Recently, we have started to make decisions to become more self aware of the waste we produce and doing the little things we can to help contribute to the planet. That may sound a little nerdy but I’ve noticed a crazy difference in just our household so imagine the difference if we all made a few simple changes?! I may have lost some of you already but I promise what I have to say is really not all that drastic. I’m not asking you to start a farm, live off the fat of the land, and use a candle to see at night. It’s very simple things that can have a big impact.
Reducing:
We started composting to help eliminate filling our trash can with things that can break down on their own and to help create an amazing soil for my garden. I really had no idea how unaware I was of the amount of waste we produced.
Composting is really not as hard as you’d think! And there’s really no excuse to not make it work because it can literally be done in a trash can! Also, did you know, people actually buy compost soil from others?
We bought this galvanized trash can from Walmart to start our compost in! I didn’t want it to look like we just had a random trash can in the backyard so I found this super cute sticker on Etsy made by @fairydustdecals! So now it takes a plain boring trash can and makes it cute!
I also bought this cute countertop compost bin so I can easily put our kitchen scraps in it and take it out every day or so!
I’m not an expert but my best compost tips:
- Don’t stress, you can’t really mess it up!
- Don’t put meats or dairy in your compost!
- Bugs are okay! They help break it down! (Even maggots which totally gross me out.)
- For every 1 bin of greens, add 2 bins of browns! Greens: fruits, veggies, grass clippings, egg shells, coffee grounds, weeds, stale bread. Browns: leaves, cardboard, newspaper, wood chips, sticks.
- Stir your compost every few days! It should have an earthy smell.
- After a couple months, you should be able to use that soil for your gardens, refreshing your plants, or sell it to a garden guru down the street!
This is the before with a bunch of stuff that needs to decompose.
This is the after! Super rich and earthy soil! I can’t wait to use in my garden beds!
Re-Using:
Get creative, people! Old jars or containers can be washed out and used for food storage! Using metal straws that can be cleaned help decrease plastic waste and can be re-used over and over again. Grocery store bags can be used for things like picking up dog poops. Or get some $1 bags at TJ Maxx/Marshalls/Homegoods that are reusable and super cute for grocery shopping! Milk jugs can be washed out and used to water plants or bring to the beach for your dogs. Finding a fun metal or glass bottle for water instead of grabbing a water bottle every time. Taking your clothes to Plato’s Closet and getting money for them, having a garage sale, giving your clothes that don’t fit anymore to a sister/cousin or friend. Shopping at thrift stores, you can actually find some pretty cool pieces and that’s one less thing in the landfill. The other day I washed out my fabric softener bottle and filled it with fertilizer so I can sprinkle it on my plants!
Recycling:
We use to have a bag of trash for every day of the week and we would only really recycle big boxes and milk jugs. This week when we took our trash to the curb, we had 1 bag of garbage for the entire week! Our recycle bin was over-flowing. We contacted our community and requested another recycle bin which most cities give you another one for FREE! In our neighborhoofd they come to pick up trash twice a week and recycle once. We only have to put our trash out once a week and it’s never full.
Here are just a few tips and tricks to help do your part to keep our world clean. Hope this brought some new insight to you!
xoxo,
keanna
do you need to drill holes on the bottom of the bin? So I don’t need to cut the bottom out and put it in the dirt. That is what I have heard you have to do. I bought a metal pan and I like the idea of just leaving it on the cement…..or in 6 inches or so of dirt. Do you just use it like a regular trash without putting holes in it? I have seen people roll it as opposed to justing a tool to turn it.
Hey AnaMaria, thanks for reading! Yes, that’s a great point that I forgot to make! We did drill a few holes in the bottom because it gets really juicy! We used our drill and made about 4 holes on each side! Our trash can compost sits on the dirt in a spot in the backyard!
Hope this helps!
Best of luck with your compost!