Rain and Composting Barrels

I recently made a rain barrel and a compost barrel for my yard, both things I have been wanting for a few years now. Mission (finally) accomplished!

I bought my (food quality) barrels off Craigslist for $10 a piece. The seller was nice enough to bring them to work with him for me to pick up. He works about 5 miles from my house, but lives more than a 1/2 hour away. I ended up buying a total of 3 barrels from him, 2 plastic and 1 steel (for my hubby).

I was pretty impressed with my loading of the barrels into my van.

My Lil helpers.

The Compost Barrel

55 gallon food grade drum barrel
drill

jig saw

1/16 inch drill bit
3/4 inch drill bit

2 inch drill bit

2 hinges with nuts and bolts

latch

2 inch pipe (longer than your barrel is tall)

1 piece of re bar longer than the diameter of your barrel

4 sets of nuts and washers that fit the re bar

2-3/4 inch brass grommets

2-2 inch brass grommets

Something to keep the latch shut.

Permanent marker

Use the maker to make an outline for the door of your barrel.

Use the 3/4 inch drill bit to make a hole to insert the jigsaw blade and cut out your door.

Mark and drill the holes for your latch and hinges, using the 1/16 inch drill bit.

Use the 3/4 inch drill bit to drill holes in your barrel for aeration.

Attach your hinges and latch.

Reinforce 2 of the holes at one end of the barrel with the 3/4 inch brass grommets. Place the re bar trough the grommets with the nuts and washers to hold it in place. This will function as your handle to turn the barrel.

Use the 2 inch drill bit to drill 1 hole at either end of your barrel, reinforce with the 2 inch brass grommets and place the 2 inch diameter pipe trough the 2 inch brass grommets.

Place on stand.

I reused many items we had in the garage that were here when we moved in. The stand I got from my dad. It used to be his rain barrel stand and we had to alter it to make it work for us.

The Rain Barrel

Materials needed:

55 gallon food grade drum barrel

Drill

Jig saw

3/4 inch drill bit

3/4 inch spigot, male

3/4 inch pipe coupling, female

2-rubber washers with inner diameter of 1 inch

Window screen
Silicone

screws
Permanent marker

You have to forgive me for not having picture of the steps I took to make my rain barrel. I was so into making it, I forgot to take the picures. Sorry.

Just like on the compost barrel, make an outline on the top of the barrel. Use the 3/4 inch drill bit to make a hole to insert the jigsaw blade and cut out a hole in the top.

Use your arm to measure where to put you spigot, by putting you arm into the hole you cut our of the top of the barrel and reach as far as you can. Use the marker to mark this spot. Use the 3/4 inch drill bit to drill a hole in this spot. Insert the 3/4 inch pipe coupling, put silicone around the coupling and place a rubber washer on ether side of it. Attach spigot. Use the screws to keep the screen secure.

We do not have gutters on our house or garage, so here is my collection system. I have collected several buckets and line them up under the eaves to collect the rain water. I Put the lids on so I don't lose the water, put buckets into the wagon, pull them to the barrel and dump them in.

Used Coffee Grounds

What do you do with yours?

I put mine in the compost most of the time. But I also put them your house plants, garden and yard.

You can use them to clean odors off your hands. If you have been cutting garlic or onion and can't get the smell of, dip in to the mornings grounds, get a squirt of soap and give them a good scrub.

You can make a facial/cellulite scrub out of them. You can use it as a hand and facial scrub. Put it on your legs and wrap in plastic wrap and leave on for 10-15 minutes, brush it off and jump in the shower.

What you need:
2 cups of used coffee grounds
1/2 cup of raw sugar or unrefined sea salt
2 teaspoons of the the oil of your choice (Sweet Almond, Grape seed or Jojoba)
Optional: Brown Sugar, Cinnamon of vanilla Extract
I mix mine in an old jar. (I save all my jar and reuse them)

You can dish or muslin teabag put them somewhere smelly to absorb the odor.

