A Cultivated Nest

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DIY Saturday – How To Make A Rain Barrel

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I have three rain barrels and they sure do come in handy! Especially during the summer when we have water restrictions. They also help keep my water bill down in the summer when my garden needs lots of water. Here’s a very easy way to make your own rain barrel out of a garbage can!

DIY Rain Barrel

We have two of our rain barrels hooked up to downspouts on the house and we added a gutter to our barn and have one barrel on a downspout there.  You do need to elevate your barrels to get the water flowing from the spigots.

DIY Rain Barrel

Supplies:

  • 1 large plastic garbage can (the larger it is, the more water you can collect, but if you have a small garden a small one is still very helpful)
  •  1 tube of watertight sealant or roll of Teflon tape for plumbing
  •  2 rubber washers
  •  2 metal washers
  •  1 hose clamp
  • 1 spigot
  •  A drill
  •  Landscaping fabric

Directions:

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon and/or Etsy, which means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in this post. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

For the tutorial on how to make your rain barrel go to Better Homes & Gardens – it’s really easy!

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Comments

  1. cindy says

    May 18, 2013 at 10:02 am

    I need to do this, Manuela, thank you for the idea. It’s very expensive to purchase one, but this would be much less expensive, thank you!
    Hugs, Cindy

    • Manuela says

      May 18, 2013 at 11:59 am

      You’re welcome! They are expensive! We bought one of ours at the end of the season on clearance one year but it’s still not as inexpensive as doing this project. Plus I like that you can choose the size and color of your rain barrel.

  2. Sherry says

    May 18, 2013 at 11:45 am

    Thanks so much for sharing this idea. I have been thinking about having rain barrels for quite some time. I pinned your post to Pinterest so I won’t forget.

    • Manuela says

      May 18, 2013 at 12:02 pm

      I think they’re a must have! We get charged 2x’s for any city water we use so having rain barrels saves us a ton of money in the summer when I have to water the flowers! Plus I’ll use the water even in the “off season” for washing out my paint brushes or cleaning pots etc. Good for emergencies like when they turn off the water to fix a main or something – always have water to flush with! 🙂

  3. Anonymous says

    May 18, 2013 at 1:03 pm

    Manuela, you are a genius! I must show this to my husband and see if he could improve and make our rain barrel a bit more posh like yours…because for the moment, I scoop water from it using my watering can…the primitive way:)

    • Manuela says

      May 18, 2013 at 3:28 pm

      All you need is to add a spigot! We did that on one rain barrel that didn’t come with a spigot and we attached a hose to it. I believe you can even buy pumps that you can use with a rain barrel so that you get water pressure like a hose. I just use my hose to fill up buckets, watering cans and I stick it in one of my flower beds that’s close buy and sort of use it like a soaker hose.

  5. Bethany says

    May 18, 2013 at 2:05 pm

    I’ve been thinking we should have a rain barrel. I’ll have to put it on my honey-do list. Thanks for the link.

  6. Mary Mac says

    May 24, 2013 at 5:01 am

    I did this a couple of years ago and it worked very well, except we didn’t bring it in for the winter and didn’t empty it and it split. I think I’m going to do it again this year though.

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