I first saw these on This Old House and thought “The simplicity…the genius!” Rain collection tanks are as old as time and are widely used out of necessity in so many parts of the world. Here in the developed world it doesn’t even cross our privileged minds to save precious, pure, sanitary household water for the more essential parts of our day. Rain Barrel products come in many fashions from wood to plastic. Placing a rain barrel near a roof gutter outlet is a great way to gather all the excess hydration your lawn and plants will need on those dryer days. So leave the sprinkler system alone and forget about wasting tap water on the shrubbery, switch to the time tested rain barrel.

You can buy a rain barrel starting at about $110 from CleanGardening.com or Gardener.com, or buy a kit to make your own starting at $25 at Gardener.com.

Learn More at the RainBarrelGuide.com