I have a new love in life... my Klean Kanteen!! Truly... this thing is wonderful. Over the past several years, I've really tried to live a greener lifestyle. It isn't always easy and I certainly have a LOT of room to improve my carbon footprint. The nurses I work with know that I'm a bit on the granola side of things. We were having a discussion about such matters when my charge nurse looked at me, pointed at my plastic, disposable, Costco water bottle and said, "I'm surprised that you drink out of that!" What then ensued was a lengthy discussion on the evils of plastic... everything from the chemicals in the plastic right down to the dangers they pose to landfills and bodies of water. She showed me her bottle and I snottily (in a playful way) pointed out that hers was aluminum, which didn't make her too happy. So we started searching online for stainless steel water bottles (because let's face it, it's just REALLY inconvenient to have to carry around glass!) We found several and decided that REI would be a great place to get one. I don't live near an REI so I tucked that piece of information into the back of my head for later.
The conversation really got me thinking. I have to admit that over the past several months, I have found myself cringing a bit whenever I pick up a plastic bottle to take to work or when I put them in the recycle bin. For a long time, I was
Well, I decided that I honestly don't have an excuse anymore. A group of obstetricians we work with donated water filters to the birth center. These have been permanently installed at the kitchen sinks on both the labor and post partum units. They, too were tired of not having good drinking water when they came in to see their patients. So really all I need is a receptacle to put that water into. I took the kids out today to Renton and we wound up at the Southcenter Mall. I knew there was an REI there and stopped in to see what they had in stock. And there it was... the beautiful ocean-blue Klean Kanteen! I did some quick math and figured out that my Klean Kanteen will pay for itself in about 5 cases worth of water. That is nothing considering we usually buy a couple of cases each time we visit Costco, which is about every 1-2 weeks. The water at work is free for me. And we have filtered water in our refrigerator at home to use. So I bought it and I'm in love with it... and I feel a little bit better about what I'm doing to reduce my carbon footprint!
~Photo courtesy of REI
That was interesting, Christina, how do you keep it clean and sanitized? That has been my problem with reusable containers. Can't put it in the dishwasher to get the inside clean and the idea of refilling it for months makes me not thirsty.
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