Beginner Composting

The beginnings of a compost pile.

After watching one too many YouTube videos, I've really gotten into composting!

I didn't start composting for some grand reason; I simply think the idea is neat & if I can help the environment, then I'm all for it!

Before I started this adventure, I didn't know I had so many things to compost! Of course, I knew about food scraps & whatnot, but I didn't realize how much paper I could have been composting!

I wanted to start off small to see if composting is something I really wanted to do (spoiler: I love it!). I had a plastic tote already, so I cleaned it out & it became my little compost bin. 

I was hoping by using a container, bugs would stay out of it, but it didn't work out that way! We've had some warmer days & the bees definitely made an appearance!

I started my compost with some aged soil from my parents' composting pile. I happened to be making a lot of homemade applesauce & apple butter when I started composting, so the leftover peels & scraps became the first things in my bin.

Then I slowly began adding things around the house. I dried out my used tea. I cut up junk mail. The compostable stuff went right into the bin when I cleaned the fridge. On the nice days, I went outside & gathered leaves to put into the container. I mixed the compost around as best as possible, so I didn't disturb the bees inside.

Before I knew it, the bin was full & I was ready to expand my compost pile! I made a little area behind my bin where I could dump the contents of the container. Luckily, I picked a day when there weren't any bees in my bin, so it was easy to dump out. Then I gave everything a good mix & left it to do its thing.

We'll be getting colder days here soon, so I'm not really worried about the smell & bug situation. I want to bring a pallet to close the area a bit. I've read it will take a while for the compost to break down, but I'm so excited to see the results!