Young House Love Dot Compost
Here we go again, trying to embrace our greener side. Well, actually, our browner side. Yes, we’re taking a crack at composting.
While we’re looking forward to the nutrient-rich and budget-friendly soil amendment that composting provides, our main motivation was actually to reduce our taking-out-the-trash trips. And why send stuff to a landfill when we can use it in our backyard?
Some quick research online (thanks treehugger.com) made it clear that there are lots of options when it comes to composting, some of which are very intense and definitely too hardcore for us at this point. So when we found this super simple guide to making our own backyard bin, we wasted no time getting to work. Here are the step-by-step instructions we followed:
Step 1: Recycle or buy a plastic bin with a tight fitting lid about 24 inches tall or taller (it needs a lid to keep the soil moist and to keep critters out). We picked up this Rubbermaid version at Lowe’s for $7 in hopes that the neutral color would help it blend in with our backyard.
Step 2: Use a drill to make 8 – 10 small holes in the bottom of the container for aeration purposes.
Step 3: Place some shredded newspaper or dry leaves on the bottom of your compost bin, filling it about 1/8 – 1/4 full. We went the leaves route, since we’ve got PLENTY of those lying around.
Step 4: Place dirt on top of the leaves or newspaper until the container is 1/2 full. Again, PLENTY of that.
Step 5: Now place any food scraps or paper products that you’d like to compost. Check out this list for a pretty complete run down of what you can and can’t compost. Surprisingly, things like lint and eggshells are compost friendly, while lime (too acidic) and dog “waste” (could carry disease) are off-limits. So far we only collected a couple of banana peels and a small ball of lint. Maybe this will encourage us to eat more fruits and veggies? Or do more laundry?
Step 6: Give your compost a little stir (very little, in our case) with a shovel or stick, making sure to cover your food scraps with dirt. Canine supervision is optional.
Step 7: Spray with lukewarm water until moist, but not soaking wet. (Note: too much water can be the culprit if your compost starts to smell).
Step 8: Use a drill to make 8 – 10 small holes in the lid and place it securely on top of the bin.
Step 9: Place the bin in a shady area away from the house (if you live in an apartment or have no backyard you can place your bin on the patio). Be sure that it’s not in full sun or your compost will dry out. We found the perfect spot near our garage where our bin can hide behind some shrubs – inconspicuous and convenient (since we take the garbage and recycling out this way already). Can you spot it? HINT: check the bottom right.
Step 10: Now that our compost bin is set up, we can just add food scraps when we’ve got ‘em, making sure to give things a stir each time (mixing the compost helps break everything down faster). And to aid in our collection of stuff to compost, we’ve added a special “compost” receptacle under the sink (along with our existing recycling and garbage containers). Gotta love a no-fail way to get in the compost habit.
Now we just have to wait 2 – 3 months before the compost is ready for our yard or garden. It can be used as mulch or potting soil and can also be sprinkled over grass as a lawn conditioner. Hopefully we can reap some of the composting rewards in some of our fall planting or lawn overseeding. But we have to remember to save at least 1/3 of it so we can keep the composting process going.
Seems pretty easy, right? And so far the whole thing has cost us less than $10.
We’d love some tips from all the composting experts out there (so we can make sure our efforts are fruitful). And for those of you just as green at this composting thing as us, keep us posted on your own adventures in decomposing organic matter. Yummy.
Check out a few composting updates (we love it!) here and here.
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Comments
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this quick how-to on an easy compost system!!! My mom has had a full-fledged compost pile for years, and I always loved the many benefits it gave us. Once my husband and I bought a house, I found myself with allot of random yard and veggie waste that I wasn’t sure what to do with. I had been thinking of composting it, but was afraid of having a big unsightly compost pile in my yard. Now you have given me the perfect solution. :)
I love these tips! My SIL is a composting queen and has all the fancy (and expensive) equipment, but this sounds much more doable for us. Maybe I won’t be the black sheep of my Earth friendly family much longer…we’ll see. :)
I’ve been composting for years now and I just toss it in a pile in the corner of my garden. It’s well spread out so I can visually see where I need to toss more brown matter and where green waste needs to be. I try to do the 1/3’s but it doesn’t always happen. I’ve found that leaving it exposed to rain, sun and birds creates great compost pretty fast. Anything I toss out there the birds go through quickly. I love that they shred it all up, its speeds up the breakdown even further. Of course, you have to have an area set aside that your neighbors can’t see. =)
It’s almost as if you two read my mind to find out what project I’m thinking about tackling but am stumped by, then go ahead and do the work of figuring out the cheapest and easiest way of tackling said project, then post step-by-step instructions with convenient (and sometimes adorable – hi Burger!) pictures. Amazing!
