Rainwater

I have been doing a lot of gardening lately.

I always get the urge to grow new life in September and last year was no different.

Usually the urge only lasts for a short while and then the garden gets forgotten.

I put in a bit more effort this springtime because we were getting our roof done and I was expecting to get water tanks as soon as our roof was finished. I also thought our new roof would be on display for advertising purposes and wanted our house and yard to look nice.

As it turned out the roof company decided not to use our house as a display home ... perhaps because they didn't want to impose on us after making several holes in our roof and taking quite a bit of time getting them repaired.

Since we don't have a rainwater tank yet ... and I have been trying to save money and also trying to be greener and recycle and not waste water etc I decided to start using Kougra's bath water on the garden. I also sometimes use the rinse water from our washing machine. Both of these methods involve carting water around and to the garden in buckets ... Lots of buckets LOL!!!

This job is very time consuming (although it does seem to be very good exercise!) but having spent so much time working on the garden and seeing things die very quickly if they are not watered at least every second day I am prepared to continue until my plants are better established.

For the past 10 years we have also found that when there is really heavy rain the downstairs section of our house floods. Some days we end up ankle deep in water and all our stuff gets water damage and the carpet gets wet and smelly.

Uni was starting to get frustrated by this situation every time it rained, so he took matters into his own hands and blocked off the area under the garage door where water flowed in and he also sealed up other areas that were contributing to the problem. He was keen to get the roof and gutters and downpipes replaced so this problem would not continue.

The first big downpour that we got after the roof and downpipes were in place threatened to breach Uni's garage barrier and knowing how much he didn't like the downstairs area getting wet I rushed outside in the pouring rain and tried to shift as much of the water as I could using a bucket ... transferring it from the areas it wasn't wanted to the areas it was wanted, by emptying it out into the garden.


Then I had a lightbulb moment!!!


The water was gathering so furiously in front of the garage partly because it was a concreted area at the bottom of a slope and partly because the roof of our car port also slopes downwards sending heaps of water down the carport downpipe ... straight onto the concrete right in front of the garage door.

I hadn't really realized how much water comes off the carport but when I stuck my bucket under the down pipe it filled up really quickly.

So then I had another lightbulb moment.

Until we get our water tank I can collect water from the carport roof in big tubs or buckets to use in the garden.

This prevents our garage flooding under extremely wet conditions ... as Uni's barrier usually holds its own when there is a small amount of rain. It also provides our garden with plenty of water ... usually up to 2 days worth. The plants (and even the dog) much prefer rainwater to tap water ... and for several days I don't have to cart water from upstairs or from the laundry to the garden.

Lately the major rainfalls have come at night and I rush out there after a bit of a downpour (wearing boots and a raincoat) and transfer rain from my main collecting box to as many different containers as I can so I don't lose a drop. It would be hilarious to watch and I can only wonder what the neighbours are thinking ... hopefully the sound of the rain muffles all the activity!!!

As I type this I am listening to the trickle of rain falling from the downpipe into my enormous collection containers. I started out with 1 normal sized bucket, then a 25 litre nappy bucket. Then I bought a 52L plastic storage container, several more buckets, 2 watering cans and another bigger 130L plastic storage container. (This 130L container is big enough to hold the rinse water from one full washing machine load ... and I leave it in the laundry for that purpose until it looks like rain is likely ... then it promptly gets put out near the carport!!!)

So at the moment I can collect about 300L and I try to fill all my containers so I have plenty of water to use on the garden.

I think I might need to buy anothe 130L container though .... or maybe two or three....LOL!!!

Peach trees and housework

I have had a great week this week. Kougra did not cry once during school drop off.

We went for a day trip to peach trees on Wednesday (out past kenilworth, near Jimna) and went for a bushwalk and had a BBQ. Uni had the day off work and so Kougra took a day off school too.

We plan to go to Peach trees for our next camping trip and thought we would take the opportunity to look around. Next camping trip will be two nights ... last year it was one night. Am looking forward to it ... not so apprehensive ... will probably be in May so we will need to rug up!

Today I had a very productive day. I managed to get up at 6am and do some fence painting ... have been rather lax with that this week, preferring to catch up on sleep instead!

I also cleaned the bathroom and toilet, swept the kitchen floor, did a load of laundry and some weeding.

I have been cleaning with vinegar and bicarb soda and sometimes lemon, instead of regular cleaning products.

I read a great book called "green cleaning" which detailed all the cleaning applications these products can be used for.

I like the idea of not using lots of different chemicals and I like the idea of saving money so it made sense to me to try these things out.

I have been really thrilled with the effect on my bathroom. Particularly the shower!! Nothing I had previously used was working very well on my very old shower. I tried scrubbing it with vinegar and a scrubbing brush and it looked terrific. After two weeks of this I had a go using bicarb soda sprinkled in the shower pan and mixed in a bit of water to make a paste. I covered the base of the shower very liberally and anywhere the paste covered scrubbed up so clean and white!!!

I reckon if I use vinegar one week and bicarb soda the next, my bathroom will sparkle!!!

You can also use a blend of vinegar and bicarb soda ... apparently the two together generate a fairly strong chemical reaction with fizzing etc ... I might try them together at some stage ... but so far I haven't needed to.

I used bicarb soda in the toilet too and the interior is soooo white. The only problem though is that I don't want to mix chemicals so I have to wait to do the toilet until my toilet deodorising block is empty.

Another thing that works a treat on the toilet is leftover softdrink poured in and left to sit for overnight ... (eg. coke or lemonade or soda water) ... I think its the carbonated water.

I have also been using a tip I learnt from http://www.simplesavings.com.au/a.php?a=238654" which involves cleaning the ring in the bathtub with shampoo. I usually use shampoo I don't like very much which I am trying to finish ... or I buy a cheap shampoo for this purpose.

I have been shaving my legs with cheap conditioner too instead of shaving cream. It works well and is much cheaper than shaving cream....although I do buy shaving cream for uni to use on his face!

Some time last year I realized that I was spending a fortune at the supermarket and very few of the things in my trolley were food ... most things seemed to be for cleaning ... or things like toilet paper, paper towels, food wraps, garbage bags, tissues, soap, toiletries etc.

I have cut down on the number of some of these things by using vinegar ($1.09/2L) or bicarb soda $3/kg (mixed with water) or dishwashing liquid or shampoo for cleaning. Vinegar instead of rinse aid in the dishwasher, vinegar or bicarb soda instead of shower power. Bicarb instead of toilet cleaner. Dishwashing liquid mixed with water for floors.

Feeling quite houseproud at the moment!!!

trying to get the hang of it

Hmm this is a test blog.

Technology is becoming more challenging every day.

There is a lot of work involved in making something simpler.

Think I might have achieved what I wanted to.

Hope so ...

Only time will tell

This is my first attempt at a blog.

My mum and sister each have one ... and I have a few favourites that I follow so I thought I would give it a try.

Should be fun.

over and out