5 Uses for a Rain Barrel

I’ve never been one to run out and purchase items for our little suburban homestead here, but Mr. Simple is always on the lookout for things that we can use around the house. When his father told him he could have his old rain barrel, Mr. Simple jumped at the idea to go pick it up and put it to use around our yard. 

I got to wondering…what are the uses for a rain barrel? Surely this has to be something we could use to be a little more green around the yard. I could think of at least five uses for a rain barrel.

1. Watering the garden

2. Washing muddy boots 

3. Washing the car

4. Filling a birdbath

5. Rinsing off the deck

I’m sure there are many more uses for a rain barrel. This thing is pretty cool.

Mr. Simple did all the hard work of installing it. He had to cut out the gutter and run it down into the barrel. It has this neat little mesh thing that keeps out the nasty bugs, especially mosquitoes. You don’t want those things in your water. No, way!

One of the most important things when you install your rain barrel is to make sure the water isn’t going to be able to run out of your barrel and seep into your foundation. Our barrel has an overflow that spills out the front. We did put ours on a deck, which you probably shouldn’t if you can avoid it. We are just making sure that water isn’t pooling underneath the barrel.

You’d be amazed at how quickly one of these barrels fills with water. Just one day of rain filled the barrel! I imagine if you had a few of these barrels set up you could probably water your lawn strictly with rainwater!

Do you collect rainwater? How do you use a rain barrel?