To lose the odd water bottle?

[Ilfurfante]

This is a very petty argument between myself and DH this morning. We are a very sporty household and as such we are often taking bottles of water out with us. We actually just reuse the plastic sports top bottles (ie. Buxton, Evian etc) as they are easier.

DH likes to think he is quite particular. He reuses the same water bottle many times and never loses it. I sometimes do lose them along the way (not that often btw).

For some context, DH plays in a sports team. He only has himself to think about. I am a sports coach. I can be running multiple teams on one day depending on the fixtures. This means I will often have multiple bags of balls, kit, first aid kit and food for the day. If I have a few teams on the go at anyone time, I might also be moving between courts etc. My DC also play in one of my sports teams so I'll also have their kit, food etc. Sometimes I put a water bottle down and don't remember where it has gone, sometimes there are multiple of the same water bottle so I don't know which is mine.

Talking this morning, DH had no understanding of how I could ever lose a water bottle and was cross with me that I do. In his mind it's as simple as you take one with you, you bring it back. He wouldn't acknowledge that actually there are times when it's really stressful for me and a plastic water bottle is not always my priority when there are many other things that are more important to remember. We had to end the conversation because it was going nowhere and we were getting really frustrated.

Am I being unreasonable to think that it's understandable that I might lose a water bottle now and again given the circumstances that I'm operating in?

The amount of money you've spent replacing could probably have bought several reusable ones. He can get a reusable one if he's that fussed!

The pettiness of caring what another adult does with an old plastic evian bottle is pathetic and really rather odd. I’d be really quite cross at the way he’s talking to you because honestly WTF.

It just blows my mind that this sort of nonsense goes on in people's lives to the point they feel the need to post on the internet about it. You lose bottles, he gets cross over it honestly how do you have the energy for this

I don't get to go back to my base as I'm chasing multiple teams around. I take water with me or I wouldn't get to drink.

I'm not complaining about being super busy - that's my choice. I could "not" do it that way but I feel responsibility to my teams so I like to give them all time. As a consequence of this choice, I lose the odd water bottle.

I really don't understand how it can be that hard.
I volunteer in a busy castle garden, many areas, many people, nobody just loses their tools or hat or sandwich box repeatedly. They keep an eye on stuff, remember where they put it and have a care for the poor sod who will have to pick up after them if they don't.

Buy a bottle you like and care about look after it.
Money saved. No litter. Need never go searching for a bottle. No more bickering with DH on the subject.

A lot of people here in for a big shock as they get older/ill/stressed/busier. I had the same umbrella for 35 years, currently I permanently lose one every month, pretty much the same for glasses, lip balm, moisturiser. I have even lost whole bags of shopping. Sometimes I find my phone in the fridge.

You are basically leaving your rubbish laying about. If you are leaving plastic water bottles behind you are littering. For that reason yabu.

My 6 year old hasn't managed to lose a water bottle I'm sure you could do the same if you really tried

He’s got no business being cross with you over this. He’s your husband not your parent, it’s not appropriate for him to micromanage you in this way. You and your water bottles are your own business. I’d be telling him to F off.

Are you in charge of supervising 10 kids in a highly charged environment which is time limited with the next group of kids champing to get into your space and another group of 10 kids waiting for you at a different location because fixtures run back to back?

Another who doesn’t get it.

Just get yourself a Chilly bottle in an obnoxious colour engraved with your name. Choosing obnoxious colours for easily lost items is basically my life hack, people don’t tend to borrow them.

It’s not a great idea to reuse Evian/Volvic etc water bottles as they can leach chemicals & also degrade quite quickly due to repeatedly opening/closing the bottles increasing the rate of release of microplastics. All bottled water contains microplastics in any event.

He should buy a reusable bottle and then it won't matter what happens with the others.

Why does he care so much about whether or not you lose your water bottle?

You said "he wants to use one" but i don't see why he can't just use his own? (the one he never loses & always brings home himself).

All the people not getting it, I can't understand how people can not get it!
I volunteer with kids and sports - all the running around, my water bottle is in my hand, I put it on a bench to help X with her stroke, another kid will run over to say K has fallen, I dash off, the bottle stays on the bench, a hoodie gets thrown over it and it gets scooped up into a random child's bag or I forget where it is. It could be a a good while before I get chance for another drink.
I keep my keys etc in a locker, I don't have my own raquets on court, so there's no base etc. 8 courts plus an annex, ringed with benches. It is easy to lose stuff.
I do try to use a running belt, especially as I do use a steel bottle, but it's fiddly, the kids think it's hilarious and imitate me making John Wayne drawing his gun gestures 🤣

I get it, you're busy. Very busy.

All you have to do is put the bottle down in one place and go back to that place.
An individual, colourful bottle will make that easier and be kinder on your pocket and the planet.

Either it's important enough to you to do something about it, or it's not.
If it's not, no need to bother posting on here and just tell your husband to mind his own beeswax.

I mean, I can lose things without even moving from the spot I’m sitting in.
it’s a talent I have due to undiagnosed adhd for 40 years.

I agree.

It’s even more mind blowing when posters here are making it sound like she’s evil incarnate for losing a bottle now and again. 😂

If one of your daily activities is picking up litter after other people it can be a bit irritating to hear about people being careless with litter.

Aside from it being unhygienic, I just think there is a turning point in life where you just decide to be an adult and not lose things.

We spent £25 on a bottle for our child when they went to nursery and they've had it throughout primary school, taken it to multiple clubs, holidays, school trips etc. If a 10y/o can look after a bottle for 7 years I have little understanding why an adult can't.

I also don't like the careless idea thst someone else will.clear up.your lost disposable bottle.

And lets not not start with ADHD, it's insulting to those of us living with it that work fucking hard to put systems in place to manage our lives.

You are both very lucky as you have nothing more important to worry about.

But that's the whole point - I can't go back to that place, maybe not for hours. If I've left the court and another team goes on the court, I can't just go rooting around all their stuff to find my bottle which may be under all their stuff.

It's not that important to me, you're right there. It is however, frustrating that DH (and others it seems) can't understand that it might be easy to lose a bottle.

I actually have a rare day of no sport. Hence the fact I'm engaging with strangers on the internet around inconsequential matters. That's also okay!

It sounds as if the real cause of the frustration is that you are both sharing your supply of water bottles. Your DH uses and returns them and you use them and often don’t return them so there are none left for him. Could you have your own separate bottles rather than sharing? You are only losing something designed to be thrown away so no big deal at all but I suppose it’s annoying to find the shared water bottle cupboard empty when you are about to head out to the gym.

I can see both sides here in that I do think it's a bit ridiculous that he cares so much about this to argue with you about it but equally - having this argument with my kids all the time - I think your "I am just too busy and important to look after my things" attitude would kind of irritate me if I were him as well

It is not recommended to refill single use plastic water bottles as it leads to increased leaching of chemicals & microplastics. Leaving them in the car to heat up leads to even more leaching of cancer causing chemicals. Check out “ecomomics_ie” on Instagram for ideas on how to reduce dependence on single use plastic.
Get a stainless steel bottle. They do pretty cheap ones in IKEA (and Lidl special buys from time to time).

So you lose them all and then don't replace them? This would really annoy me and I now kinda understand your DH.

Can you have separate stashes so you losing them all only affects you?