My grandma's rain barrel trick cut my water bill by 40 bucks a month

I used to think rain barrels were pointless until last spring when I hooked up two 50 gallon ones under my gutters in Portland. The problem was my garden watering was eating up so much city water, and I was skeptical about the whole setup. After three weeks of collecting runoff and using it on my tomatoes and peppers, I saw the savings on my next bill. It's not fancy tech, just gravity and a spigot, but it worked way better than I expected. Has anyone else tried this in a place with real winter freezes, or do you drain the barrels before the cold hits?

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hayden70912d ago

Oh man, that's awesome! I did the same thing last year after my neighbor showed me his setup, and it was a total game changer for me too. I only have one 55 gallon barrel under my shed, but it still knocked my bill down by like 25 bucks once I started using it on my flower beds and lawn. I'm in Minnesota so I definitely have to drain mine around late October, but I just tip it on its side and let the spigot drip dry before the real freeze hits. It's crazy how much water you collect from just one good rainstorm, right?