Composting

We had a pretty good composting operation set up at our old house. So, when we moved last year, we knew we wanted to start up again. It took us a while to get started, but we finally installed our new backyard composter a couple months ago. Here’s some notes on how we organize the process.

#1: Garbage Bowl

We started off with a Garbage Bowl in the kitchen to collect all our organic food scraps. You can use anything for this bowl, but there are also specific garbage bowls on the market. The idea here is making it easy to save the scraps from the trash while you’re cooking. After a while, it becomes mindless.


Usually we try to keep our food scraps chopped up pretty small because they decompose faster that way. Sometimes a spoiled apple or something bigger sneaks in, though. I know that some people prefer to keep their bits + pieces in the freezer, especially during the cold months.

#2: Indoor Bin

We also have a small compost collector in our kitchen which is the staging area before everything heads outdoors. We cook a lot with a lot of whole foods, so we need multiple options. You can buy containers with carbon filters to keep your kitchen smelling nice. Since we take ours out daily, I found a cute galvanized ice bucket (+ scoop) with a plastic bin in it. It works great and looks nice.

#3: Outdoor Bin

From there, everything goes into our outdoor composter. We bought a galvanized garbage can, drilled holes into the bottom half, dug a deep hole in the yard, and snugged it in. The holes allow worms to enter and break the food down. It was also one of the least expensive (and more attractive) composter solutions I have come across.

#4: Starter

To get our compost started, we actually bought some compost starter this year at the suggestion of a friend. It fast forwards the microorganism activity and breaks down the food scraps faster. We happened to have a lot of veggie and fruit scraps in a short period of time, so it would have taken a while to break all that down otherwise.

#5: What’s Inside

We compost everything from fruit and veggie scraps to eggshells to Stephen’s endless supply of coffee grounds. Yard waste -- grass clippings, leaves, etc. -- too. If you’re new, here’s a great chart for the DOs and DON’Ts of what goes into the bin. After you add a batch of “fresh” scraps, you always want to cover with some brown matter (newspaper, leaves, straw, sawdust, etc.). The brown stuff gives your compost more air and carbon, which are two essentials to the process.

#6: How/When to Use

We have yet to use any of the compost in our garden. You know your batch is “ready” when it’s nice and dark and breaks up easily. It just looks like incredibly rich, awesome soil. The amount of time it takes to get to this point can vary greatly, so be patient. Here’s some more information about using compost.

I’d love to hear about your composting process!

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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Lately

I planned to share a great Cinco De Mayo recipe with you guys today. But a certain someone came down with a nasty chest cold this weekend. Yesterday her temp was almost 104! (By the way, if you haven’t invested in one of those forehead thermometers -- run and grab one. I had to spend $50 on this one in haste, but it’s less than $25 on Amazon!) We took a quick trip to the walk-in, almost had to order a chest x-ray, but then we were discharged with a prescription we’ll fill if this thing doesn’t kick soon.

It’s a long way of saying I didn’t get around to it. But tonight we’ll be making quesadillas on the grill with cauliflower, poblanos, portabellas, black beans, and lots of gooey cheese. I wanted to try out this plantain tortilla recipe, but Wegmans was plumb out of them. I got some stone ground corn tortillas instead. Anyway, stay tuned for the deliciousness.

So, we finished our composter.

I can’t wait to update you guys on how it’s working. All we did was get a that galvanized trash can. Then we drilled a bunch of 1/4” holes in the bottom and bottom third, dug a hole about half as deep as the can, and tamped down the dirt. After that, we tossed in our organic matter, some dry leaves, and garden soil. Another Pinterest project done!

I also dyed and highlighted my hair.


OK. So I did this at home. And I am not going to share a tutorial because I’m in experimental territory here. I had been dying my hair with henna for years. I am sick of it being the same color, and I’ve read you can’t dye henna out of hair. I tried anyway. It actually looks pretty good. At least to me. It’s a brighter color. The highlights are pretty bold. We’ll see how long it lasts.

I’ll admit I didn’t love using chemicals on my hair again. But part of me just really needed the change. I used L’oreal Paris hi-lift in UL63. I then waited a day and used their Glam Highlights for medium brown hair. It looked pretty brassy, so I am also using a purple shampoo to tone. Like I said, not giving a tutorial, just sharing. Proceed with caution.

Here’s a grilling idea!


Make grilled cheese on your, well, grill! I took two pieces of French peasant bread and spread one with pesto. Topped with some sliced tomatoes . . . and then camembert cheese. You could use brie or any other kind, really. Then place the other piece of bread on top. Wrap the entire thing in foil and cook on your grill until the bread is slightly browned.

DELISH!


She’s sick, but with this amazing weather -- we’re all still smiling. I just wanted to give you long-time readers a quick note because I have a few sponsored posts coming up this month. They were all written/reviewed/planned at different times, but the publish schedule seems to be kind of tight. I don’t take it lightly, so please understand it wasn’t my intention.

There will be one tomorrow and then another one mid-month in addition to yesterday’s musings on My Motherhood Journey. (Speaking of motherhood, I ran into my midwife today at the grocery store and it was so incredibly awkward. It’s a story for another time. I have just decided I’m going with another provider when I’m pregnant again after everything that happened in the last couple months. Again, story for another time . . . it just kind of killed my mood today.)

As always, thanks for reading and supporting us!

You guys know I have a lot more good stuff in store, so stay tuned.

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Pinterest to Reality

I’ve been going beyond crazy on Pinterest lately. I don’t know if it’s the same for you, but it’s like my stress release. If I’m feeling cranky or sad or otherwise icky, I’ll hop on there and browse. I hardly look back at the stuff I’ve pinned, so I’m trying to make a better habit of following through on these mini-dreams of mine.

From time to time, I hope to share a few Pinterest to Reality projects with you. Here’s my progress on a few items I’d like to complete in the near future.

BACKYARD COMPOST

I’ve mentioned it before on some homesteading posts, but we haven’t started up a composting system at the new house. Finally the ground has thawed and we’re ready to figure it out. After searching around, I’m pretty sure we’ve decided to go a galvanized can route.

Current:

Kitchen garbage bowl . . .


Inspiration: 

Galvanized Composter via Creative Homemaking


I just need to pick up a galvanized trash can, use a quarter inch drill bit to drill holes in the bottom half, and get digging. I’m going to try to tackle this project over the weekend, provided we don’t get too much rain today. I love that it’s tamper-proof. We’ve had problems with some of Ada’s plastic yard toys getting totally chewed by animals.

BETTER HAIR

Oh, man. My hair. Don’t look too closely -- it’s a mess. The last time I had a professional haircut was on Mother’s Day last year. I got all of it cut off and then started the long, grueling process of regrowth. I’ve also been dying my hair with henna and box dye and henna again, etc. It’s reddish, and I’ve kept it that way for years. Lately, I’ve been wanting it more of a dirty blonde/light brown color. Basically my natural color with a little oomph.

Current:

Self-cut style that I lightened using L’oreal hi-lift . . .


Inspiration:

This style/color by Anh Co Tran, though I might want to go slightly lighter and longer. But I need some professional to touch my head at some point with scissors. The front of my hair looks OK right now, but the back is a choppy mess.

TELEVISION TAMER

I think one of the most obvious ways I’ve been coping after the miscarriage is nesting. I mean, we had a lot of started projects . . . and I’ve been working to finish them like whoa. We put new vinyl flooring in the bathroom (we’re also painting, etc.), we spiffed up the living room, we added new window treatments, our budget kitchen update is almost complete, we’re planning to stain our deck, and the list goes on.

Right now I’m looking for a way to deal with the cords sprouting out of our TV above the fireplace.

Current:


Inspiration via Cameras and Chaos


These people snaked their cords through a clever channeling system disguised as architectural details. It looks easy enough. I love the structure it adds to the room. It cost them $120 with all the wood slats. They also got a great deal on their mounting hardware ($45!) and picked up some extra long HDMI cords.

What’s on your Pinterest to-do list?

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Kitchen Waste: How Do You Handle It?

How do you handle kitchen waste? It's something few of us really think about, as we just toss whatever is leftover into the garbage can. Or maybe into the sink to run through the garbage disposal. Some of us dutifully compost organic scraps to feed our garden nutrient-dense soil.

Us? Well, I've had a garbage disposal in my kitchen since I was a kid. After enough plumbing disasters (plumbers hate garbage disposals), we stopped putting food down the drain, and we haven't looked back. Composting is a big issue to tackle in a single post, so I thought I'd start with the initial stage: the garbage bowl!

You may not know it, but Rachel Ray didn't invent the whole garbage bowl thing. In fact, my high school boyfriend's mom used one back in the 90s, which is when I first saw one in action. Sure, you can buy brightly colored melamine bowls and for this purpose. For ours, I picked up an old (pretty!) bowl at a local thrift shop, and I think it set me back a grand total of $2.

// NOTES

• Any bowl or bucket or bin will serve as an excellent garbage bowl, but it's best to choose one that can hold a day's worth of waste. Think around the size of your medium to large mixing bowl.
• I prefer glass, ceramic, or metal bowls because we're trying to eliminate all plastics (we've been close for quite some time) from our kitchen. And, yes, eliminating plastics is another post I have in the queue. 
• A garbage bowl is a great time saver. You can take fewer trips to your garbage can while preparing food and still keep your work area clear of debris.
• Speaking of garbage cans, using a garbage bowl can also be a jumping off point to -- yes -- composting, if that's something that interests you. 
• I'll be writing a full post on the next stage of this process soon. If you'd like to get a jump-start, helpful books include The Rodale Book of Composting: Easy Methods for Every Gardener and Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting.
• We had a large compost bin at our old house -- and we're on the hunt for a smart solution for our new yard. This worm composting system intrigues me -- does anyone use one? 
• Limited spacers: If you live in an apartment or small home, you can also try one of these compact steel compost bins. (And if you're on a budget, you can get a basic composting solution for under $10, it's plastic, but sometimes you have to pick your battles.)
• Foods you can compost include: fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, nut shells + peanut hulls, tea leaves, and much more.
• Foods to keep out of your garbage bowl (and compost bin): Yogurt, cheeses, fish, meat, bones, and any non-food items, like tags and ties.

So, how do you handle your home's food waste? 

And if you follow a similar system -- what do you do with it? I know some cities even have compost pickup sponsored by their local waste management facilities. That sounds pretty cool. It looks like pilot pickup programs are popping up all over the country, so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled on that one!

Like what you just read? Browse more of our posts + recipes on Pinterest. You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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