The Richmond Clean City Commision will be holding a one day event to help Richmonders start composting.
On September 6, 2008 from 9am to 4pm go to the Compost Bin Truck Load Sale at the Willow Lawn Shopping Center located at 1601 Willow Lawn Dr. You’ll find them in the parking lot between Kroger’s and Gold’s Gym.
Get $100 value for just $35! The Earth Machine is an 80 gallon capacity composting bin that fits in any vehicle. Made of recycled materials, over 2,500,000 of these machines are in use across the country!
I love composting! If you have any friends who already have worm compost bin, ask them to give you some worms. And just add them to your compost bin! They will even make it faster to decompose food scraps, and they will eventually multiply over time, so you can share your worms w/your friends. :) And you won’t have to stir. It’s kind of a lot of work if you do daily… Worm will do the work for you!
Another tips : I bet the bin will get fill up quickly with two+ people household, you might want to create another bin, so you can let the full bin sit and decompose all the materials while you are adding more materials to second bin.
Good luck!
Thanks for this easy project idea. I’ve been wondering where to start with this.
Our lawn mower just died and we replaced it with a manual push mower (no motor, no electric) in an effort to be green. This composting project will be another small thing we can do.
Keep up these green tips. If more people know about the easy things they can do, the better off we’ll all be.
Greetings from NYC! I’ve been composting for over a year now, and here are two tips you might want to consider.
1) Get a tight cover for your kitchen compost bin (under the sink) because you’ll be surprised at how quickly any interested bug in a wide radius will find a way in.
2) Consider poking a hole into the bottom of your outside compost bin and collect the ‘tea’ (I swear that’s what it’s called)….or just let it drain out. As things break down (and when it rains heavy) you’ll find your moisture content will get too high. If you collect the ‘tea’ you can use it (diluted) for house plants, etc. Very healthy.
Have fun!
I haven’t seen the treehugger.com site yet, but I love the IdealBite.com site for great eco ideas. They have a daily newsletter (the daily “bite”) with an idea or two. Fun to read too, good sense of humor.
Thanks for all you do – love your blog!
Many towns (at least in the Northeast) allow you to purchase bins from the town hall at a rate far reduced from hardware or garden store prices. We bought our composter that way.
We use a lidded but large tupperware container for putting “scraps” in till we’re ready to take them to the composter. The lid is important b/c otherwise, the scraps will attract fruit flies.
We have cut our trash output dramatically (gone from two full barrels each week to one not quite full barrel). I imagine in the fall for yard clean up we will cut it even more.
Good luck!
I 100% guarantee you’ll get giddy about scooping your first batch of compost to use. My suggestion? Mix it with regular potting soil for some potted greens & flowering plants in spring. (Put them on your porch to complement your bargain hanging baskets, perhaps?) Even if you get the tiniest (aka cheapest) plants from your garden center, they’ll grow faster and larger than your’re used to. It’s AMAZING to watch, and very rewarding … almost like a prize for yourself for doing the right thing. Kudos. Welcome to the Compost Club.
We started putting our composting food container in the fridge so it won’t smell or attract insects. It also enables us to collect scraps for a few days and then add them all at once, rather than having to take it out more frequently. Does anyone else have trouble finding enough ‘brown’ matter to compost? We always end up with too much food and not enough other stuff…
Thanks for welcoming into the Compost Club, ErinEvelyn! I’m already excited about scooping out my first batch so this is currently a good exercise in patience.
Garden Buddy, great tip on the EarthMaster sale in Richmond. $65 below retail!? You’re speaking my language. But alas, I think we’ll let some completely-compost-bin-less person take advantage of the “limited supplies.” Plus, I couldn’t shun my own creation so soon…
C, we’ll go on a friends-with-worms hunt this weekend. Sounds weird, but exciting at the same time.
