Rain Barrels
Last week I asked you guys to share what you wanted most right now – practical or not – and you had a lot of interesting answers; so, I thought I'd share my big have-to-have desire of the moment. It's . . . a rain barrel. (Okay, I realize the title of this post pretty much gave it away, but nevertheless, it's the thing that I want most.)
Why? Because I like the idea of taking rainwater (something I can get for free), and using it to replace a portion of the fresh water that my family uses (and pays for). If I had a rain barrel I would use it to water our veggies and landscaping, and to wash our cars – things that I actually feel guilty about devoting fresh water to now.
But there's just one problem . . . a rain barrel costs money – around $150 to buy one or $30 to make one – and money is not always easy to part with (at least not for me). So, while I suspect I'll take the plunge soon, for now, a rain barrel remains at the top on my want list.
Related Reading:
- Harvesting Water with a Rain Barrel
- How to Save Money by Reusing Greywater
- Convert Any Toilet to a Low-Flow
- More Ways to Save Money on Your Water Bill
Photo Credit: dane_brian
I remember using dishwater to mop the floors, and then using the mop water to flush the toilets. The water leftover from bathing went to the garden, washing the car, etc. The only additive to the gray water was ivory soap, and I used that as well to do the dishes with.
Regards, Peg
Municipalities and county maintenance yards often have stockpiles of these barrels. Contact those agencies and see if you can either have one or buy one for a reduced price.
Many county extension offices or other county/city offices offer rain barrel purchase programs. On Cape Cod, you can pre-order and pre-pay for a rainbarrel each spring for around half off the retail price, then they’re delivered to a set location on a set date for you to pick up. These barrels are great because you can “daisy chain” several together to hold lots of water if you are collecting water from a large rain storm or roof area too large to fit in a single barrel. As you can afford it, you can just keep adding untin you have enough.
As soon as we get new eaves troughs put up this spring, we are going back to a rain barrel for watering my flowers and the garden. Nothing is better than rain.
This is one of those things that will pay for itself, so you’re not really spending money, you’re investing.
I bought a “Tijeras Rain Barrel”. It was more expensive than the other “recycled” barrels but it matches my house and looks a whole lot better.
Refurbished barrels are cheap and they look it too. I went to http://www.aquabarrel.com and they have a “how to paint your rain barrel” section!
I needed more water in less space and went with the 80 gallon unit on the Aquabarrel site. The huge overflow box really works great. It has not overflowed at all and we have had a few heavy downspours.