Don't waste a thing...

It drives me crazy to waste things. I love to recycle and will find a way to recycle just about anything. There are charities that take almost anything...cell phones, clothes, printer cartridges...even cars. But what about the kitchen? I have learned to take left overs and create a new dish...left over broccoli & cheese soup turns into broccoli and chicken casserole. Roast and potatoes turns into a stew over cornbread. But what about all those beautiful fruit and vegetable scraps that you cut off and can't use? Sometimes I save those for making chicken stock...onion, celery and carrot scraps are great to throw in a pot with a chicken carcas for stock. I freeze the stock and use it for soups later.

You can also use the scraps for composting. When we lived on a farm in the early 90's, I had a garden and compost bin. Haven't had one in about 10 years and I really miss the feeling of growing our own food and soil. After hearing about all my friends planting gardens this year, I decided to go ahead and do it again...and when I do a garden, I do a compost bin as well. To me they go hand in hand. I will share with you both of these projects, but let's start with the compost bin.

I am sure I'm not alone when I say money is tight right now. I just don't have the money for a $100 compost bin. But there are ways to do this with very little to no money. You can make a wooden frame to hold a trash can that you lay on its side so it can rotate...that was too much work for me...so I decided to use an old rubbermade storage bin that I already had around the house. Just drill a few air holes in the lid and around the top of the bin itself...then your ready to add compost ingredients...it's that easy!

Coffee grinds (including the filter), tea bags, fruit and vegetable scraps, saw dust, grass clippings, leaves, dirt, junk mail, etc. Just about anything that is biodegradable can go into your compost bin. You can buy a mini compost can to keep on your kitchen counter for holding your scraps until your ready to add to your larger bin outside, but those are around $50. I just keep a mixing bowl on my kitchen counter by the sink so it's handy when I'm chopping and cooking. I just throw the scraps in the bowl and at the end of the day...or the next day...I take it and dump into the compost bin outside.

When starting your compost bin, it's always good to start with a layer of shredded newspaper or junk mail...I know...finally a good use for that unwanted mail that comes every day.

SSo... a layer of shredded paper, then dump in your kitchen scraps. Now, I know you're thinking...'dump'? Not an attractive word...but since we are talking about compost we'll use this word. However, when we're talking about cooking, I'll use a more lady like word. I did throw some leftover potting soil on top of the newspaper and kitchen scraps. Then comes the magic of composting...the worms! You don't have to use worms, but it does speed up the process. We found a really quaint, little, ole hardward store not far from us that was like stepping back in time...and they sell composting worms...you want 'red worms'. They also sell ladybugs and praying mantis eggs, but we'll save that for another post.

My sweet baby girl (7 years old) loves to dig in the dirt, catch lizards and carry around 'holy polies' (her name for rolly pollies) helped with the worms, but she really didn't care for them as much as some of her other little critter friends. She did let me take this picture before dumping them in the bin.

So...shredded paper, kitchen scraps, a little potting soil and worms...now pour some water over the top to moisten everything and put the lid on tightly...that's it! The only thing to do now is mix it up every few days, keep it moist and keep adding ingredients. In a few weeks or months we'll have great fertilizer to add to the soil in the garden. Not sure how long it will take to compost, but I'll post progress as well go. Let me just add this disclaimer: I am not an expert on composting or gardening! Just a mom that loves to do things inexpensively and be wise with resources. Feel free to add comments teaching me more on any subject that I post here.