I also "strategically shovel" the snow. I pile it up four feet deep at the base of the narrow-leaf cottonwoods and aspens. I live in a townhome development, and the neighbors think I'm nuts. (They think one should just shovel the snow into the street where it will melt faster. At work, I piled up snow around the trees lining the street. It's the only water these municipal trees will get. I also shovel show from my deck to the garden. Free water!

When I shovel snow, I put it where it will melt and do the most good. You are not as crazy as you think. Water is a valuable resource where I live.

Snow? What snow? We didn't have any snow this year in UT! :) You know you're a conservation freak when you get a masters degree in it and lose friends over it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Utah's Water Conservation Website

well it is almost 9 months since your post and I do not know if you have solved your problem of getting water from the shower to the garden.
We live in a highset house (on piles to cope with occassional severe flooding) and have intercepted the external downpipe from the shower a short length of drainage pipe leads to one 44 litre drum (laid horizontally) on top of three 44 litre drums also laid horizontally the waste water is fed into the top on, then evenly distributed via irrigation pipe to the bottom three. Each of the bottom drums has an outlet hose which joins a single irrigation pipe with a tap in it, this leads to dripper irregigation to an bed along the side of the house. The drums are mounted underneath a rainwater tank on a stand. Once a week the tap is opened to irrigate the gardenbed.

i collect rain water into 3, 14gal trash can, and 4 large plastic barrel. my co-worker and neighbor thought that i am nut,but hey, it roughly 100 plus galons of water that save me some money. i put a fish in each of the container($.15 fish at petsmart.)to help deal with the mosquitos problem.