Saturday, May 14, 2011

Down with sippy cups!

I know it seems logical that the larger the chemical load in your system, the higher the likelihood for certain diseases… scratch that… for all diseases.  But I had no idea how uncommon of an idea that was until this study was put up as a brand new idea:

   Presidents Cancer Panel says ‘Eat Organic, Avoid Plastic’

I thought that logic was what separated us from the animals... apparently it's apathy.  Who knew?  But in honor of that jump in human history, I have, once again, gone through my kitchen getting rid of plastics.  I didn’t have much left.  Lids mostly.  But I have often seen the last things to go be bottles and sippy cups.  To me, sippy cups were the first plastic things I wanted out of my house and yet one of the last to go.  It just seemed so wrong that our smallest, youngest humans were being tested on in this new ‘lets turn oil into products to hold food in’ experiment.  And yet, they are so very very convenient.  It was really hard to let go of the wonder of the spill proof cup!

About a year ago, a friend of mine and I were discussing plastic cups driving home from Ikea.  We were chatting and both of us were frustrated because we both had kids that were either very young, prone to spilling things, or both.  We wanted something spill resistant, that would fit in a cup holder, that was not plastic(That conversation was recapped in this post from January.) 

The next afternoon she called me to tell me how proud I would be of her for using the drill as she made her and her children sippy cup lids for the tiny glass jelly jars!  It grew from there.  I found the perfect 10 oz jars,  she found (guaranteed not to break!) glass straws, I found stainless steal straws (the glass ones are prettier, but my kids like the normal straw width of the stainless ones).  We morphed our idea again and again, but all the while getting closer to exactly what we wanted.  A not plastic cup that fit in a cup holder that was resistant to spills. 

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This is the final product.

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Glass sippies in action!

(Yes I bribed him with a sucker to get him to sit in the ‘baby’s stroller’.) 

We haven’t broken one.  And we use they every day.  Mostly we drink water, but we have done smoothies, juice, and even coconut milk shakes in them and the glass doesn’t hold a smell like sippy cups either!  Another bonus!

So now my kids have these awesome travel cups that are not plastic… but what about me?  I was still adding to my body’s chemical load with my favorite Starbucks cup-with-straw.  I am constantly drinking water out of it.  I needed a bigger jar than 10 oz.  Finally (after lots of searching!) I found this company:

CPS Container and Packing Supply Company

And they have this…  a 16 oz jar that has a small base.  To top it all off, they will send me a sample for free of each of their jars that may fit my requirements and one of each of their lids.  They are currently in the mail coming to my door.  I am in the process of making a tutorial for these sippy cups (they are super simple, promise) and am hoping that one of the metal lids will work to get the plastic out of them entirely.

Here’s hoping!

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9 comments

mandi said...

I remember when we got rid of our plastic cups/ sippies. I was a bit nervous about the price of stainless steel cups. I went to the thrift store and found a basket of 8 jars with handles on them for a quarter! They are super hardy and durable. Another thing- about the smaller jars. I cut the bottom off of a kid's sock and slide it up over the jar. That keeps the little's hands warm and helps them be a bit more resistant to breaks.

Luisa said...

I thought of this idea about a year ago so even though I'm bummed out hey someone has the same idea as me I'm really happy you got to it first. I was wondering what kind of lid to use. We switched to stainless steel bottle but I love drinking out of glass and it irks when I go out to get a drink that I don't have my own glass container and stainless steel straw and that could fit into my cup holder. Love this can't wait to see the tutorial.

Tealah said...

I am also wondering what kind of lid you used on those.

My son is good about not spilling when he drinks out of his cup (a jelly jar, amusingly! but not a sippy) but he won't be our only child so I want to be prepared for the next one. Zach, sadly, only had plastic sippies. I'm very glad he doesn't need them anymore, but I want to start right for the next one now.

erika~ the inspired mama said...

we are using these silicone sleeves for our kids ::

http://www.amazon.com/EIO-Kids-Cup-Sleeve-Included/dp/B0044TZEM2/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1305417808&sr=1-1-catcorr

they fit right over glass jelly jars so i don't have to worry so much about a break. the lids are still plastic though :P the more i learn about stainless steel the more i want to convert to all glass drinking containers! we have a couple glass straws but my kiddos don't care for them either. too big, just like you said!

Jenny said...

Great post Val! Even though we're done with sippy cups, my sister will have 2 under 3 and is currently getting rid of all plastic in her kitchen. I can't wait to pass this on.

Amber said...

Love the look of those! We use stainless (although they do have plastic lids/spouts still, sigh) but I love the glass straw idea. That link (Presidents cancer panel) just boggles my mind. It really isn't mainstream knowledge. I forget that sometimes.

Laura Joy said...

What a fantastic idea! I'll be checking back to see if you are able to get a tutorial up, and report back about the metal lids. I am excited to make these for our family!

Zane's Photography said...

Hello,

I am looking for a glass starw sippy cup for my daughter and say your post. What a great idea! Would you be able to make 4 and sell it to me :-) I sadly don't have a driller. Please let me know! Zane (zane_de@me.com)

Elena said...

So, did you ever get the jars and make a tutorial?

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