Acknowledging that buying water sold in single use plastic bottles is senseless and expensive is the first step to breaking the bottled water habit. This is a hard point to make since Atlanta is the headquarters of the Coca-Cola Company maker of Dasani, once my first choice in bottled water.

The truth is, bottled water isn’t necessarily any safer or better tasting than tap water. Bottled water creates mountains of trash and wastes precious resources unnecessarily. We haven’t calculated the gas used or the time expended going to the grocery store, lugging the plastic bottles back home.

Equally important is to remember that 80% of all plastic water bottles are never recycled. Living a greener life means you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. 

In this economy your money can be spent in a better ways. Drinking only one bottle of water each day, with an average retail cost of $1.50 calculates into $547.50 per year! That’s only one bottle; most of us consume more than that. A family with four members could see their bottled water costs easily exceed $2,000 a year.

The worst part is, almost every brand name of bottled water originates from community water sources. In other words, the bottled water hype exceeds the reality. The Coca-Cola Company admits Dasani comes from local water utility companies as do other bottled water companies.

Next, you need to purchase a water filtration system of some kind. This need not be expensive. I purchased a Brita Slim Pitcher because I couldn’t find a filtration system that fit my kitchen faucet.  I also conducted two blind taste tests in my family because there were members who swore they could tell the difference between the Brita filtered water and the bottled water of choice. They couldn't.

After the second blind taste test proved the “Brita was Better” the rest was easy. With everyone on board, the next part was establishing new drinking habits. By that I mean, instead of reaching for the bottled water, it means reaching for a glass to drink out of.

The final thing you need to do is to invest in reusable toxin free water bottles. My preferences lean towards metal drinking bottles because they keep water cooler for a longer period of time. You can also find reusable BPA free plastic bottles to fit your family's life style at work and at play. 

Good Housekeeping has researched and comprised a list of 22 of best reusable water bottles that range in price and can be purchased for as little as ten dollars.