Going Green

Sort of. We're taking baby steps here to lessen our impact.

This is our new rain barrel. It is attached to the gutters and collects the rain water that rolls off our roof. The barrel holds the water until we need it for watering our plants.

We're hoping to add a simple hose system to the spout that goes directly to our plants so all we have to do is turn on the valve to release the water. For now though, we can just open the valve and fill our watering cans.

How does this lessen our impact? Well, it saves the water that isn't absorbed into the ground during a rainstorm. This prevents it from entering the sewer system and reduces the need for water treatment. When we use this water instead of turning on our faucet, we are using less water. Simple.

We bought this barrel system from homedepot.com for about $70, but we quickly learned that you can create your own for far less. However, if you don't have a place to "hide" the barrel, you might want to spend a little more on one that looks a little nicer. Our barrel is fairly hidden, so we did not need something that blends with the house.

All you need to build your own is a barrel with a cover (a 30 gallon rubber maid trash can would work great!). Then you need a plastic piece that you attach to your downspout with a hose running to the barrel. Finally, a simple valve for releasing the water. The barrel needs to sit higher than the areas that you are watering and needs to be level. So you may also need some cynder blocks and a tube of sand.

Since we installed our rain barrel, it has rained so much that I haven't been able to go out and get a picture of the completed project! We (meaning Mike) completed the installation on Saturday night and it has been raining ever since. By Monday morning, the barrel was already full!