tiny treasures...drink up

this week's tiny treasure (small indulgences for $5 or under) is a reusable water bottle. this is a good buy for so many reasons - they're good for the environment, they save you money, and if you put in a little effort, you can find one that's really pretty and fun. i found my hot pink stainless steel one at homegoods for $4.99, and they had lots of others in that price range. i love it because it keeps my water nice and cold, doesn't sweat too much and looks great with my stuff and my nail polish. okay, i know, it's enough already with the nail polish.

i've also had good experiences with rubbermaid ones at supermarkets for around the same price. note: the new versions of these rubbermaid containers do not contain BPA, but the older versions did, so just make sure that the bottoms don't have the dreaded #7 imprint, and instead have the #5 symbol inside the triangle. full disclosure - not all plastic products imprinted with the #7 symbol contain BPA, but all products which contain BPA are imprinted with the #7 symbol. got that? let's just stay away from #7's.

and on that note, we need not spend $20 or more on a sigg bottle, as nice looking as they are. especially since over the last couple days there have been some news stories about versions of the sigg bottles still shipping out as late as this week (but no longer) containing BPA in the lining. here is a letter from the sigg ceo explaining the situation which actually does not sound all that dangerous. more than anything, it's just the uncertainty surrounding really everything we buy that's kind of troubling. i guess that's a subject for another post.

for today's tiny treasure, we just need something that holds water and stops the insanity of all the plastic bottles we buy and then throw out or recycle. and in the spirit of enjoying even small, once mundane details, find one that looks pretty and makes you smile each time you sip from it. the added bonus might just be drinking more water. and there are NO news reports or ceo letters that say that is a bad thing.

to read about previous week's tiny treasures, click here

send me your suggestions for tiny treasures for weeks to come at carla.rothberg@gmail.com