A few weeks ago in preparation for the possible landfall of Hurricane Irene, I bought a case of bottled water. It wasn’t fancy-schmanzy brand; it’s just Publix’s store brand. The hurricane never came near Miami, but I still have the water.

Fast-forward to shopping last week. My list usually includes a twelve-pack of Diet Pepsi to take to work with lunch, but as I went down the soda aisle — past more cases of bottled water — it occurred to me that it would be both cheaper and healthier to drink the water instead of that collection of ingredients. So I skipped the soda and started taking the water to work with my lunch.

I don’t miss the soda, and it’s probably a lot healthier for me. As for the eco-side of it, the bottle is recyclable, and I often refill the bottle after lunch from the dispenser in the cafeteria next door to my office. As for the side-effects of losing that daily jolt of caffeine at lunch, it’s unnoticed, which is surprising because I’ve been told that kicking caffeine is harder than stopping drinking. Maybe my two cups of coffee every day masked the effects of the one Diet Pepsi… but I’m just taking it one day at a time.