Another small change? No, big!

Whoot Whoot! My One Small Change challenge has been so much fun. I've made great, sustainable changes for January, February and March and now I'm ready for April.

I took my TTT (Teach The Teacher) Rain Barrel class last night at WMEAC. Come on...it's that easy to make these? Yes! It really is. And you know what? I won the raffle, so I came home with the water barrel we made. Whew! Now I have a way to show you what they look like. The link I gave you for WMEAC has a video and instructions for making your own at the bottom of the link page.


There is an overflow spout at the top right where I'll attach a hose for when there's too much rain. There are dual valves on the bottom so I can attach 2 soaker hoses, one each for the back and side yard gardens. There's a screen covered hole at the top where the downspout will be retrofitted (yes, I know what that means.  Aren't I smart?) The screen is to keep mosquitos and debris out of the barrel. And, you can't see it, but there's a hose attachment on the other side in case you want to get your hose up off the ground.

People, rain barrels are so simple to make that you have no reason not to have them at your own homes. Think how many gallons of rain water I'm keeping out of the storm sewer. What's more, rain water is free and just think of how many gallons of treated water I don't have to buy from the city just to throw on the ground this summer.

Next up, rain barrel workshops at my home. I get to teach the neighborhood how to make them. Have I mentioned that the rain barrels and all the supplies are free from our city if you go through the WMEAC workshops? Yep, free. I love free. I love my city!

"Look down my rain barrel. Slide down my cellar door. And we'll be jolly friends forever more!"

One Small Change

Can you guess what my One Small Change is for March? This has been a good challenge for me and I think it’s because there is accountability with those of us who are participating. I mean, really, if I were doing this by myself I probably would have cheated and then what’s the point of the change? I’m still composting all the kitchen scraps, which I hadn’t typically done in the winter. I love using the reusable produce bags, which has led to me hosting an upcoming sewing workshop for women to make their own. That should be fun. This month I’ve decided to not use my dryer. In truth, I read about someone doing this last month and I tried it with a few loads of laundry just to increase the humidity in the house. Michigan is so dry in the winter and any extra moisture helps tremendously. As you can see, the drying rack is located in front of the heat register in the kitchen. Well, you can’t tell it’s my kitchen, but it is. The flow of warm air dries everything quite quickly and since it’s just me in the house most of the time, I don’t mind stepping around the rack.

Wait til you hear what I’ve come up with for April….oh, forget it, I’m so excited I can’t wait to tell you. Yesterday, I called our local Environmental Action Council, WMEAC, and signed up to host a neighborhood rain-barrel workshop. Each participant will be making a rain-barrel at that workshop, which he or she can then take home and install. Haha….talk about one small change. Think about the impact that change will make when I have a whole neighborhood using rain barrels for watering their gardens instead of tapping into the municipal water supply. Plus, it cuts down on storm water run-off flowing into the sewer system. Now that’s a cool change that will last a long time and is incredibly sustainable. Let me know if you want the link for directions to make your own rain barrel.

Have you tried the One Small Change? Is it working for you?

Updated: Here's the link for the WMEAC rain barrel video. There are also instructions for making your own rain barrel on the bottom of the page. Please, please, please let me know if you make one of these. They look so darned easy.