Composting From Your Kitchen: Don't Chuck It in the Trash!

Image source: herb007 on Pixabay

I've had my ups and downs with kitchen composting. It's a little bit of work and I only have a tiny vegetable garden, so my motivation hasn't been high. But I wanted to share something I've discovered: a really important reason to compost, even on a small scale, and even if you don't have a garden.

Whatever you throw in the trash does not break down

Pretty much everything you throw in your garbage can is going to go into an anaerobic environment. And organics don't break down unless they have oxygen. Imagine that old head of lettuce you didn't eat before it turned brown, sitting in a landfill for hundreds and hundreds of years.

But this isn't about guilt. It's just about the small things we can do to make the world a better place. And composting is one of those things!

These are the things that you might find yourself throwing in the garbage on a daily basis, that won't break down, but would actually make awesome compost:

• Broccoli stems
• Celery stalks
• Potato peels
• Orange rinds
• Kale stems
• Wilted lettuce
• Coffee grounds
• Cut flowers

When my life got really busy and overwhelming in the last couple of years with an intense job, I got out of my composting habits. And frankly, I just got lazy. But a simple composting regimen doesn't take much time or effort.

Since we care about the earth, the last thing we want is to pile it up with trash. And knowing that orange rinds last as long as plastic bags in the landfill, to me, is motivation enough to change my habits!

Note: There are multiple types of composting. I actually have a huge property with tons of trees that drop tons of leaves. Plus I have a small flower and vegetable garden and I do a lot of potted plants from spring through fall that have to be dead-headed. Plus there's grass, yard clippings, twigs and branches that fall, everything I cut back or pull up from my vegetable and flower gardens when I winterize them, etc. So in addition to the kitchen composting I'm describing here, I have a huge compost pile at the corner of my property where I can throw absolutely everything organic. In this post, I'm going to focus on kitchen composting.

You don't have to be a gardener to compost

I will share how I do kitchen composting as one example. But there are many ways to do it. Even people with small apartments can keep a simple patio compost bin.

The way I compost, the bin never actually fills up. It's constantly breaking down! So don't worry about creating compost you can't use.

But let's say you become a master at composting everything organic from your kitchen and you do build up some nice compost, but you have not use for it. There are plenty of people with vegetable and flower gardens that would love to be the beneficiaries of your black gold! Find a community board or put up a notice in your local coffee shop and you will get takers.

Start small and don't fret

I have a small compost bin just past my garage. It looks a lot like this one:

Image source: HGTV blog

But since it's important to aerate and turn your compost from time to time, you might want to consider one like this which has a handle for turning:

Image source: Walmart

I also keep a small compost bin under my sink, because as we all know, the process has to be as easy as throwing stuff in the trash! I just throw all of my organics into the small bin, and every other day I go out and toss it in the larger one.

My under-sink bin is similar to this one:

Image source: Pottery Barn

A few composting tips

Everything you need to know about composting, you can find online. My goal with this post is to inspire and motivate you to get started, if you haven't yet done so. I'll provide a few resources below to help if you're a beginner or intermediate composter. But here are just a few simple practices to keep in mind:

• Compost anything you would feed a vegan
• Compost anything from the earth
• Compost paper, newspaper and cardboard
• Add some moisture if it gets too dry
• Add some paper or leaves if it gets too moist
• Don't compost meat, egg shells, or anything that comes out of the back end of a meat-eating animal

The ultimate goal is to have a nice, crumbly compost that smells aromatic like good earth and has the consistency of a baked chocolate cake - dense and crumbly.

If you want compost you can use, and don't want to add fresh items to compost that is well on its way to being ready for the garden, then you will either need an additional compost bin or a two-part compost bin.

If you want your compost to break down faster, you can buy a compost starter like the one below. But you can also find compost starter recipes if you want to make your own.

Image source: Home Depot

Easy Peasy Composting Resources

Here's an awesome getting started video from Better Homes and Gardens:

I like this simple, no-nonsense "Composting 101" video from Pure Living for Life. It's a great starter course, but is going to be most relevant to you if you're a homesteader or have a backyard space for composting leaves and grass.

Here's a resource from Homesteading World to help you find or create a compost bin: Ultimate DIY Compost Bin Guide: Compost Bin Ideas For Any Budget

Thanks so much for reading my blog. Go forth and be happy and do good things for Planet Earth!

p.s. I want to extend a thank you to @pennsif for the encouragement to get started writing about sustainability. It's a passion of mine, but not something I have typically posted about here on Steemit, other than casual mentions, like in my recent Market Friday post where I shared some thoughts about re-usable bags! Be sure to check out @pennsif's recent Sustainability Curation Digest. Another great resource is @ecotrain. They curate great content about sustainability and caring for the earth. Check out their recent Eco Living Weekly curation post.

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