Bottled Water-Free Holidays: A First Step in Kicking the Bottled Water Habit

I’m typically very diligent about bringing my own reusable water bottle whenever I go out or travel. But this fall, on a trip to New York, I was faced with a dilemma.

In a rush to leave the house, I left my reusable bottle on my kitchen table and then had to decide whether or not to accept the bottled water that was handed to me on the bus. You guessed it—I took the water. There was no way I could have survived four hours without anything to drink. 

I felt guilty about it, but it gave me the opportunity to seriously consider how best to avoid a similar situation in the future. I also made a pledge to myself to remain bottled water-free for the rest of the year—including over the holidays.

The end-of-year holidays are usually a time when many of our good habits are thrown out the window. Many folks forget about eating their favorite foods in moderation, some indulge in drinking more alcohol than they should, and most of us attend events where we have little control over the kind of food or drink served. 

In my case, I often visit friends and family who live in a city that does not offer curbside recycling for residents. I’m always horrified at all the containers that end up in their trash, but I never do anything about it. This year, I plan to bring my own bag and take all their recyclables back to my household bin. 

Make a Public Commitment

Which brings me to the first item that I put on my “bottled water-free holidays” strategy list: I started off by telling my family and friends about my commitment, during our Thanksgiving gathering. They were all very supportive. 

Making that kind of a public statement was my way of keeping myself honest. There’s nothing quite like a disapproving look from one of my children to keep me in check.

The holiday week went by really fast. Monday was easy, but on Tuesday I started my day at an open house at my kid’s school. I had to be careful to make sure I got all the hydration I needed in advance of the event, since these celebrations often are stocked with cases of bottled water. 

For the rest of the week, I was similarly successful and found that all I really needed was advance planning and preparation. I’m confident that I’ll be able to keep up the commitment through the end of the year and beyond.

Cast a Wider Net

I’m now ready to take on some bigger challenges. I’d like to explore ways that I can demonstrate to others, beyond my family and close friends, how to go bottled water-free with just a few simple steps.  Wouldn’t it be nice if more meetings and events in our communities were bottled water-free? 

Despite the fact that good-quality water flows virtually free from most of our taps, Americans buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week. That’s enough plastic bottles to circle the globe more than five times! The majority of the bottles end up in our landfills, waterways, or are incinerated—releasing toxic byproducts. I’d like to try and help change this. 

My organization, New Dream, will be following in the footsteps of other groups such as Corporate Accountability International, Food and Water Watch, and The Story of Stuff who have been leading in this area.