I hate to call my girlfriends out like this, but I’ve noticed that most of the women I know all still use some kind of tampon with a plastic applicator. This is a pet peeve of mine. While I’m still not to the point where I want to use a cup instead of a ‘feminine cigar,’ I highly recommend that all women use an applicator-free tampon. I will forever maintain that you will get to know your own body better if you don’t use an applicator - srrrrsly . . . if you can’t touch yourself, who can?

I read an article in Mother Jones Magazine last fall about how the world’s oceans and beaches are getting inundated by plastic applicator trash. We as women are supposed to be closer to Mama Nature, but the tampon industry, in an effort to market ‘useful’ things, have forgotten to remind us that these applicators often end up spoiling our land.

There’s not much of anything more nasty than walking the beach after a heavy rain and seeing a used applicator poking out of the sand. Just sayin’.

To-go boxes just confuse me. Why do restaurants insist on packing our food in these things? Often I find that they are much bigger than needed and in the end, they get tossed. It’s a waste. Don’t let the recycling emblem on a food box trick you. It’s nearly impossible to recycle styrofoam (or any kind of packaging that has food bits, grease, etc stuck on it.)

Being on the road, I have the capacity to go through many of these boxes. I always ask for my leftovers to be wrapped in a piece of tin foil. Sometimes the server looks at me as though I’ve sprouted a third head from my armpit when I ask for a piece of tin foil as opposed to a box. Sometimes I have to take extra time to explain that I do not want a to-go box. But it’s worth it.

Obviously, some wet items like soup or chinese food necessitate more packaging, but for that extra half-sandwich, this is a small and very effective way to cut down on waste. Plus, an item wrapped in foil fits easier into your purse or back-pack. I’ve even carried leftover pancakes tucked flat and neat inside my journal with this method. It’s easier to trek when your hands are free and you’re not lugging around a burdensome bag with a to-go box inside.

Remember - it’s all about re-education. People don’t think of solutions as it’s often easier to accept what is presented - and restaurants usually only give the option of a to-go box. Help re-educate in restaurants. Ask for your leftovers to be wrapped in tin foil. Or if you want to get really hard-core eco-friendly, ask for a newspaper wrapper. For now, tin foil works for me.

I just won a contest sponsored by Beth at wanderlustandlipstick.com by submitting unique eco-travel tips . . . here are my winning suggestions. I won a really cool portable water filtration unit called a Steripen. Thanks Beth, for sponsoring this contest! I can’t wait to get out there and be someplace where I need to use my new toy.

Here are my Eco Travel Tips -

* Carry a flat plastic universal sink stopper to plug up sinks or shower drains and save water.

* Invest in a metal/vintage razor with removable blades. They are sleek, sexy and NOT plastic. You don’t need a moisturizing strip, contrary to what Gilette may have taught you to believe.

* Pick up beach glass in lieu of shells. The shells on the beaches in Puget Sound, for example, are being depleted by scavenging humans more quickly than they can be replaced. Beach glass is awesome for any kind of art project and all the pieces are unique, plus the act of collecting it helps the planet!

* My spoon has traveled 10,000 miles. It’s saved me from using countless plastic sporks.