of my all-time favorite doctors. And yall know I’ve got a few to choose from. I learn something new from him every time we interact. Weeks leading up to my annual in-person appointment with him, I’m developing a laundry list of questions around trending topics like intermittent fasting and spirulina. I soak up his opinion on everything because he does his research.

During my recent visit, he of course, taught me about something new – Kishu Charcoal. It’s a charcoal bar you add to your water bottle (great for people who are on the go) or water pitcher to purify your water at home (if you’re still using a Brita, this eliminates the black specks in your water). It is the only completely plastic-free water filter.

The process and the product are 100% green. It starts as sustainably harvested oak branches which are slowly heated to extremely high temperatures using a kiln, gradually depriving the oxygen, creating what is called activated carbon. Kishu Charcoal is 97% pure carbon.

Kishu Charcoal and all its packaging are 100% biodegradable.

“This pure form of carbon readily adsorbs or bonds with toxins, principally metals, at the molecular level. Kishu Charcoal has been found to be effective at reducing: LEAD, MERCURY, COPPER, ALUMINUM, URANIUM, and MOLYBDENUM to name a handful of those we tested. In addition, Kishu Charcoal imparts three minerals: Calcium, Magnesium and Potassium.” (read more on their website)

Kishu Charcoal lasts four months and requires monthly maintenance of boiling in water. After four months, it can be used to absorb odors in the refrigerator (better than baking soda!) or mixed into your garden soil to help improve water absorption.

It comes in three sizes (PS – if you order from my amazon links below, it helps me :)):

To Go (for water bottles)
Regular Size (for pitchers)
X-Large (for 3 gallon jugs)

So if you’re on the go a lot (of course not likely now), get a couple of these to keep in your water bottles for when you fill up from untrusted sources. If you don’t trust your water source at home, get larger sized Kishu Charcoal to absorb the impurities and get your water tasting clean again.

Drop. Drink. Enjoy!

 

 

The first time I got my period, my mom cried. She also cried when I found out about Santa Claus and shaved my legs for the first time, which sadly probably weren’t too far off from each other. I was her baby.

I was in the middle of a basketball tournament that weekend when Aunt Flo made her debut. My mom showed me how to use a pad. As I ran up and down the basketball court, my dad said to my mom from the bleachers, “Something is up with Katie. She just doesn’t seem like herself.”

YOU TRY PLAYING A SPORT IN WHAT FEELS LIKE A DIAPER, DAD.

It wasn’t until sophomore year, several months after my mom passed away, that girlfriends finally convinced me to try tampons. I remember sitting on the toilet, trying to follow their directions through the door, fighting back tears as they giggled. I missed my mom.

Thankfully, I figured it out because Lordy tampons are so much easier than pads. Since then, I’ve probably gone through 3000 tampons. I know. This is such riveting information. I’m even going to tell you what kind of applicator I use.

My name is Katie. I like to overshare.

Through the years, I’ve heard mixed reviews on whether or not tampons are, in fact, safe. Was the cotton they are made with sprayed with pesticides? Was it bleached? Oh, they are scented? What’s in that “fragrance” – a catchall word for over 5000 chemicals.

We are sticking these in our vaginas, ladies.

So I did some research and I’m left just as confused. I found one article that claims there’s nothing to be worried about. And another article that supports the claim that some tampons have a certain level of toxicity.

Currently, tampons are classified as medical devices by the FDA (which made me LOL for some reason), therefore are not required to include ingredients, just what they are made of. If I haven’t mentioned it already (I have), I don’t trust the FDA.

Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY) introduced a bill in 2017 that, if passed, would require all manufacturers of tampons and pads to disclose ingredients through the Menstrual Products Right to Know Act of 2017. I would like to please be a fly on the wall the day our government discusses that.

At the end of the day, as a stage 4 cancer thriver, I’m not taking any chances. Last year I made the switch to Lola, mentioned in both articles I found. Lola is an automated monthly service that delivers period and sexual health products to your door (tampons, pads, liners, cramp care, condoms, lubricant, and cleansing wipes). Their products are made with 100% organic cotton.

Here’s how it works:

1. Customize your subscription: Choose from a variety of period and sex products and customize each order to suit your needs. I get the tampons with cardboard applicators and make a custom blend of regular and super.
2. Set your delivery frequency: For each subscription product, you decide when to receive it (every 4 or 8 weeks). They cover standard shipping!
3. Add additional products: Choose from a selection of one-time purchase items anytime without disrupting your subscription.

Every time I get a delivery, I can’t remember what it’s for. And because their packaging is so discreet, I don’t remember until I open the box! I’m able to adjust my order or skip orders because they send a reminder email two days before my next order processes. I can also cancel at any time without penalty.

Lastly, avoiding Target, where I used to pick up tampons, saves me hundreds of dollars per year.

Here’s $5 toward your first order. Give it a try! Get 15% off your first subscription order with code FIRST15. Use Ebates to get $2.50 off your order, too.

If you take nothing else from this post, please stop buying tampons with fragrance in them. That, I know, is not doing you any favors. If you’re that worried you smell, just don’t let anyone’s nose near your vajayjay.

It’s been real.