Thanks also to everyone for the advice on storing scraps inside. We haven’t noticed a smell or fly problem yet, but we’ll keep our eye out for a nice, lidded container. Jen, good tip about the “leak” too – I had read briefly about that but wasn’t quite sure what it meant. We’ve already got holes in the bottom so I’m thinking I’ll grab another, larger tupperware lid for it to sit on and help collect leak-age.
And to all those starting their composting journey with us. Please keep us posted. Hopefully we can all learn from each other in this!
Happy scrapping everyone!
-John
I have just recently started to dabble in the world of composting too, much to the excitement of my mother, who is an avid composter. I have a pile in the back corner of our yard (which is welll hidden) but my mom does the bins like you have going. She has two though, so she can have them at different stages.
I have my younger brother bringing me fruit peels and such from Tropical Smoothie (where he works) to make my pile grow faster (in addition to my house scraps). I probably would get a smaller container for my house scraps though, it would reduce the chance of any unsightly smells. I need to get some worms for it, that would be less work haha.
Man you know you are old when composting interests you haha!
Good luck to you!
This looks so easy & affordable! Can’t wait to try it. Not all I need is a backyard…mmmm!
I’ve been thinking I should compost for the Spring season coming and I was so bummed to see all the expensive “composting tumblers” etc. What a great use for the ol’ rubbermaid tub! I like this idea too because if I loose interest or my soil doesn’t compost correctly, I’ve only invested a few bucks! Thanks so much for the idea!
PS I love your blog so much!!! It’s so inspiring!!!
I have always wanted to compost and this sounds like the perfect way for me….easy! My question is about adding scraps to the compost bin. Do you just keep adding until it is full? Is there a certain amount of time to wait between adding scraps to the compost pile and actually using the compost? I am really new at this.
Tks…
Hey Jan,
Weather and other circumstances (like what you’re composting) can definitely make things vary, but we’ve found that after about three months of adding compost and stirring, the bin seems full so we set it aside and let it “rest” and just peek under the lid to see how things are doing until it looks like rich, lush dirt.
It really is a foolproof process because if you just keep adding to the bin until it looks full and then stop adding stuff and wait for the dirt to do its thing, it’ll be nice and obvious when things inside break down and you’re left with lovely soil to feed to your plants. We found that adding a second bin allows us to use one while the other “composts” so we always have a place for scraps. Hope it helps!
xoxo,
Sherry
I’m so excited to start composting. I have a rubbermaid tub all ready to go. My question is though…what about animals? Our yard backs up to woods and we have raccoons out there all the time…
Hey Rachel,
Good question! We actually have a huge woods behind our backyard too (we’ve seen deer but no raccoons), but the lid of the tub stays on extremely well (we’ve never seen it pop off due to bad weather or animals or anything like that) so your compost should be totally safe. Hope it helps! Happy composting…
xoxo,
Sherry
For those tht are hunting for worms. You might try your local bait shop. They always carry worms for the fishermen.
I’m going to make this easy ‘to do’ compost container. Like most, I don’t want to spend the high dollars to purchase composting equipment.
Great Idea!
Piper
Hello there! I’ve been following your blog for a couple monthes now (I actually came across it after doing an internet search for DIY rain barrels) and I think this compost post is very interesting! I’m curious how your bin is doing now that it’s been several months. Have you expanded beyond 2? Appx how long did your bins take to produce usable compost? What new suggestions do you have now that you have been composting for awhile?
Thanks! and Happy composting!
Kendi
Hey Kendi,
Our bins are doing great. We’ve already used all of the compost out of one and have even started a second batch! We haven’t expanded beyond 2 yet, though it certainly couldn’t hurt our garden to have more compost ready. As a family of 2 I think we’re just a smidge short of compostable matter. Since we started our bins in the fall we didn’t start using them until a couple of months ago, at which point they were ready. That was about 4 months. But hopefully with it being warmer out things will compost much faster. The only tip we’d offer beyond our original post is that (1) it seems hard to go wrong and (2) be sure to used a closed container where you’re collecting in the house. The open container we originally tried quickly produced fruit flies.
