No bathroom bin

[Veeveeoxox]

If you are at relatives house with no bathroom bins where do you put your used sanitary stuff? I've been wrapping my tampons putting in handbag and putting them in the outside bin. I would always empty the bathroom bin and my periods are very heavy so need changing frequently., SIL isnt menopausal even my dad who lives alone has bathroom bins ??!!

@deeplyambivalent

But what do people do with their dental floss? And ear buds? And cotton wool?

FFS READ THE FULL THREAD!!!!

My folks don't have a bathroom bin. I wrap any used sanpro (and also wipes, cotton pads etc) and put them in a sandwich bag to take home.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

As for the poster who says she has a cat litter in her toilet I can't think of anything more gross. Cat poo in your own bathroom? MN is certainly an education into how people live.

This might come as a shock to you but humans also poo in the bathroom. Cat poos or wees (not very often, he usually uses the garden), one of us scoops into a bag that goes into the outside bin. Easy!

Fucking hell, anyone would think I have cat shit piling up in the bathroom!

Haha, everyone I know who has a cat that uses a litter tray, has the tray in the kitchen.

Baffling to see a bathroom, where humans also shit, is somehow unhygienic.

@Inertia

Societal attitudes to menstruation do need to change, but we won’t achieve that by forcing embarrassed 9 year old girls to carry used pads to the kitchen bin in their friends’ houses.

I 100% agree with this. I have a 7 year old girl so it's likely there will be menstruatIng girls in my house in the coming years. They will be free to come and put their pads in the kitchen bin if they wish, but if they'd prefer to put them in the bathroom bin that is also fine. I'm also one of those folk who have pads and tampons out on the shelf for people to help themselves.

It is undignified, and it sends a message that menstruating is an unacceptable thing to experience, not an ordinary, everyday part of life

I disagree.

It is the posters who are "disgusted" at the idea of Sanpro in their kitchen bin or saying that it's "shameful and embarrassing" walking through a house with used Sanpro who are sending this message.

If menstruating is normal why not have a bathroom bin and empty it after a guest has stayed? You wouldn't put the kitchen bin in the living room or bedroom and expect people to walk through the house with kitchen waste so why expect the same with bathroom waste?

But given that it’s an ordinary everyday part of life, why the awkwardness around disposing of the used items? Shouldn’t it be similar to dumping used tissues, nobody bats an eyelid at snot-filled tissues being in the kitchen bin. Saying they can only be disposed of in the bathroom bin for reasons of comfort and dignity and using words like ‘forced to parade through the house carrying leaking tampons’ (am paraphrasing from a number of posters) sounds very much like telling women this is shameful and needs to be hidden.

When no bathroom bin is provided for those people in the house who may be in need of somewhere to dispose of sanpro are you not saying to women that the norm is non-menstruation and people who do not menstruate? That menstruation is something so unusual in your mind, such a minority interest, that you don't feel you need to cater for it?

To take your argument to its logical conclusion - if you didn't need to pee or poo, would it be ok to reach into your knickers and pull out the last tampon of your period bang smack in the middle of someone's kitchen, or, realising your period had begun, could you insert one right there in the kitchen if you were wearing a dress or a pair of sweatpants baggy enough to allow this?
Menstruation is a natural fact of life, the details of which require zero privacy after all.

When no bathroom bin is provided for those people in the house who may be in need of somewhere to dispose of sanpro are you not saying to women that the norm is non-menstruation and people who do not menstruate? That menstruation is something so unusual in your mind, such a minority interest, that you don't feel you need to cater for it?

No, it’s saying this isn’t something that necessarily needs to be hidden and it’s not shameful, grim, embarrassing or undignified to dump sanitary products in a kitchen bin. Just like how not having a bathroom bin for the disposal of dental floss or cotton pads isn’t sending messages about dental hygiene or make up removal for those who use either/both.

To take your argument to its logical conclusion - if you didn't need to pee or poo, would it be ok to reach into your knickers and pull out the last tampon of your period bang smack in the middle of someone's kitchen, or, realising your period had begun, could you insert one right there in the kitchen if you were wearing a dress or a pair of sweatpants baggy enough to allow this?
Menstruation is a natural fact of life, the details of which require zero privacy after all

For starters, I never said menstruation required zero privacy, did I? Nor did anyone ends, AFAIR. But tbh, if this is what you think is a logical conclusion to my point, I’m afraid I can’t help you there

No, it’s saying this isn’t something that necessarily needs to be hidden and it’s not shameful, grim, embarrassing or undignified to dump sanitary products in a kitchen bin. Just like how not having a bathroom bin for the disposal of dental floss or cotton pads isn’t sending messages about dental hygiene or make up removal for those who use either/both.

Not having a bathroom bin for disposal of those items is just plain rude and inhospitable if you have people to stay or even if family members have those items to dispose of. If you expect family members to traipse through a house when they come in after a night out to throw out makeup wipes you have a weirdly under furnished home.

