The kids love drinking water, but they always want cold water.For a while I kept a Brita pitcher in the fridge. After a while, I started resenting the Brita monstrosity for all the fridge real estate was occupying. When it eventually cracked and leaked water everywhere, I decided to end my relationship with the Brita pitcher.
I started purchasing bottled water in bulk from Costco. Bottled water is convenient if you don't count the weight lifting training you have to complete before you are able to heft 48 shrink wrapped bottles of water from pallet to cart. Not to mention the time lost on chiropractic visits on account of the heavy lifting.
It was nice to have several bottles cooling in the fridge for the kids, but after a while, I started to think about the landfills full of those empty Kirkland water bottles. I don't want to give you the impression I felt guilty, like I alone was responsible for global warming and the sudden melting of polar bear habitat. I just thought there had to be a better way.
It's not rocket science, I know, but I finally figured out that what I needed to do was have 3 water bottles the kids could refill themselves and keep in the fridge.
I found these BPA free water bottles at Walgreens, because if you aren't freaking out over global warming and the environment, the thought of us and our kids sucking on poisonous plastic should instill in us a healthy level of hysteria.
The other benefit of these water bottles is it has taken the job of drink server right off my list of responsibilities and given it to the kids. When they are thirsty, the answer is water; water they can get by themselves thank you very much. And if their water bottle is empty, well, that's their own fault. They can refill them when they are low and put them right back in the fridge.
All I have to do is run them through the dishwasher when ever the bottles start looking a little grungy; when the grunge starts to threaten other food in the fridge.
So Planet Earth: you're welcome.
7 comments:
Cute bottles! I do the same thing but with the water bottles you previously mentioned. I only buy them on occasion and have the kids write their name on theirs with a sharpie so everyone knows who's whose (bad grammar?) and they reuse them over and over. Once they start looking "grungy" as you said, I toss them and we start over with new bottles. But your way is so much better! If you have any other tips, throw them my way!
What a great idea. I love the water bottles. I too resent the Britta and the space it takes up.
All I could think of when I read this was how much I miss the taste (or lack of taste) of Oregon water!!! (I've been working on a blog post about Singapore water for awhile...)
I'm glad BPA free bottles are so mainstream now! A little over a year ago when I changed out all my bottles from BPA to BPA free ones I didn't have very many choices!
Have you thought of having 6 bottles (still only 3 colors)? So they could drink one while one is chilling in the fridge? Maybe that's a bad idea because then they wouldn't feel as much responsibility to keep track of their bottle, since they had a backup!
Brilliant!
Debbie, the way the kids drink the water is they take a few sips, then put it back in the fridge. Right now they don't drink more than a few times a day and so we don't need 6 bottles yet. Maybe when they get older and want to take the water with them we will have a need for 3 extra bottles.
Way to be a tree hugger Afton! I changed from juice boxes to bottles in my kids lunches...and if they don't clean them, they have to drink water from school...
I'm with you Debbie. I miss Oregon water too! I'm sticking with the Pur Pitcher in the fridge, cause I can't stand the taste out of the tap here. That's for me.
And great idea Afton! I'll have to try getting my kids set up with fridge water bottles. Do you think then they'll stop using the bathroom faucet like a drinking fountain?
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