With all this recent rain I have seriously been considering installing a rain barrel. I love the idea of collecting rainwater for future use and minimizing our water bill so I started to do a little research. Overall it is very affordable. You can purchase one ready to be installed for less than $100. In fact the city of Houston sells them once a year for $69 ( http://www.rainbarrelprogram.org/houston ) I will probably go that route but it looks like it quite easy to make one as well. The EPA provides step-by-step instructions: http://www.epa.gov/region3/p2/make-rainbarrel.pdf There are quite a few benefits to installing a rain barrel. One of the biggest one for us is minimizing erosion near the foundation. It’s better to collect the water and not have it sit or erode the soil around your foundation. TOP 10 REASONS TO INSTALL A RAIN BARREL: 1. Rainwater is better for your plants and soil. Rainwater is highly oxygenated, free of the salts, inorganic ions, and flu