Challengicious Monday: Start Using a Reusable Water Bottle/Thermos

Mondays are challengicious at The Conscious Shopper. Here's your next trash-related challenge:

Start using a reusable water bottle/thermos

To complete this challenge, you can...

BABY STEPS

• Use a reusable water bottle/thermos at work. The office is the perfect place to start this challenge because so many offices provide free coffee, filtered water...and styrofoam cups. A nice gesture, but you can do better. Bring your own mug or thermos to work for coffee and a mug or water bottle for water. (This challenge is based on the assumption that you're using reusable glasses at home. If not, start there!)
  

JOGGING STRIDE

• Break up with bottled water. Bottled water is expensive and comes in disposable plastic packaging that could be leaching into your water. Plus, filtered tap water is just as clean as bottled water (in many cases, bottled water is just tap water with fancy packaging). Save money, save resources, avoid toxins...Avoiding bottled water is a Conscious Shopper no-brainer.
  

MARATHON RUNNER

• Use your own water bottle/thermos at restaurants. Once you've got the hang of reusing at home and work, it's time to take your new habit out into the world. When you go to a restaurant that uses disposable cups, ask them to put your beverage in your own water bottle or thermos.
  

I say water bottle or thermos throughout this post, but really the focus is on switching from a single-use product (such as a styrofoam cup) or single-use packaging (such as a water or soda bottle) to a product that is reusable and long-lasting, whether that's a stainless steel water bottle, a thermos, a mug, a glass jar, or even just a glass from your kitchen cupboard.

I debated over which challenge to make the Jogging Stride and which to make the Marathon Runner, and ultimately I think it depends on what's hardest for you. I never got into a bottled water habit, so it wasn't hard for me to give up, though it might be for some people. On the other hand, I'm still working on being brave enough for "public displays of eco-affection," so asking the Starbucks barista to put my hot chocolate in the thermos I brought is a challenge for me. What do you think?

Will you take the challenge?

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You have hereby been challenged to go green in a year without going broke! Check out the last challenge, or view the whole list of Challengicious Mondays.

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