Same. I gave away my air fryer lid for the instant pot after using it a handful of times because it didn’t work that well and it was annoying. Got an air fryer instead and it’s amazing.
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my issue isn’t the fiddly bit, it’s that I just replaced my old oven where I did the ‘leave the incandescent light on’ thing to do overnight yogurt, and I think my new one is too fancy for that. And I expect I’m going to have a few weeks without any stove/oven at all.
similarly, I’m fine to do the sear first and then transfer to the pot as a separate thing to get washed. if I’m doing a really big pork shoulder I’ll make it in the le crueset anyways.
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I live in a two person household and I’m pretty sure mine is 6 quart. You mentioned you will cook beans in yours. We tend to cook a pound of beans at a time (we will store what we don’t need immediately in jars in the freezer.) Think about how many beans you would cook at once. With beans, you need to leave a lot of extra space in the pot because otherwise it could get dangerous. I’m not sure I would want smaller than 6 quart for cooking beans in the quantity we do.
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I definitely wouldn’t cook a pound of beans in mine at one time! 
@plainjane My hot tip is to get extra rings. I bought an extra set so I use the white/clear one for yogurt, the red one for beans, and the blue one for chicken for G when I had her and for eggs now. They clean up just fine, but over time they can start to retain odors so for me this was the nicest/simplest solution to guarantee my yogurt didn’t come out smelling like chicken or beans. (And they are very fast to switch out.)
If you don’t do TONS of yogurt you might just want a little countertop one? I have one that does 1qt at a time, it’s basically a small incubator that holds the yogurt at the right temp on the counter. (You have to do the pre heat step separately on the stovetop.) It was very inexpensive, I got it around 20 years ago, and it still works. The primary reason I got the instant pot was that I had started using more yogurt a lot more, and it felt like I was having to make it all the time. (I was also anticipating its eventual failure, though it hasn’t yet.) Then secondarily for G’s chicken, which was much easier for me. All the other stuff has been a nice bonus.
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Second the extra rings, and also that you don’t have to have their branded lids. I use a metal dinner plate from our camping supplies, and that way I can put small items on top of it in the refrigerator if I need to. (Corelle plates also work)
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I got excited about this but it seems like Thinx Air are discontinued 
Those Innersy shorts are so cheap I’m almost tempted to try them! But they would be of pretty limited use because I almost always want more coverage. I guess I should have said that lower absorbency is totally fine, they’d only be worn for a few hours and I’m not concerned about leaks.
This is for 2 or 3 hour runs in the heat where everything I wear will be getting fully soaked in sweat. I’ve been wearing my usual which are these cheap Amazon ones but it occurred to me that there might be better options out there. Seems like I was optimistic though! Maybe I should just buy a few more pairs of the ones I like to have extras and deal with the heavy sweaty cotton
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That is good to know! I’m thinking about picking up a thrift store InstaPot specifically for beans. (I don’t like the texture of pressure cooked meat.)
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Have you tried a menstrual disc (not cup)? Here’s my experience and review!
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@chavala definitely take note about it not staying put on the first day of my period though!
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They do have “breathable” which might be the spiritual successor but may suck, I dunno. The “holds 12 tampons” is suspicious like they put the thick pad in, instead of the super thin one I loved in Air. (Still held as much as a regular pad!) All Day Breathable Hiphugger Period Underwear | Thinx Looks like saalt also has a mesh option and there’s a color on sale now: Leakproof Mesh Hipster Super | Period Underwear | Saalt | Saalt.
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I had the same thought. Cup was fine for a few years once I got the hang of it and then became terrible. Disc is life changing. @Economista and I both have cheap Amazon ones that are totally fine. If I were going to be running that long I would just wear black undies and shorts* and the disc.
*Leakage is a thing, but in that length of time, probably more like “stain your undies” than “embarrass yourself.”
Some people would probably find sweaty menstrual undies more comfy than the disc - to each their own.
I think I might still have a couple of disposable discs lying around if anyone wants to try it for proof of concept before investing. They would probably not be too $$ to mail one.
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Sincere question: Do people wear period underwear because they don’t like/can’t use tampons or a menstrual cup? I have been wondering for years now. I don’t get periods anymore but I can’t for the life of me understand the appeal of such a product.
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I’m sure opinions vary. I personally have never loved any … Internal methods. I almost don’t find the process comfortable. I wear a disc for the first couple of heavy days because I have to for practicality along with period undies in case of leaks. For less heavy days and pre period spotting, I wear the undies by themselves. They are better than pads IMO.
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I’ve used a cup but it became extra painful when endometriosis got bad. Then I started doing fertility stuff and internal methods aren’t allowed much of the time for infection risk. If I’m comfy at home it’s less futzy, just apply undies and go.
I still use tampons when flow is heavy and I won’t be at home to change the undies as needed. And I’ll get the extra super giant pads when weird treatment hormones create extra heavy flow.
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Disc might be worth trying for a regular period! I found it way comfier than the cup. But yeah, period undies are great for fertility stuff. I wore them as long as I could squeeze in because I had so much bleeding and sneeze-peeing.
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I’ve never tried a cup but I’m a full undies convert because I hated messing around with changing out tampons. With the underwear I just put them on in the morning and don’t have to think about it at all for the rest of the day (but my flow has always been light so ymmv).
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So I guess what I’m hearing is that period underwear are superior to pads?
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I used to use disposable discs 25? Years ago, but needed backup. And I started using cloth pads around the same time because I am a hippy. Also plastic pads are plastic and awful to wear and hide and dispose of and smell weird. The discs were expensive and plastic and stopped being sold. Cups have never fit me. (Cup/reusable disc evangelists, I am happy for you but I have a system)
With any products I’ve had to stack products. Period underwear (overnight heavy shorts) hold the most by FAR. So I still have to change them, but less so. And for going out I can put pads on top then peel off which is less shitty than any other system. Or tampon plus period underwear but tampons hurt.
Since switching to period underwear I have only had one daytime leak ever and that was due to perifuckingmenopause. I don’t think I’ve had a bad night leak in years (and am a black sheet haver, layer towels on the bed person).
Even OG hippy cloth pads absorb better than you expect. Like until they are soaked they don’t have that awful wet feeling. New period underwear are black magic. Seriously. How can something absorb that well, be easily washable and then absorb more? They even have period swimsuit!
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Thanks for the info. I didn’t even know discs were an option. I had to google that one!
I’m not looking for a product for myself as I no longer have to deal with monthly bleeding. I’ve truly just been curious because I’ve never tried any option other than a pad (hate!) or a tampon. I never found tampons painful so that was the best option for me, and I hated pads so the idea of period underwear seemed sort of like wearing a pad. It seems it’s not, and that’s good. I’m glad people who menstruate have options. My own daughter finds the idea of a tampon truly horrifying so I know there is a range of preferences.
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Swam competitively from 5 to about 22 so I didn’t have much of a choice about tampons for quite a while, but I hate them and was glad when I could switch almost entirely to pads. But learning about the underwear was a godsend, and I’ve never looked back. Although I do keep some pads (and a few tampons) on hand for if I’m traveling or going to be doing something where they’re not an option for whatever reason.
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