Not having a bathroom bin for sanpro disposal is saying that only disposal of dental floss or cotton pads, items you could carry through a house and dump in a family bin (in a home lacking in basic conveniences), is normal and to be expected. The default is catering for something men do as well as women. But when it comes to something only women do, sorry, nothing special is provided. Menstruation must not be considered a natural bodily function and this is underlined by not providing a necessary bin in a bathroom.

Not providing a bathroom bin sends the message that menstruation is so shameful that men (and other women) can't even see a hint of it in the shape of a little bathroom bin. It's like hiding sanpro away so nobody suspects it exists and nobody is reminded of the bodily function it is for.

@sammylady37, do you think there could be a privacy issue inherent in requiring women and girls to walk through a house carrying bloody sanpro?

Do you think a host or hostess should be able to quiz women and girls about the status of their menstrual cycle?

Do you think a host or hostess should be able to ask guests or family members about the quality or consistency of their latest dump and their bowel habits in general?

Do you think bathrooms should have doors? If yes, why?

I see it the opposite way. Having a bathroom bin for disposal of sanitary items and being utterly disgusted at the thought they might be in the kitchen bin, or feeling that being ‘forced’ to walk through the house carrying them is some sort of cruel and unusual punishment , is what’s sending the message that this is something for women only, something shameful and that men should bot be made aware it’s going on. It’s literally hiding the topic from everyday run of the mill life in the house. ‘That’s the special bin, the one for your whisper^ sanitary products. Don’t let anyone see you carrying one, whatever you do, you know that’s grim, don’t you!’

And as for this: If you expect family members to traipse through a house when they come in after a night out to throw out makeup wipes you have a weirdly under furnished home, is the concept of leaning wipes neatly piled up at the side of the sink/elsewhere til morning and then bringing them to a bin utterly alien to you? Can you stretch your imagination to the extend that you understand some people might be perfectly happy to do this, and not traipse around a house at night in search of a bin, and find their host’s house underfurnished?

I must admit to ripping up pads and flushing in the past, unless it was some kind of chemical toilet system. My DM told me to do that when I was 12 and I never thought anything of it until fairly recently.

Also places where they have no loo brush can have fairly awkward and disgusting consequences.

[quote mathanxiety]@sammylady37, do you think there could be a privacy issue inherent in requiring women and girls to walk through a house carrying bloody sanpro?

Do you think a host or hostess should be able to quiz women and girls about the status of their menstrual cycle?

Do you think a host or hostess should be able to ask guests or family members about the quality or consistency of their latest dump and their bowel habits in general?

Do you think bathrooms should have doors? If yes, why?[/quote]
The corner you’re tying to back me into is brightly lit and has flashing neon lights over it.

I never once said urinating, menstruating or defecating required zero privacy so please stop trying to insinuate I did.

What I did say was that as menstruation is a normal part of life, then the practicalities of dealing with it should not be hidden. Not that people should loudly announce details about their flow, the size of clots etc, no more than people sit at the dinner table and talk about the size, colour and consistency of their latest shit. But just like how nobody hides the purchase, existence or disposal of toilet roll (and when I say ‘disposal’ I mean the inner tube) I don’t think people should hide the purchase, existence or disposal of sanitary products. That doesn’t mean I think people should change them in front of an audience, ffs. Your ‘taking it to a logical conclusion’ attempts are ridiculous at this stage.

is the concept of leaning wipes neatly piled up at the side of the sink/elsewhere til morning and then bringing them to a bin utterly alien to you?

It's totally alien to me. So, let me get this straight - I stay at yours, when we go bed I take off my make up with wipes (I mean, I wouldn't but anyway) and then leave them, used, on the side of the sink, for the rest of the family to see when they go to use the bathroom?

I'd be pretty disgusted to have to deal with my own ablutions with someone else's dirty rubbish right next to me. And what if the whole family needs to do the same - how big does this neat pile get? Or, does someone take the previous person's offerings through the house to the kitchen bin?

What an odd system.

@VanGoghsDog

is the concept of leaning wipes neatly piled up at the side of the sink/elsewhere til morning and then bringing them to a bin utterly alien to you?

It's totally alien to me. So, let me get this straight - I stay at yours, when we go bed I take off my make up with wipes (I mean, I wouldn't but anyway) and then leave them, used, on the side of the sink, for the rest of the family to see when they go to use the bathroom?

I'd be pretty disgusted to have to deal with my own ablutions with someone else's dirty rubbish right next to me. And what if the whole family needs to do the same - how big does this neat pile get? Or, does someone take the previous person's offerings through the house to the kitchen bin?

What an odd system.

This is how it works in my house:

There are three bathrooms. I live alone. None of the bathrooms has a bin. I don’t use cotton pads/wipes regularly but when I do I leave them at the side of the sink (if it’s nighttime) and carry them to the kitchen bin next morning. If I use them in the morning, I carry them to the kitchen bin when I’m going to the kitchen.

Guests use the guest bathroom and can do the same, and indeed they do dispose of them similarly to me.

