Advice and help

Christmas is a fantastic time of year to look towards the future, not only in our own lives but also in the lives of others. Water conservation is one of the best things we can do individually, that can help others in the future, and with the amount of cooking and cleaning that goes on in and around Christmas, there are many ways in which you can limit your water usage!

Cleaning

Whether you are prepping your house for guests, or cleaning up after Christmas day, you're sure to do your fair share of cleaning. This can take a fair bit of water to accomplish, especially if you're cleaning the whole house.

Lemon and vinegar is a great alternative to most chemical cleaning options, and you're bound to use less water overall. Why not try a more organic cleaning solution for Christmas?

Re-Use Water

Preparing the Christmas dinner the night before is a popular tradition, and saves time on Christmas day. While you're soaking vegetables, why not keep that water to be used the next day for when you boil your veg?

Similarly, once you've finished boiling your vegetables, you can use the same water for your garden! Starch released from potatoes and other veg can stimulate nutrient release in the soil.

Food Scraps

Rather than scraping food waste in to your bin (where it will end up in landfill), or rinsing your plate under the tap (wasting water), why not simply add your food waste to a composter?

A composter can break down most types of food waste, but a hot-composter will be needed to break down meat and cheese. This will provide you with nutrient-rich compost which you can use for your garden!

General Tips

• Fill a dishwasher to the brim to make the most of the water, if washing in the sink, be sure to use a bowl
• Keep cold pitchers of water in the fridge so you don't have to run the tap every time
• Don't defrost frozen foods with hot water, leave them overnight to defrost on their own
• If you have a real tree, use any leftover water to keep it watered
• You can use a water butt to harvest rainwater and provide usable water for your toilet, washing machine, and more!

A rainwater harvesting system is invaluable during drier months and when we tend to garden more but when the weather changes, we garden less and our once often used water butt can become neglected. This season is as important as any when it comes to maintaining and caring for your water butt so that you can use it all year round. For it to survive the temperatures and lowered usage just follow our handy hints and your system will still be at its best come summer time.

On our sustainable gardening journey, many of us invest in a water butt to harvest rainwater to use on plants and other things around the house (read our previous blog on how to be water smart for some tips). Whilst this system should be used all year round, the weather can sometimes stop us from making the most out of it. We may be in for rainy weather over Autumn, but this could mean you can use your harvested water for other purposes in the house. To do this, you may need to care for your water butt a bit more as the weather changes.  

Read through our handy tips to help you carry on using your water butt throughout Autumn. 

The Best Water Butts for Small Gardens

Water butts are a great way to do your bit for the environment by collecting rain water, and it’s also a great way to save money and help your plants to flourish. If you’re not particularly blessed with space in your garden, you may be wondering if installing a water butt is still an option, but let us reassure you that it is! As your one stop shop for rain harvesting equipment, we have plenty of tips and suggestions when it comes to finding the best water butts for small garden spaces.

Easily one of the most loved water butts on Water Butts Direct, is the 160L Terracottage Wall Mounted Water Butt. Its unique design and sturdy construction mean that owners of this water butt keep it working for years. The Terracottage Wall Mounted Water Butt can help you garden more sustainably and will help you save on space. If you’re considering having a wall mounted water butt but not sure what sets them apart, we here to help.  

Making some small and affordable changes around your home can have a huge effect on the environment. These changes can help to reduce your carbon footprint whilst also saving you money.

In this post, we’ve put together our top-tips of eco-friendly changes that you can make in your home. We’ve left out recycling as you’ll likely be doing this if you’re interested in living an eco-friendly life.

Water butts are most commonly used to recycle rainwater for use around you garden, and that’s a great way to save water and money on your household bill. However, the water you use for your lawn is doesn’t even scratch the surface of what you could be saving by having a water butt.

How much can you really save?

We all have to pay for the water that we use but rainwater is free, if you can collect enough of it then you have the potential to reduce your water bill by up to 34%. There are a few things that influence how much rainwater you will be able to harvest. CAT Information Service give this basic formula to calculate how much you could be collecting: