I don’t give Marsy juice that often, so when she does have some she tends to suck it down like a college student drinking beer at a frat party. Her absolute favorite juice is the kind that comes in a pouch.

My tip? I freeze the juice pouches. Just before we go outside I pull one out and let it thaw until there’s just a little juice. As we’re enjoying the hot summer sun, the juice continues to melt. She still enjoys her refreshing beverage, but is forced to pace herself. It works for us!

I still feel just a little bit guilty, though. A better piece of advice would be to not buy juice pouches at all. Did you know that 4.6 billion are produced every year? And that every single one of them goes to a landfill because they aren’t recyclable? The problem lies in that they are EVERYWHERE! Go to any summer birthday party or cookout and you are sure to find them.

Since recycling is out of the question, my solution is to reuse. Crafty? Make a purse or a lunch bag out of them.

If you’re not so good with your hands, buy one from reuseablebags.com. It’s for a great cause.

A great program I just found out about is the Drink Pouch Brigade, where you collect pouches and send them in to TerraCycle. They’ll use the pouches to make tote bags and pencil cases. Sign up – it’s free!