Rain, rain

Woke up this morning to a brief rain shower and ran outside to flip me' bins.

Currently, we do not have a gutter across the front roof line so I try to keep plants along the edge. This helps keep them watered not only during rainstorms but they also collect the dew off the roof in the morning. I also flip that large metal bin; it's also along the edge of the roof line and collects water easily. There's a hose nozzle in the bottom corner so I can easily get the water; often I don't bother and stand the plants in the container so the roots can absorb the amount of water they need. This is a simple way to avoid over-watering. I have several containers similar (in look and function) to this vicariously placed around the house and garden.
We're still experimenting with ways to help keep dirt and leaves out of the gutter so at the beginning of a storm, or before if we're lucky, one of us will run outside and clear the gutters. Any suggestions on how best to block out he leaves and dirt but still collect maximum water?

I'm planning on measuring out some screen and fitting that along the gutter but I will also have to clear that - though it'll be easier. Any more ideas out there I could steal?

A couple more ways we save water - the well and the solar shower, which we use during the summer.

The shower is all salvaged wood. When we first purchased the property, this was our only shower but the road wasn't there so it was also blocked by some thick foliage and trees.
The well is the black tube.