Home & Garden

Wanna Save Water? Money? Try a Rain Barrel

The age-old practice is growing in popularity.

Amid economic times that can be described as troubling—or, at the very least, uncertain—many folks are trying to save money by cutting back on utilities.

Meanwhile, energy- and waste-conscious people—regardless of income—have long looked for ways to preserve the planet's natural resources.

One of the hottest trends these days that does both things—saving money while reducing waste and a reliance on utilities—is the implementation of rain barrels at both private homes and public grounds.

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Rain barrels collect natural waterfall and store it until their owners are ready to use the water for things like watering lawns and gardens or even washing cars.

The barrels are especially useful in times of drought when tap water is especially precious.

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But the use of rain barrels is nothing new.

According to rainbarrelguide.com, "Collecting rainwater for use during dry months in rain barrels or other depositories is an ancient and traditional practice. Historical records show that rainwater was collected in simple clay containers as far back as 2,000 years ago in Thailand."

A clay container is a far cry from today's commercial rain barrels, which come in fancier shapes and colors, but it's not terribly hard to build a simple (and cheap) rain barrel at home. Here are some instructions on how to do so from howstuffworks.com.

Need to learn more about how to use a rain barrel? Check out more from rainbarrelguide.com. And here's an interesting story on the topic from The Huffington Post.

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