elfing it

It seems I have wine on the mind, along with droughts, as my county in Northern California is in the middle of one and residents have been asked to reduce water consumption by 20% - but I just read about Terracycle (www.terracycle.net) and their many cool recycled products. The one that caught my eye is a rain barrel - I've wanted a couple of these for my (sunny, parched) garden for some time. The barrels modified by Terracycle are actually wine barrels repurposed from Kendall-Jackson; really attractive oak wine barrels that are now great for collecting water (www.terracycle.net/rain_barrel.htm).

Other than Terracycle, I haven't been able to find other companies that are reusing wine barrels except for a few tiny local shops. There's a ton of information online about how to position the barrels for best water collection. For example, This Old House has good information (www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,1180779,00.html).

Ordering an item this large online was a bit daunting, but then I discovered that Home Depot and Walgreens carry the Terracycle rain barrels. So, if you're looking for an extra bit of help in conserving water, this seems an easy, inexpensive and green idea.