Does your water bill scare you? This may especially occur when Spring comes around and you’re trying to get all your little plants into the garden, they need lots of water to blossom, and therefore you end up paying.
Water is an invaluable resource that we tend to take advantage of. It falls from the sky and we let it run off our properties without thinking twice about it! But why wouldn’t we collect that water and use it for ourselves?
Only a hundred or so years ago this was the “norm”. Most people had rain barrels on their properties and used them to water their gardens, do their laundry, or even sometimes (if they had a good enough filter) drink! With time passing and society changing this knowledge seemed to get left behind. Though once again, more and more people are concerning themselves with their ecological footprint.
So, whether you want to lessen your monthly water bill, become more eco-friendly, or just take on a new project to add to your yard, creating your own DIY rain barrel water collecting system is a wonderful idea! Below are 30 different DIY rain barrel tutorials to help you get started!
Eco-Friendly DIY Rain Barrel Ideas
1. Garbage Can
Making your own rain barrel can be as simple as updating a forgotten garbage can. This tutorial will walk you through all the steps you need from filtering to pouring.
2. Toilet Flushing Rain Water
Collecting rainwater can be useful for many reasons. Some use it to water their plants, others use it as the water needed to flush the toilet. Learn how to set up this DIY rain barrel system here.
3. Wine Barrel
An old wine or whiskey barrel makes a very efficient rainwater storage system. More importantly, however, is that it’s aesthetically nice!
4. Stand Alone Rain Collector
This design is so cool! It’s not only an efficient way to collect and store rainwater, it also doubles as an umbrella and patio table! Enjoy a beer with your fellow gardeners as you simultaneously collect rainwater!
5. Rustic Rain Barrel
Rainwater collecting systems don’t have to be an eyesore, there are plenty of ways to create beautiful structures that are useful and lovely to look at. This one is complete with a rock bed to prevent mud when overflow occurs.
6. Pickle Barrel
Here’s an example of how you can recycle an old food barrel! This one in particular held pickles. What’s good about using barrels such as these is that you can be sure they are food-grade.
7. Elevated Dual Barrels
Search your local online marketplace to find affordable and clean barrels that you can turn into a rainwater collecting system. Placing the barrels at a height allows for easy gravity-fed options.
8. Plastic Bottle Rainwater Pipe
People never cease to amaze me with their cleverness and ingenuity! Reuse those plastic bottles to not only capture and direct water but to filter it as well.
9. Bottom Filled Rain Barrel
This particular rainwater barrel design was created with overflow in mind. The design is made so that there is little to no overflow. To understand better see the tutorial here.
10. Condensation Reclamation
This design has been created to collect the condensation from an indoor air conditioning unit. Let’s collect as much water as possible on our properties!
11. Solar Powered Water Barrel
This design involves that you equip a solar panel. Why? Because that solar panel is going to charge the pump of your system so you can water your plants with pressure!
12. Underground Rainwater Storage
Bury an old IBC tank underground add a simple pumping system and voila, you’ve got yourself a great and functional rainwater system!
13. Recycled Pallet Stand
If you are wanting to get that gravity-fed goodness, you can build your water tanks a special stand out of recycled pallets!
14. Rainwater Disguise
Disguise your ugly rainwater barrel with this absolutely brilliant idea! Keep your backyard looking lush, green, and fresh!
15. Galvanized Stock Tank
For a cool and rustic look why not transform an old galvanized stock tank to become your new rainwater collection system.
16. Stacking Barrels
Stacking rainwater barrels is a great way to maximize space as well as water retention. I also like the idea of painting the barrels to match the color of your walls.
17. Wood Decorated
Having a rainwater barrel doesn’t have to be an ugly addition to your yard. With a little creativity, you can help it become a beautiful and unique piece.
18. Stylish Rain Barrel
No need to hide your rainwater barrel when it’s already stylish enough to leave out for everyone to see. Love the color of this one.
19. Medium Sized Rain Water
If you live in an area that fluctuates between extreme wet and dry seasons, having a larger rainwater barrel could be a smart idea.
20. Painted Rain Barrel
Make your rain barrel fun and unique by painting it with your own unique design, or copy this one! It could be fun to do a project with the kids!
21. Drip Line Irrigation
Attaching a drip line irrigation system directly to your rain barrel is an awesome and super efficient idea. It not only keeps your plants happy by watering them slowly but it makes you happy by doing the work for you!
22. Pretty DIY Rain Barrel
A simple barrel rainwater system that has been disguised with paint and decorated with beautiful stones and plants.
23. Oldschool Rainwater Filter
Collecting rainwater was extremely common only a hundred or so years ago. For gardening, it’s best to leave the rainwater unfiltered, but for household use, you can create a simple and cheap filter.
24. River Rocks DIY Rain Barrel
A similar yet different way to filter your rainwater is with a bed of river rocks. It not only cleanses the water it looks pretty too!
25. Sticker Barrel
If you are looking for a way to make your rain barrel just a little more visually appealing, a simple and cheap way to do so is by using wall stickers.
26. Gutterless Rain Barrels
Even if you don’t have a gutter on your house, that’s no excuse for not collecting rainwater! Here is a clever idea of what I mean.
27. Beautiful Rain Barrel
This rain barrel is perfect! It’s beautiful to look at, efficient, and functional! I love that they have planted flowers on the lid to make it look even more lovely.
28. Blue Whisky Barrel
Out of sight, out of mind. Here is a DIY tutorial on reusing a discarded whiskey barrel to have a purpose once more. The purpose is not only saving a valuable resource but your water bill too!
29. Rainwater Planter
This project skips the barrels altogether and goes straight from the gutter to plants! Reusing old pallets, this planter looks beautiful filled with colorful flowers.
30. Duo Gravity-Fed Rain Barrels
Stacking barrels allows gravity to take over and eliminates your need for a pump. Collect as much water as possible with more and more barrels!
Now you have a Great Selection of DIY Rain Barrel Ideas
So as you can see there are lots of ideas out there on how to create your very own rain barrel water collecting system. There are barrel ideas that blend in with their surroundings, others that stick out in a pleasant fashion, and those that are there just to get the job done. Choose the one that best suits your needs and desires and give it a try! However, if DIY is not your thing, see our review of the best barrels to purchase.
