Did you ever find old gutters lying by the side of the road, or anywhere in a trash pile? If so, next time you may not wish to pass them. As they say, “The garbage of one man is the glory of another man.” This old familiar expression is so true in the case of gutters being thrown out!
There are some new and innovative ideas with which old gutters might come to life. Perhaps your current gutters may not be used as frequently as they should normally be. Have you set up a downspout in a way, for example, so that rainwater running off will go into a big barrel? Flood water is good for garden and lawn watering. If you save it that way, during the dry spells, you might have it on hand.
Nonetheless, if you or anyone else starts repairing the gutters, don’t throw out the old pieces. There are several ways to make good use of these. And, if you don’t see any lying around somewhere, check with building companies and see if they’re willing to share the remaining bits.
The following is a mixture of both very practical ways of using gutters off the grid, and ways of improving living space and organizing items for anywhere or anyone else.
Related: 47 Gardening Hacks
1. A Wall Garden
The remaining gutter bits can be cut to your desired size, then placed on a fence, on the side of the house or driveway, or anywhere you can install. Place them open side up to use as elongated planters.
Yeah, they’re narrow. And, before transplanting, you will use these planters to grow seedlings, as well as vegetables, succulents or other small plants.
2. Garden Edging
You could use old gutters to decorate, as well as help protect your garden space, by placing them around the edging, open side up. You can plant herbs and plants known to help keep pests away, such as the following:
- Chives or Mint – to repel aphids, some beetles, mites, and rabbits;
- Rosemary or Sage – to repel cabbage moths, some flies and beetles;
- Garlic – to repel some beetles;
- Basil – to repel flies, mosquitoes, and thrips;
- Cilantro – to repel aphids, spider mites, and potato beetles.
3. Organized Storage for Small Items
Depending on about whether you choose to arrange, gutters may be split in small sections, around 4-6 inches or so.
Flip them to their side to the top and bottom of the window, and line them up to organize items like keys, screws, brushes, or small devices.
You may also add these to storage spaces on a board or wall.
4. Catching Chicken Droppings
If you have chickens, you’re presumably well aware that it can be time consuming and tedious to keep up with the droppings in the coop. But, if you take a gutter and put it under the cage’s roosts (open side up), droppings will be trapped in there, not the surface.
For easier cleaning, I would recommend using a mounting system that would enable the gutter trays to be removed.
Related: Top 10 Plants To Grow For Chicken Feed
5. Indoor Garden Shelf
Cut the gutter parts to the appropriate scale, and add them to a wall for herbs and succulents to be used as a small planter.
The exterior of the items may be decorated to fit with your specific design.
For someone who is short on counter space but who needs to have fresh herbs within easy reach to use when cooking, this is a perfect choice.
Related: How to Grow and Dry Your Own Herbs
6. Cable Organizer
If you’re hooked up to electricity and computers, it’s not unusual to have a lot of cords and wires throughout the house. They may be unsightly, in the way, a trip hazard and a tangled mess. Until you do something to assist with arranging and covering them, of course.
It can keep all the cords and direct them right to the electrical outlets by adding a slice of gutter under the desk. They can even be used on a wall to hide wires and cables.
7. Waterscapes
You may also be imaginative in making a special water feature with gutter bits to hang on the side of your shed, fence, home or garage.
Hang each piece in a way that, as it rains, will flow into the one below, until it enters a wide pool at the bottom.
You may have fish or aquatic plants in that pool.
Related: Medicinal Herbs and How to Use Them
8. Aquaponics Gutter Gardens
This idea is maybe a little more optimistic but in aquaponic gardening, gutters will provide a unique opportunity. Aquaponics is a time-consuming project to get going, but for your greenhouse, you’ll end up with a creative self-watering device, so it could be achieved with old gutters.
I should actually devote a whole article to setting up this system, but save the gutters if you decide to do it someday!
9. Built-in Ice Trough in a Table
That is indeed one of the funniest thoughts I’ve seen in a while. Break a segment in the center of a wooden table-top, then place a slice of duvet from below with the open side upwards.
You will then amuse yourself by throwing ice and drinks in the trough. Or, if you don’t want ice and water, you might grow any of the above herbs to hold distressing insects away.
Some of these suggestions, as I described earlier, are perfect for living off the grid while others are more superficial and just enjoyable. However, one is a perfect way to repurpose old gutters, rather than just tossing them away.