No drama, no fuss, no disgust, no towering piles of dirty rubbish.

is the concept of leaning wipes neatly piled up at the side of the sink/elsewhere til morning and then bringing them to a bin utterly alien to you? Can you stretch your imagination to the extend that you understand some people might be perfectly happy to do this, and not traipse around a house at night in search of a bin, and find their host’s house underfurnished?

@sammylady37
Yes, it is completely alien to me. Leaving garbage lying around or forcing others to leave it lying around is awful.

And don't leave your used tissues lying around either, thank you.

You can buy a small bathroom bin for very little. Not to do so is weirdly cheap and also inconsiderate.

What I did say was that as menstruation is a normal part of life, then the practicalities of dealing with it should not be hidden. Not that people should loudly announce details about their flow, the size of clots etc, no more than people sit at the dinner table and talk about the size, colour and consistency of their latest shit. But just like how nobody hides the purchase, existence or disposal of toilet roll (and when I say ‘disposal’ I mean the inner tube) I don’t think people should hide the purchase, existence or disposal of sanitary products. That doesn’t mean I think people should change them in front of an audience, ffs. Your ‘taking it to a logical conclusion’ attempts are ridiculous at this stage.

The logical conclusion of your argument is exactly as I have stated.

Nobody should bat an eyelid at changing a tampon in the sitting room. Turn your back on your company, hoik up your dress at the front, pull your knickers down a bit, whip a tampon out, put it down on a tissue on the coffee table, and stick a new one in. Normal, natural part of life, what's not to applaud.

Women should be quite happy to announce that they are menstruating while seated at the dinner table. They are doing this when they carry a bloody tampon to the kitchen bin after all, so what's the difference?

The Fab Little Bags someone linked to upthread are really good for tampons, I doubt a pad would fit though. I use them at home, but if I didn’t I would definitely get some for visiting other people’s houses. I wouldn’t leave a tampon wrapped in toilet paper in a bin anywhere in someone else’s house, it will smell.

I see you live alone, @sammylady37.

Do you have a bathroom door, and if so do you leave it open or do you close it when using the loo?

And nobody is talking about 'towering piles of dirty rubbish'.

Just rubbish that belongs in a bin placed conveniently in the bathroom where it is generated.

@mathanxiety

What I did say was that as menstruation is a normal part of life, then the practicalities of dealing with it should not be hidden. Not that people should loudly announce details about their flow, the size of clots etc, no more than people sit at the dinner table and talk about the size, colour and consistency of their latest shit. But just like how nobody hides the purchase, existence or disposal of toilet roll (and when I say ‘disposal’ I mean the inner tube) I don’t think people should hide the purchase, existence or disposal of sanitary products. That doesn’t mean I think people should change them in front of an audience, ffs. Your ‘taking it to a logical conclusion’ attempts are ridiculous at this stage.

The logical conclusion of your argument is exactly as I have stated.

Nobody should bat an eyelid at changing a tampon in the sitting room. Turn your back on your company, hoik up your dress at the front, pull your knickers down a bit, whip a tampon out, put it down on a tissue on the coffee table, and stick a new one in. Normal, natural part of life, what's not to applaud.

Women should be quite happy to announce that they are menstruating while seated at the dinner table. They are doing this when they carry a bloody tampon to the kitchen bin after all, so what's the difference?

And with this ridiculous ‘logic’, I’m out. If you genuinely think this is a logical argument, then I have no interest in trying to have a reasonable discussion with you. I’m not a fan of metaphorically banging my head off a brick wall.

Well, you say "no disgust" but it is disgusting not to have somewhere at hand to dispose of rubbish and have to work around it - towering or not.

I doubt your guests would tell you how they feel about it.

Btw, don't worry, it's quite usual when you live alone to get into anti social habits and not realise. That's why it's good to take on board other views.

This is how it works in my house:

There are three bathrooms. I live alone. None of the bathrooms has a bin. I don’t use cotton pads/wipes regularly but when I do I leave them at the side of the sink (if it’s nighttime) and carry them to the kitchen bin next morning. If I use them in the morning, I carry them to the kitchen bin when I’m going to the kitchen.

Guests use the guest bathroom and can do the same, and indeed they do dispose of them similarly to me.

No drama, no fuss, no disgust, no towering piles of dirty rubbish.

Yeah, I've stayed in houses with no bathroom bin, and felt compelled to hoard my rubbish before moving it on in the morning. I, of course, didn't pass comment, but I did find it rather bizarre and inconvenient. I wouldn't fuss, even though I'd think it was a pain in the arse.

Guests doing what you do isn't complicit agreement to your method; it's forced on them. Suggesting they are totally happy with it, purely because they don't pass comment, is disingenuous.

Do people actually walk around with used Sanitary Products and put them in their kitchen bin!? Utterly discusting in my opinion.
A bathroom bin is a must have and for other bits like wipes, cotton wool etc.

@sammylady37, maybe you haven't really had to think things through since you clearly have very polite guests who don't tell you how perturbed they are when they find there's nowhere to throw away used personal items.

Would you like it if they left their sanpro out on the side of the sink too, or on the floor by the loo, intending to pick it up in the morning?