Project Compost

My kids go to a Montessori and the curriculum is chock full of Earth friendly works that make me feel guilty as a parent that I'm not incorporating more of this kind of agenda at home - it is their generation that they are working to preserve right?  I should probably work harder to leave something for them and my potential grandchildren...  Anyway, we started recycling a while ago, but one of the next steps my 5 year old wanted to take was to start a compost bin.  For months she has been telling me that we can compost tissues that she has blown her nose in and random bits of food she hasn't finished.  She has even gone far enough as to try to save these items for our future compost pile.  I decided that we were finally going to purchase or build one this spring.

After doing a little research I decided that it would be better to purchase a sealed unit because we are in the mountains and raccoons, mice, and chipmunks are an issue.  It is hard enough to keep mice out of the house without placing a welcome sign in the yard.  I settled on an inexpensive two compartment tumbler from Home Depot because it was in stock and it seemed as though none of them had great reviews.  My husband put it together over a beer and there were a LOT of screws.  It was ready to go we just needed to add our Brown (carbon rich) and Green (nitrogen rich) materials.  I read a few sites, but found this one to be the most informative.

It is all set up and we are using it daily.  I have to say that I do high recommend getting a smaller sealed container to keep under the kitchen sink so you don't have to make frequent trips outside.  The pictures below are from my cell phone - I promise to start using my actual camera soon!