My Long Nightmare—Buying Carbonated Water—Is Over

Sometimes I shock myself, and not in a good way. Rather, I get shocked at my ignorance and stubbornness. In this case, it revolves around the Sodastream device I fired up yesterday to make my own carbonated water in my tiny trailer for the first time. My first thought was: Why, why, why did I take so long to do this????

I absolutely love carbonated water. I drink at least a liter a day of the stuff. As far as I can tell from my research, it’s not bad for me. It’s good for my digestive system. It’s hydrating. It’s way better than regular or diet soda. And my body is doing so well. I want to keep this thing going.

The bad thing about buying carbonated water is . . . well, there are so many bad things about it. How do I (now) abhor buying carbonated water? Let me count the ways:

1. I must find the stuff—While some stores have many versions of carbonated or sparkling water, some stores don’t have it all. Stores in fancy areas are more likely to carry carbonated water. But I had a heck of a time recently finding some in a lower-income area in the desert without driving 14 miles to the nearest Walmart. In this rather impoverished area, there was a local market, a Dollar General, and a Family Dollar. I had run out of carbonated water and my body was frantic for some. I tried Dollar General first because I had found some single cans of fizzy water there for 50 cents each and that would do. However, I found they no longer carried that. If I wanted soda pop filled with sugar or fake sugar, I would be all set. Or if I wanted sparkling water filled with artificial flavors and aspartame, I would be good to go. But there was not one ounce of carbonated water in any form. I went across the street to Family Dollar and had the same experience. Finally, I went next door to the market, and repeated my failed mission. That’s a lot of life force lost.
2. I must buy the stuff—That is a massive project. Suppose I do a Walmart pickup order, which is a favorite way to shop as a nomad. I once snubbed Walmart, noting how it killed off small businesses wherever it sprung up. But then I came to appreciate the convenience, the low prices, and the stability of it all. When Walmart started to offer the opportunity for me to order groceries online and then pick them up in my vehicle (sometimes towing a trailer), I might have been among the first five people to try it out. At first very few stores offered the service and I heard they were trying out the concept. Then Covid struck and wow! What a great way to shop. So, I put several 12-packs of cans or many liters of plastic bottles in my order. I buy the cheapest brand, which is about $3.50 for a 12-pack of cans, or less than $1 for a plastic liter bottle. I probably go through a 12-pack or more a week. I once bought 24-packs of La Croix at Costco, but since I became a nomad in a tiny trailer, I find that the large sizes in Costco and the drama of shopping there is incompatible for my lifestyle. I’m not sure why it seems do dramatic to me, but it does.
3. I must schlep the stuff—My car is packed with stuff I need and want to have in my abundant, functional life on the road. The passenger seat floor holds my Jackery power station and its accessories, along with my Helinox folding chair. Behind that seat is my 27-inch iMac and the folding steps my dog uses to get in the car. The back seat is pretty much hers. The third row of seats is folded down, and that’s where I keep the dog fencing underneath a platform for the “dog loft,” where she can hop up from the back seat to curl up and watch the world go by. I get the driver’s seat, of course. so that only leaves the front passenger seat (not including the floor) for my Walmart groceries. When you add three or four cases of carbonated water, that takes up a lot of the available room.
4. I must store the stuff—In a tiny trailer, there is a constant battle for space. When something comes in, something else must go out. I’ve never had a good place for cases of water. I’d rather get more shoes and store those in that space. So, I ended up leaving the cases in the front seat of my car and bringing them in one at a time. Once a case of cans was inside the trailer, it would end up on the floor in the kitchen area and I would try not to trip over it. In other words, it was not an ideal situation.
5. I must dispose of the bodies (cans)—This is where the real idiocy of my canned carbonated water habit rears its disgusting head. As you may know, only a tiny fraction of what we put in a recycling bin is ever recycled. The logistics are just too great to collect and store and transport and melt down and reconstitute aluminum for a new purpose. The supply chains for new aluminum are much more robust and likely much cheaper for the manufacturer. So unless society began demanding and only purchasing items with recycled aluminum, it makes no financial sense for a manufacturer to pay more for it and hurt the bottom line. So the ugly truth is that the aluminum can from which I just consumed 12 oz. of carbonated water will more than likely end up in a landfill. That is sickening. What a massive toll on the planet so I can drink 1 1/2 cups of carbonated water. And look below to see where most aluminum is produced, according to Wikipedia. That means that no matter where the water came from, or where it is carbonated, the aluminum probably wasn’t produced near my campground.

WHERE DOES THE ALUMINUM COME FROM?

Now that I have my Sodastream, and now that I carbonate water in my trailer, I’m able to admit the real nightmare of what I’ve been doing for so many years. It’s horrifying and I’m happy to be on the other side.

Note: I use Amazon affiliate links. When you click on a link and buy something, I get a small cut at no cost to you.