I have a confession to make: We drink bottled water.
Or at least we did, until a friend (politely) called us on it this weekend.
Until recently, our well water was not potable. We couldn't even use it to brush our teeth. Thanks to a battery cage egg "farm" that spreads it's massive amount of waste on a small plot of land across the road from us, our well water is dangerous to drink. (Go ahead...ask me how I feel about factory farm eggs. I dare you....)
We were eventually able to put in a UV filtration system, which makes our well water safe. But we were still in the habit of drinking bottled water.
When our friend brought the topic up while at our house on the weekend I decided to look into it a little bit. Up until now I've been convincing myself that bottled water is okay as long as we are careful to recycle all of the bottles. Not so.
Check out this video by Annie Leonard of The Story of Stuff:
So we are done with the bottled water (except for a case or two of it in the basement just in case the UV light on our filter dies or the power goes out) and I am learning to love our tap water.
The toughest part is to remember to always fill up our stainless steel water bottle on the way out the door instead of picking up a bottled water at a convenience store when thirst strikes while we're away from home. But I think we'll manage.
You know, we didn't start this project to become environmentalists. Until this year, I've always just sorta kinda cared about the planet, with little passion to let it actually guide my lifestyle. But what I am learning is how intrinsically the well being of the planet is wrapped up with simple living, social justice, and loving one's neighbour as oneself. We can't love our neighbour while throwing our trash in his backyard or polluting his children's drinking water or poisoning the air he breathes. These seemingly little decisions you and I make really do matter, and really do effect the world around us.
"Let all that you do be done with love."
{1 Corinthians 16:14}
We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, greener, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!
You'll be surprised how fast you get in the habit of filling those bottles before you go places. We gave our kids each a "special" squirt top bottle when they were little. Now water bottles are their first thought when theyre thirsty. We keep a row of them in the fridge cold and ready to go.
ReplyDeleteLove your series, Kelly!
Wonderful post...beyond all the reasons listed and in the video one very serious danger of plastic bottles is bpa. Canada just listed it as toxic. I recently read a book called "boys adrift" by Dr. Leonard Sax, M.D., Ph.D. who is also the author of "why gender matters." The information about hormone inhibitors and studies on bpa will scare any thinking mother off plastic bottles forever! Love your blog, love that you are embracing all the blessings and gifts of Godly motherhood and thank you for sharing your journey with us.
ReplyDeleteJosie
I love this post! I try to fill up my water bottle whenever I leave the house because it's kind of fun to have something to do at traffic lights or on highways. An easy way to rehydrate! A small Camelbak water bottle works great for sipping without ever taking your eyes off the road.
ReplyDeleteWe're also getting into the habit of filling a bottle with water before leaving the house :-)
ReplyDeleteThis may sound like a strange request, but...could you post a photo of the tattoo on your left forearm? From the bit I've seen in pics, it looks very colorful and pretty. Thanks!
Beside saving the planet, it looks like your recycling bin will be emptier, too, which means having less to haul to the curb on trash day! And...you'll be saving money, which is also pretty great for a growing family!
ReplyDelete"But what I am learning is how intrinsically the well being of the planet is wrapped up with simple living, social justice, and loving one's neighbour as oneself." I agree!! Also, often, things that are better for our health are also better for the planet. I have been learning this as well. I'm loving your blog! Thanks for sharing your journey!
ReplyDeleteThat video changed my life a couple of years ago. I shared it with everyone I know and NO ONE watched it... I guess I'm not surprised, I mean really, reading about what people are eating for lunch is SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING. Anyway, thanks for reminding me of this video... I knew I hadn't had bottle water in a long time for a reason. And on a side note you have me dreaming of throwing away everything I own. I think the empty space looks very comforting. Cheers!
ReplyDeletehi kelly
ReplyDeletewe are trying to get into this habit too!
sure would be more fun with a beautiful water bottle like yours! care to share where you scored it? pretty please and thanks :D
I got mine at Homesense, which is the Canadian version of Home Goods.
Deletewonderful thanks! i ll have to check it out tomorrow :)
DeleteI actually would like to hear about your thoughts on factory farm eggs (I'm not trying to make you mad, I seriously want to know). Being that you are a neighbor to one, you have a very unique perspective. I've never thought about which eggs to purchase/not purchase so I would be very interested in what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteIt is very wise for you to plan for emergencies by keeping the bottled water on-hand.
Thank you for sharing this journey. Your blogs have such a hugely positive impact on my life!
-Sandy
I wonder if this applies to my country as well. I live in Chile and, while we're not number one in health issues, I don't know if the tap water here is that bad. In my family, we buy big bottle of 20 lts. of purified water, because it's cheaper than mineral water and they theoretically re-use their big bottles. But I don't know for real if that's true or not and I don't know how I could find out either, LOL.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know if my tap water is really safe to be drank. I live in an apartment building, so we don't get it directly from the city pipes. We have a couple of water tanks that pump the water to the apartments, so the water isn't always as clean as it might be, but I don't know if it's enough to make it unhealthy. I don't know how to find that out either. :S
The only good thing about bottled water here is the fact that it can be your emergency reserve when there are things like 2010's huge earthquake (we were left without tap water for more than a whole week... >.<) or stuff like that. But... This has definitely caught my attention and I'm gonna try to search more about the subject and to see if this applies to my country and city too. :P
Thank you so much for sharing all these things! Your blog has been a huge discovery for me and it's changed my way of thinking in a lot of ways! ;D
Kelly, I don't know if this is an option for you in Canada, or even in all parts of the US, but here in Texas we can refill a 5 gallon container for 1.25. They have special machines at most grocery stores where the water is filtered and purified. The city in which we are not living has horrible, nasty, oily-tasty water (and I normally have no problem with tap water) so we need to get water from somewhere. I've found this to be a good alternative to using disposable water bottles since we just keep reusing the same two 5-gallon containers. HTH someone!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE your last paragraph! Too true.
ReplyDeleteBottled water is evil. HOWEVER, I still have my stupid Brita water filter in the fridge. :( Slightly better than bottled water but not much. I am *trying* to learn to love my tap water (here in Toronto). It's all mental.
By the way, I understand that in recycling plastic containers/bottles, we need to leave the cap off or else they fall to the bottom of some air funnel blowing thing and don't get recycled. Not sure about this. Does anyone know?
Sounds like you're pretty convinced, but if you ever are in the mood for another reality check about bottled water, watch the movie "tapped". Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're pretty convinced, but if you ever are in the mood for another reality check about bottled water, watch the movie "tapped". Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love most about this post is that a friend was bold enough to speak up and get you thinking about this. That is a true friend! Makes me think of Proverbs 27:6, "Wounds from a friend can be trusted..." (Not that you were really wounded, but you know what I mean, right?) :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the inspiration you share with us as we watch you simplify in so many ways!
Great post, and great video! Where I live (a tiny village in Portugal) tap water is potable but tastes really bad. In my home our water generally comes from a fountain, so it's free. But we still use plastic to store it... And I always carry a plastic bottle with me, which I refill at home. But now I am definitely considering alternatives to plastic!
ReplyDeleteI feel compelled to ask you, since i work in water treatment, whether or not your well water was "not potable, or unsafe to drink" because of the e-coli/bacteria, or because of other fertilizers, pesticides, etc. that the farm is spreading around? Your UV light is effective at making sure your water is free is Ecoli and bacteria...but thats all it can do. it will not take out any other possible contaminents...are you aware of this?
ReplyDeleteAndrea, it was unsafe to drink because of the bacteria in the truckloads of chicken poop. Our well water tests clean now that we have the UV filter.
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