Finally an Almost Completed Compost Bin

I have been trying to get this thing built well over a year ago...it may even be 2 years ago. But it's finally almost complete. lol. We got some untreated wood pallets from a friend some time ago in hopes of constructing our own compost bins. I found someone online through a blog who did this and I decided to copy. I thought it would be a more economical way. I needed to add some extra slats to the pallets and then screw them all together with some 8' pieces of wood. As you can see, I still need to get a few more boards and then we will be well on our way to making our own compost. I am so excited!! No more burying or throwing out waste that can be useful. And as you can see there will be three separate bins. Hopefully it will yield enough compost for our gardening needs.

A work in Progress

This past weekend we spent a lot of time in the backyard. Our (My) Goal was to start and finish one area of the backyard, one planter bed that would house two raised garden beds and a bunch of potted plants.

We were able to pretty much get done what I was going for. It's a bit hot right now to plant anything, so I think I'll have to wait, which means I need to cover the soil so that it doesn't dry out. But I am really pleased with the progress so far. The larger bed still needs lots of soil, but that will come at a later time.

The Compost Bin, Part 1

I've been wanting to make a more efficient composting system for a while now. We tried to make a small cost effective one, but it didn't really work for us. I either didn't put enough holes in the bucket or I puts too much stuff. I'm not sure. So, for a while there, our composting just kind of diminished. But ever since the new year came around I have had the urge to make our composting dreams happen.



We were given untreated pallets to us by a friend after posting something on FB. I was so excited because I didn't know where to start looking to get any. Plus, I wanted to do this as cost effective as possible. We were given four altogether. I'm planning on using them to form a three bin system. They will run parallel to each other and to connect them I'm just going to add some wooden planks.



But because the pallets had too large of gaps between the slats I needed to add more. I headed to the home improvement store to purchase more 1x4 cedar planks. I cut them all to length and just filled in the holes.



Now I'm waiting for a free weekend so that Jay and his muscles can help me put them together.

Going Green: Trying to be Intentional

Lately, we have been feeling the urge to go a little more greener. Well, we've always wanted to be really green, as much as we could afford, but I think our talk was a lot bigger than our walk.

Some steps we have already taken are: changing out all the light bulbs to CFL's, using reusable bags (although sometimes we forget them), and using cloth diapers. We've dabbled in composting, but have not been consistent with it.

So, this year we are going to be more intentional about Going Green. Here are just a few items that have made our Short List.

1. Start our own Square foot Garden. We've been gathering supplies as we get money, so hopefully we will get this going real soon so that we can have a late spring/early summer crop. We want to eat more locally and organically for the health and safety of our food and the carbon footprint it leaves when you are having to have produce, dairy, meat, etc., trucked in from all over the world. So what better way than to try and grow most of your food.

2. Compost. And compost for real. We were just given untreated pallets to make some compost bins out of. It's important for our garden to have good compost and a variety of materials to make that up. So, if we compost our waste and have that variety, then we will have some amazing organic fertilizer.


3. Produce Bags. We're trying to not use any kind of plastic bags. Unfortunately, when you buy produce at the grocery store, you tend to put them in those tiny plastic bags. I found these online and will be using them instead.


4. Wet Bags. I had never heard of these before, until I cam across them while browsing a website. We have been using cloth diapers since Cohen was 2 months old and I would always put the used diapers in a plastic bag when we were out in about. So this will help us even further to stop using plastic bags. They also make biodegradable diaper bags, but you are still spending money every time you purchase them. I never got that concept. But the wet bags you can wash and use over and over.


5. BirdE Cloth Towels. I again found these while browsing a website. We've been wanting to not use paper towels for some time and for the most part we don't. But when I found these I fell in love! They are made from unbleached cotton and I think they will be great!


6. We are also trying to stay away from buying any kind of plastic. The pollution they cause and the chemicals used are so unhealthy. We love wooden toys, so that is where we are headed for the kids.

That's just a short list of our main goals right now to live a more eco-conscious life. A great site I found just recently, greenbabyguide.com, has really helped show us things out there that we hadn't even heard of.

Going Green

Jason and I have recently started composting. It first started as us just burying our food waste into the ground just to help with our lack of nutrient rich soil and to keep waste out of our trash and eventually the landfills. Our soil is very sandy; it may just be a Florida thing or just our backyard thing. I need to do some research.

But, as of recently we have bumped up our composting. Thanks to Young House Love, we have made our own composter. I've been researching buying one, but they have been more than I am willing to spend, so once we saw the tutorial on how to build our own composter, I thought I can do this!! And I especially like the price of $7.

Young house love explains the how to order really well, so you can check out the directions here.

My mother-in-law also recently gave me my own in house food waste bin. It's made of porcelain and has a lovely filter in the top so that it doesn't stink up your home. Just remember to empty it into your compost bin, otherwise it gets pretty nasty inside.


So, for now this will be our compost bin.


Until I can find some old pallets and make one of these.