I have now hit the 25 week mark of my committment from earlier this year, to use a reusable coffee cup instead of un-recyclable paper cups. What started out as a bit of a lark, has turned into a full blown habit. I’m on my second mug, as it took me a while to find one that really worked well for me, but now that I have, it goes with me almost everywhere.

When I recently decided to switch over to a backpack (review coming later), I specifically made sure that the side pockets fit my mug securely for my commuting. Now, every morning I refill my mug, get my breakfast, and carry my coffee in with me to work in my bag. It’s a system that works for me, and it’s become a great habit. I make sure to rinse my mug after every use, so I can get it refilled throughout the day.

I estimate that I buy about 10 cups of coffee over the course of a week. That means that in the past 25 weeks I’ve saved 250(!) paper coffee cups from being thrown away. It might not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but every little bit helps when trying to make a small dent in the impact that we leave in this world.