When we bought our new home last year one of the first things we did was get two rain barrels. Well, kind of. We actually bought 2 pickle barrels and the parts needed and made our own which are actually a bit larger than the ones that places like Home Depot and Lowe's sell and we did so for less money (although it did involve a bit of labor), but they are awesome for water plants during the spring, summer, and fall. We winterize them so they don't freeze during the winter. Also this year we have a small garden planted. We have tomatoes, green peppers, and pod peas, along with two blueberry and 3 strawberry bushes.
Also the garbage company we use picks up garbage one day of the week and one other day of the week picks up recyclables.