• Home
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, & Disclosures
  • Terms
  • Our Books
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • Cart
    • Help

A Cultivated Nest

Helping You Manage Your Home and Life on a Budget

  • Frugal Living
    • All Frugal Living
    • Frugal Kids Activities
    • Budgeting Printables
  • Cleaning + Organizing
    • All Cleaning + Organization
    • Organizing Tips
    • Cleaning Tips
    • DIY Cleaning Products
  • Freebies
    • Resource Library
    • All Free Printables
    • Budget Printables
    • Home Decor Printables
    • Home Management Printables
  • Budget Decorating
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Snack Recipes
    • Appetizer Recipes
    • Drink Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
  • DIY + Crafts
    • All DIYs
    • Kids Crafts
    • DIY Beauty Products
  • Gardening

DIY Saturday – How To Make A Rain Barrel

By Manuela Williams

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!

Follow Me on Pinterest

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: DIY Projects, DIY Projects, Inspiration, Link Love Tagged With: DIY projects, DIY Saturday, rain barrel

« My Painted Stair Makeover
The Creative HomeAcre Blog Hop »

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! 🙂

      • Manuela says

        May 18, 2013 at 12:05 pm

        gardening pots not cooking pots – in case anyone is wondering.

  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.

  4. Lizzie says

    May 18, 2013 at 2:02 pm

    I want my boys to make one of these for me:)!!!

  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.

Visit the A Cultivated Nest Shop

Check Out Our Books!

Welcome to A Cultivated Nest

Visit the Free Resource Library

Stay Up to Date!

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on all our new posts, plus our shop announcements. As a subscriber benefit you'll get access to our resource library!

Subscribe

Connect With Me On

Pinterest Twitter Mail

Looking For Something?

Disclaimer + Disclosure

A Cultivated Nest makes no claims of “expert status” and the owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the use of the information found on this website. Posts may contain affiliate links. A Cultivated Nest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. A Cultivated Nest is also a participant in the Etsy affiliate program via Awin. This means that I may earn a small commission from some of the links in my posts. Please see our Disclosure Page for more information.

Search the Archives

Looking for Something?

Popular Posts

  • Planting Under Mature Trees
  • Keep Your Home Clean with a Printable Cleaning Schedule
  • 15 Super Cute Ways to Repurpose Vintage Hankies

Copyright © 2025 Nest Media GA LLC | All Rights Reserved