What to do with All the Rain

All of the rain we have been receiving in this spring got me thinking about Rain Barrels. They actually use to serve a really important purpose and in some parts of the world people still count on them today. So what is a rain barrel? It is basically a container that collects water when it rains for use at another time. Think of it as a reservoir for your home.

Rain barrels should not be confused with any old thing you leave laying in the yard that collects water. Rain barrels are actually set up to collect lots of water when it rains and then you can use the water for something at a later date. You can store it to water a garden or in the case of my grand mother, to wash her hair. She always said rain water made her hair feel better than any water out of the faucet.

My sister lives in New Zealand and they still collect rain water in a tank for use in their house. If it doesn't rain enough they can run out of water and have to have it delivered by truck and that isn't cheap. Here in the Hudson Valley we are lucky to have wells and retrieve water from the ground. This isn't the case in a lot of place in the world including the USA so hence the rain barrel come in handy.

So why not make your own water barrel this summer and see how long you can water your garden or wash your hair with the water you collect.