What are your frugal and sustainable tips and tricks?

[Loving my girls]

Wow! That would make a big water collection system. If my math is right, 1000 liters is around 260 gallons. But good for you.

Reminds me of when I was stationed in Naples, Italy. Water was not guaranteed. Many people had large 500- or 1000-gallon water storage tanks in their garage or basement. It certainly was no fun when the city would turn off the water for a few days. And we could not drink city tap water. We had to buy bottled water. It was no fun having to fill the trunk of the car with water to take home for drinking and cooking. I am very glad I now live somewhere with clean water.

Here water for the garden is not guaranteed in summer nor from the aquifiers (the well).
We seem to have had a fair bit of rain this year but we are still on yellow alert ie no car cleaning (no problem there ), no watering of anything other than food and no refilling or topping up of swimming pools.
They even have helicopters to check for green gardens and pools that aren’t green with algae anyone would think we would dodge the rules

 

[igorsMistress]

I currently live on a lake and have my own well water. I don't pay for city water. So, I don't have much need for a rain barrel collection system at this time. However, I have lived in many places where a rain barrel collection system would have been a great way to store water and save money. I don't know how much it would cost to use metered city water for my gardens, but it seems to me that any investment in a good rain barrel collection system would pay for itself in little time.

Speaking of rain barrels, I don't know how much you have to pay for a new rain barrel, but last time I looked around where I live, they wanted over $50 for a plastic barrel. There might be another option to consider...

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I bought a few of these large totes when they went on sale earlier this year at Menards for under $20 each. I am thinking that these totes might also make excellent water storage units. You might be able to stack them on top of each other, or certainly on a rack, and take up less space than round barrels. Plus, if you want to clean out the tote, you just take off the top and have easy access.

If you want to add a spigot or something like that, it would certainly be easier on the tote compared to the round rain barrel. You can easily reach into the tote to add any number of connections.

I guess you would have to call it a rain bin system instead of a classic rain barrel system. But I am thinking there might be some advantages to using totes for water storage over barrels.

If you don't want those large totes, and they are very large, you could buy the standard sized 27-gallon totes...

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They go on sale all the time at the big box stores. Even so, at current regular price, two 27-gallon totes would be a lot less expensive than one 55-gallon barrel where I live.

I have lots of these sized totes for storage. Good value for the money and I love how they stack when full, and they nest into each other when empty saving lots of room.

Trash bins work great also. And if you turn the lid upside down and cut a hole in it, then glue on an old screen it filters out the junk.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good point. I have heard that some towns will not let people collect rainwater. I don't know why. Probably because they can't charge you for it. Another good reason why I don't live in city limits.

I’m glad it’s encouraged in my city. They even have videos and pamphlets with instructions and ideas.

 

[Loving my girls]

Wow! That would make a big water collection system. If my math is right, 1000 liters is around 260 gallons. But good for you.

Reminds me of when I was stationed in Naples, Italy. Water was not guaranteed. Many people had large 500- or 1000-litre water storage tanks in their garage or basement. It certainly was no fun when the city would turn off the water for a few days. And we could not drink city tap water. We had to buy bottled water. It was no fun having to fill the trunk of the car with water to take home for drinking and cooking. I am very glad I now live somewhere with clean water.

We paid just over 100€ for the last two we bourght which was in 2019 just before covid hit.

 

[fuzzi]

I just discovered our local vocational center assembles rain barrels for Epoch, sells them half price cash and carry. And this week they're on sale for $79! Those plain barrels are about $35 used, plus brass fittings. I think I will try the assembled barrel to start, and use a cheaper can for overflow.

The terracotta is pretty.

 

[fuzzi]

Here water for the garden is not guaranteed in summer nor from the aquifiers (the well).
We seem to have had a fair bit of rain this year but we are still on yellow alert ie no car cleaning (no problem there ), no watering of anything other than food and no refilling or topping up of swimming pools.
They even have helicopters to check for green gardens and pools that aren’t green with algae anyone would think we would dodge the rules

How much $ do they spend spying on citizens with helicopters?

 

[Loving my girls]

How much $ do they spend spying on citizens with helicopters?

Yeah good point

 

[Loving my girls]

I just discovered our local vocational center assembles rain barrels for Epoch, sells them half price cash and carry. And this week they're on sale for $79! Those plain barrels are about $35 used, plus brass fittings. I think I will try the assembled barrel to start, and use a cheaper can for overflow.

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The terracotta is pretty.

These look terrific and an excellent price

 

[gtaus]

I’m glad [water collection systems are] encouraged in my city. They even have videos and pamphlets with instructions and ideas.

To be fair to our closest big town, they also encourage rain barrel water collection systems and even sell the rain barrels, with a spigot, at about $60 each. Actually, it is not a bad deal because the cost of a empty new barrel is over $50. They just charge a little extra for installing a spigot.

I had to look up the current price and availability of our local town's rain barrels. I found out that the regular price was now $90 each but you could use a coupon code to reduce the price down to $60 each, limit of two, while supplies lasted. That sale went on until May 22 of this year. But I think they try to restock and have a sale the same time every year.

They also sold compost bins for $76 each, but only $30 if you used a discount code for their sales event...

Anyways, good for my local town for coming up with programs like that, even if for only limited run sales events.

 

[igorsMistress]

To be fair to our closest big town, they also encourage rain barrel water collection systems and even sell the rain barrels, with a spigot, at about $60 each. Actually, it is not a bad deal because the cost of a empty new barrel is over $50. They just charge a little extra for installing a spigot.

I had to look up the current price and availability of our local town's rain barrels. I found out that the regular price was now $90 each but you could use a coupon code to reduce the price down to $60 each, limit of two, while supplies lasted. That sale went on until May 22 of this year. But I think they try to restock and have a sale the same time every year.

View attachment 3924736
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They also sold compost bins for $76 each, but only $30 if you used a discount code for their sales event...

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Anyways, good for my local town for coming up with programs like that, even if for only limited run sales events.

For sure!

My town provides our trash barrels, the big ones on wheels. Damaged units are recycled into free compost bins for anyone who wants one. I would LOVE a couple of those with spigots to use as rain barrels because they’re so big. We tend to get heavy downpours once in a while vs frequent storms so storage is necessary.