Enjoy and good luck!
-John
I’ve been composting for about two months, but I’m not sure I’m doing it “right.” I put scraps in there and occasionally add more dirt and dried leaves (or paper shreds). It looks completely nasty in there with lots of bugs (but I am assuming that’s good?!) I just don’t know when it’s “ready.” Also, when should I stop adding stuff and just let it sit?
Hey Rachel,
We actually follow the steps mapped out above, so we continue to add food scraps and stir but we don’t add leaves and dirt as we go (that’s all in there to begin with, and it just gets moved around when we stir things). Following that method only takes a few months to produce finished compost that’s ready to use (especially in the warmer weather where it goes much faster). So since we now have two bins going, after about a month of adding to one bin we switch to the other so the first one can “finish” for a month and we can use it and then restart the process. It really helps to have two so we can do them in tandem and each one gets to compost while we’re actively dumping in the other one. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Wow! This is like looking under MY OWN counter!! We started a compost pile about a year ago and have a lot of bins under our counter and the VEGGIE WASH too! :) Ironically, I just created a blog post yesterday specifically on compost ‘piles’ here: http://gogreen101tips.blogspot.com/2009/08/start-compost.html
I am in love with your site! I have literally spent 2 hours today just going through all of your tips, posts and photos. I really love simplistic and cozy style, specifically beach house decor and your site is a breath of fresh air and is very inspiring! Keep on doing what you do! :)
Thank you for this post. I have been lookig at composters for a while now but didn’t want to fork out the dough. So thank you for this simple and frugal DIY!
what do you do about the wet matter that collects at the bottom? the leachate? you don’t have a spout or anything, do you just stir it around at the bottom?
The bottom of the compost bin has drilled holes for drainage and to let worms in so a good stir every time we add stuff keeps everything looking good and working well in there. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I followed the steps and made a compost bin! I feel so green. Only one problem.. Nats! (in the outside bin) Well, maybe two problems. It doesn’t smell really bad, but it does smell a bit. So, I saw that you said too much water might be the culprit for the smell. What about the nats? I went outside to add to my bin this morning, saw the nats when I lifted the lid, slammed it shut and ran! Help!
Hey Katey,
So glad you made your compost bin! Wahoo. As for the gnats, we didn’t have that problem but it could be related to too much water (gnats would probably be attracted to a moist swampy environment) so our advice would be to try to drain out a bit of the water through those holes (and through stirring). We also would just suggest waiting a few days for things to settle (keep your compost in a sealed container under your sink for a few days and then add it when things seem to calm down outside. Our compost bin is pretty much completely unscented and we never have bugs flying around it (although worms are doing their thing in the soil to help break things down- which is a great thing!). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I am playing around with the compost idea considering I live in an apartment… what kind of closed container did you get for under the sink? I’m looking for some affordable ones.
Good question! We ended up getting one for around $10 at Bed Bath & Beyond that has little push buttons on the side that “seal” the top. Just sort of like a plastic cylinder where the top sinks in and locks when you push those buttons so it’s airtight. We love it!
xo,
s
I had heard of composting awhile ago and always wanted to give it a try…too bad I can’t add my dogs poop to the compost bin :(
This is a good idea. Too bad I want something bigger that can go next to the house.
I love this post! What a wonderful way to go green and help keep your gardens kickin’. I am super eager to make a compost bin this spring. I was skimming through the posts above and it seems like warm weather helps decompose faster, but I was just curious how do composts work in the winter when everything is frozen?
Things definitely slow down in the colder months but we keep on adding things because there are still worms in there munching away. By the time spring rolls around they’re ready to go!
xo,
s
Thank ya’ll so much for this post. I was always led to believe that you had to have a big expensive compost tumbler in order to make compost. But not so, apparently!
I went to Lowe’s today and bought one of those big containers, and once I find the drill (I know we have one), I’ll be in business!
Thanks again!
YAY!!! I have been wanting to do this for a while now. I looked at some store bought bins, but knew it could be a diy. Seems like such a watse to throw out good kitchen scraps. Thanks for the destructions.
PS. WOW! I don’t think I have seen such an uncluttered under kitchen sink for, well ever! I have bins & baskets that are organized, along with old vases & other “junque”.