The Search For the Perfect Water Bottle

I stopped buying bottled water a couple of years ago after my husband pointed out that all the plastic used was contrary to my efforts to reduce our output of waste. It was so obvious, and it never even occured to me.

Since that time, I have gone through many reusable bottles. I have yet to find one that is inexpensive, big enough, easy to carry, seals well and doesn't break in a short period of time.

Here are my requirements. Please! Let me know if you have seen this bottle!

#1 If you know me at all, you know I am a cheapskate. I don't like forking out a bunch of money for something I am unsure about. For the perfect long-term vessel, I will pay a reasonable amount, but it has to meet ALL of my requirements.

#2 I drink a ton of water every day. Really. I would guess I drink a gallon by myself. Plus my kids are always forgetting their bottles and drinking off of mine. I guess the proper term for what I need is a JUG.

#3 Three kids means lugging around a ton of stuff. I have help in this area, but there are always a couple of hands that need to be held as well. I need something I can hold onto easily. So, a jug with a handle.

#4 My car seats and floor as well as my oldest daughter will attest to the need for a tight seal. I well remember the day my water tipped over in the front seat early in the morning. I didn't notice in the dark. By the time I did, the seat was a pond. It was still wet in the afternoon when I picked up my unfortunate passenger.

#5 It has to last. I am hard on water bottles. Let's face it, I am hard on everything. Most of my stuff is dented, scratched or broken. I have kids. We spend a lot of time outdoors. Stuff happens. I bought 3 water bottles 3 months ago, and they are all long gone. Key word, sturdy.

So, once again, if you have seen this bottle let me know! If you are still using bottled water, keep reading for some facts about how your choice affects the planet and your pocketbook.

Did you know...

• Seventy-four percent of Americans drink bottled water, and one in five drinks only bottled water.
• Worldwide, consumers spent $100 billion on bottled water in 2005.
• Each year more than 4 billion pounds of PET plastic bottles end up in landfills or as roadside litter.
• Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil last year – enough fuel for more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year - and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.
• Name brands in small bottles instead of jugs can easily cost more than $10 a gallon, especially if purchased individually. By comparison, tap water typically costs about a half-cent per gallon. For what some Americans spend on bottled water in a year, they could buy a refrigerator with a filtered-water dispenser.
• Surveys show one of the reasons cited by consumers for buying bottled water is convenience. But what's more convenient than getting water from a faucet?

Try this cost calculator to see how much you spend on bottled water in a year. http://www.newdream.org/water/calculator.php

Check out these links (where I got the facts above) for even more information!

http://www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org/?source=googleads&gclid=CMn6s8X7t5YCFQhJagodbii_Lg
http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/cac/water/bottled_water/bottled_water.pdf
http://lighterfootstep.com/2008/05/five-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-water/
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sns-yourmoney-0910spending,0,3316261.story