I recently let down the neighbor kid in a major way.

He made me sign a pledge to stop using bottled water for 6 months. Or was it 6 weeks? I can’t remember. I should ask my boys. They were there when I answered the front door and let the young salesman in.

He gave me his pitch about how bottled water is the devil. Whales are dying from INGESTING PLASTIC CUPS! Turtles are being BLUDGEONED BY DRINKING STRAWS! Baby birds are CHOKING ON PLASTIC FISHING WORMS!

(I made up the last one. But it sounds legit.)

I signed his pledge FAST to get him to stop spewing these horrifying facts in front of my impressionable, small children. (Dude, they really like the red, plastic bendy straws at Chick-fil-A. They also really like turtles. This is confusing.)

Actually, I signed it because I believe in his cause and think it’s important to brainwash the next generation into thinking the environment is worth saving. I also thought this pledge would be EASY.

I WAS WRONG.

The water bottle pledge

Three days after signing the pledge, we went to a birthday party. The hostess served everyone salty snacks and then offered us two beverage options: juice box or bottled water.

I remembered the pledge and chose JUICE BOX!

A week later, another birthday party, another salty snack. This time there was only one beverage option: bottled water. While I appreciated the mom’s efforts to keep my children away from evil, sugary juicey juice, I was left with an impossible choice: die from salty-snack-induced thirst or GASP! break my pledge just 10 days in.

I manhandled the bottled water and swore to carry it home afterwards to recycle. I have a habit of doing this, so this seemed quite plausible.

Uh, nope. I set my bottle down for 3 seconds to wipe a random kid’s nose and when I turned around, some helpful soul had made off with it. Of course there weren’t recycling containers anywhere, so I’m pretty sure it’s in a trash heap now.

Dang, just blew the pledge AND added to America’s landfill problem. (Never mind that the juice box from the previous week’s birthday party was also recyclable and I’m pretty sure was also not recycled.)

The one-week water bottle challenge

Clearly I have work to do. If I ever want to show my face in my neighborhood again.

I’m taking another stab at the pledge. But I’m modifying it to just ONE WEEK. Because obviously I’m no Greta Thunberg.

Um, seven days sounds completely lame. AND ACHIEVABLE! Y’all, every week I can celebrate Sunday by committing to being an eco chick AGAIN and starting the water bottle challenge AGAIN.

Here’s my new pledge: I will carry a REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE. EVERYWHERE. To work. To parties. To bed. To playdates. To church. To the dentist. (Well, maybe not the dentist. Because: germs.) I’ll tote a cute backpack with me at all times to contain said water bottle. And when I’m hauling small children around, I’ll throw in some kid-friendly water bottles for them, too.

This sounds completely doable. And yet CHALLENGING… I’m a busy, working mom who sometimes shows up at soccer games without cleats on my kids’ feet. So this is going to take a bit of planning.

1. Where’s the backpack?

2. Where are the bottles?

3. Are the bottles actually clean?

4. Will there be a place to refill the bottles should we run out of water?

5. Do we have extra bottles in the car in case a kiddo leaves his bottle on the park bench?

6. What will I say at the next birthday party when everyone thinks I’m a freak for bringing along our own drinks?

It’s worth the hassle

The hassle will be worth it. And so will the teachable moments. This is such a TINY STEP to making our world better. But it’s a SYMBOL we mommas can latch onto to educate our kids about caring for mother earth.

Otherwise, how will our children internalize the importance of growing into eco-friendly adults? How will they figure out that whales and turtles and birds matter? How will they learn that animals are crucial to maintaining ecological balance, which means us humans get to keep on living, too? My boys won’t grasp any of this unless I set the example, as simplistic as it may be, and talk to them about WHY we do the things we do. Like carting around reusable water bottles every day.

Which means I need to do one more thing to prepare for the one-week water bottle challenge: write a script for the boys. This way I’ll be ready for the next birthday party when they’re gunning for the cute, little plastic water bottles all their friends are hording like mad. “I know you really wanna drink that. The problem is unless you pinky swear promise to haul it home afterwards and recycle it, you’re gonna have to settle for the water bottles we brought with us. That are filled with spring water infused with love and the grateful tears of turtles.”

Plastic water bottle stats

Here are some cheery stats for you, compliments of the kid down the road (and the Huffington Post):

1. Plastic water bottles don’t biodegrade – they photodegrade. This means they break down into smaller fragments over time. Those fragments absorb toxins that pollute our waterways, contaminate our oil, and sicken animals that we eat.

2. In the US, 1,500 plastic water bottles are consumed every second.

3. About 80% of empty plastic bottles end up in the garbage and taken to the landfill.

4. Plastic bottle production in the US annually requires about 17 MILLION barrels of oil.

5. Transporting bottled water to market produces air pollution and emissions of carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming.

You guys, twenty minutes after I published this post, I met a friend for lunch. I was so proud to discover she’d actually brought along a reusable water bottle! Then I realized I had not. Oops! This challenge is gonna be tougher than I thought. Wish me luck…

Are you ready to join me and take the ONE-WEEK WATER BOTTLE CHALLENGE? Share your thoughts below or comment on Facebook at MothersRest.

Photo credit: StockSnap from Pixabay

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS AND COMMENTS
I’m loving these tips readers are sharing on Facebook:

Growing up my family would never use plastic water bottles. Not necessarily for the environment but because of the cost. Even the mere suggestion of buying a bottle of water would cause my mom to shudder! She carries a bottle with her at all times. So, from a young age I struggled to ever buy a bottle and I guess that’s a good thing! Nowadays I have several but I tend to stick with one for months at a time. I also will only use purses big enough to hold at least a 20oz bottle!

Find a bottle you really like. Think about what’s important to you – size, capacity (just enough to keep you going until you find a place to refill), does it fit in a car cup holder? Do you want a straw? Do you want to use it one handed? Insulated? Ounce measurement markings? Clear so you can see how much is left?

Look around, online, in stores. Find one in your favorite color, put a sticker on it, write your name, own it, this bottle is your new BFF! Attach it to your keys (but maybe unattach when you start driving!) or clip it on to your bag.

Try a water bottle with a handle on the lid. (I have a Hydro Flask. Expensive, but well worth the money). Then use a carabiner clip to attach it to your bag.

My parents refused to buy water bottles growing up (oldest of 5), so it’s just a normal part of my life… but when I met my husband (in 2001), he wasn’t an inclined to use a reusable bottle. He started with Nalgenes – always the same glass cup in the house – just leave it sitting in the kitchen – then drag your Nalgene (or Yeti, etc) everywhere!

I’m in outside sales and I take a reusable bottle with me in the car every day. Sometimes I take two just so I don’t buy a water bottle. I mainly use Yetis and my Tumblr. I like to use a straw so I also use my metal or bamboo one. You can definitely do it! Takes 2 weeks to start a habit – 90 days for it to really stick 🙂.

I absolutely loved my Hydro Flask. Until I lost it. Then replaced it with Summit bottles and they are just as good and a lot cheaper. Seriously, I’ve left mine in the car on a 90 degree day all day and at 7pm there was still ice in it.

I couldn’t love this more. And your neighbor kid is my hero. I’ve been doing this for a while and it gets easier. My suggestion for the birthday party situation is “No thank you, I don’t like to use plastic water bottles. May I have a glass of tap water?”