Put them in your damp hair to stain your hair like a natural hair dye. Leave on for a bit and rinse. You can also do this with cooled (black) coffee. You may have to do this several time to get the effect you want.

*Help save a tree and use a reusable coffee filter!

Start Simple!

Part of my reasoning behind starting this blog is because a lot of my friends and family ARE NOT GREEN at all. It hurts! It hurts us all! It hurts our planet Earth!

Think about it. Look. What do you see when you drive to work, go to the store? Trash, litter, cigarette butts....everywhere! It is disgusting! When you clean your house, do your laundry, what do you smell? Chemicals! Cancer, asthma causing poisons. You might think they smell good, but do you know what those things are that are in the bottle of toxic you just sprayed all over the counter where you are gonna prep your next meal? Look at the label, do you see anything you can't pronounce? Probably. Whatever it is it is probably harmful for you and your family!

I'm not saying change everything you do to make this a healthier world to live in. I'm saying take a look around and start small. Sure some things come with a price tag. For instance I pay $3 a month to have my recycling taken away with my trash. It is so easy to do! I have 2 bags sitting next to my trash can in my kitchen. One is for paper and the other is for all of my other recyclables. Just put your 'trash' in the correct bag. It's that easy to recycle! Once you start you will be amazed at how much trash you don't have! As a family of 4 with 3 animals we put out less than on kitchen bag of trash per week. Composting helps. Composting is something I am still working on. I just toss my fruit and veggie (no meat or dairy-they may attract animals) trash into an old cat litter bucket (reuse-another way to recycle) out side then later take it to the back part of the yard into a pile and give it a little turn with my shovel. I am not very good making my leftovers into dirt yet, but am hoping to get a compost barrel and some red wiggler worms this summer to assist me with it.

To make your own cleaners is simple really. All you need are a few things to get started and you probably already have them in your own house!
Check it out!

All purpose cleaner:
Equal parts water and peroxide
Put in a spray bottle and spray away use a clean cloth or paper towel (I use a cotton diaper) to wipe a way. Works great in mirrors, windows and to get grubby little hand prints off the TV.
Peroxide is a disinfectant, but you can add Tea tree oil, Lavender oil or a citrus oil for sent and additional germ fighting power.

Powder laundry soap:
2 cups Borax 20 Team Mule
2 cups wash soda 1/3 bar grated Ivory soap.
Store in a plastic container (big butter dishes work well)
Use 2 table spoons for a full load, less for smaller loads.
I find if I dilute this in hot water before adding it to the washer it helps the granules dissolve.

Fabric softener:
1 cup baking soda
6 cups white distilled vinegar
8 cups water 15-20 drops essential oil to sent (optional)

Put the cup of baking soda in a 1 gallon container (I suggest something with a twist on lid, like an old milk jug), add 1 cup of water. With the container IN the sink very slowly add the vinegar (this will cause a reaction with the soda). Add the rest of the water and essential oil. Shake well add 1/2-1 cup during the final rinse.
I find if I dilute this in hot water before adding it to the washer it helps the granules dissolve.

You can also use a small dampened cloth with a little conditioner on it a s a dryer sheet for the dryer.

Wood polish:
3 cups of water
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar
10-15 drops orange essential oil (optional) this will help kill germs and make it smell good. Mix in a spray bottle. Shake before using.

Other stuff:
You can add 1 teaspoon of tea tree oil to a gallon of water to wash windows, floors and toilets to scrub away the germs.
To chase away bugs, but a drop of tea tree oil near where they are coming in.
Lavender oil or tea tree oil can be applied directly to cuts and scrapes where it will cool the pain and help fight infection.
Mixing a few drops of tea tree oil with some water in a spray bottle can clean mold in the bathroom, so can (warmed) vinegar and borax.
Water in a spray bottle a few drops of essential oils sprayed around the room for air freshener. Mine is has lavender & patchouli in it.


It really doesn't matter what you do, but doing something helps a lot!