April is our get-back-on-track-with-composting month!!

We have the outside bin, we have the food waste, but we need a restart. So this is the perfect April #wastefreecurious challenge for us! Thanks to everyone who gave us suggestions on Instagram a few weeks ago! This was one of them and my husband and I both knew this had to be the one!

At the end of last summer, our bin became home to a bee colony. We ended up avoiding the thing because every time we (my husband) went near the bin, we (my husband) got stung. And we’re super Pavlovian like that. We tried to get a few bee people to our house to relocate the bees, but that didn’t work out. And our local farm CSA has composting so we had an alternative for the rest of the summer and fall, but we just sort of ended up out of the habit and stopped. Not for the first time.

OUR Compost Plan

We’ll check that the bees are gone, dump the contents of the bin in our yard debris pile, and start all over. Patrick feels pretty sure the bees are gone. So fingers crossed.

Past Compost Challenges

We haven’t done a very good job with composting in the past, to be honest. It has looked like a lot of starts and stops. But this will be our month to sort it all out. This month, we’ll be addressing these issues we’ve had in the past:

1. Fruit flies attracted to the compost bucket in the kitchen. We’re going to try a new bucket or just make peace with fruit flies.
2. Fragrant smell of food waste on the kitchen counter. Again, we’re trying a new bucket, but if that fails we will have to reframe that smell. “The sweet smell of waste reduction!”
3. Our compost hasn’t really decomposed well in the past. We inherited our outside compost bin when we moved into our house 3 years ago. We assumed it was as simple as throwing food waste into the bin. It is NEARLY that simple, but in preparation for this challenge I did some research and learned there is more to it.
   • Our outside bin should be in the sun, not the completely shaded location it’s in now.
   • We need to stir it up once in a while.
   • The previous bin owners put a bunch of large sticks in there and they just won’t break down like leaves and food, so that’s why we’re dumping and starting over with a bottom layer of already decomposing leaves (yay yard clean-up!)
4. We need to make it a system/habit. Like our previous paper towel and grocery bag challenges, for us the most important part of this challenge is just taking this month to focus our attention to make new habits and systems for composting.

Our Composting Tools

1. Compost Bin Outside
2. Kitchen Compost Bucket
3. Shovel To Stir Compost Down The Line

Backyard Composting Alternatives

You don’t need to have a big yard to better dispose of your own food waste. You don’t even need a yard at all!

1. Vermicomposting – You can compost in an apartment kitchen or balcony or outside with worms and a bin.
2. Many waste management companies collect food waste and compost in addition to trash and recycling.
3. If you live near a farm, they may be happy to collect your compost. Something to look into!
4. Meal plan so that you waste less food. I make a curry the same week I make quiche to make sure I use up all of our heavy cream and it doesn’t end up being dumped out!

Let’s Break It Down Together — The Food Waste, I Mean

Who composts already? Who is ready to try? Who is composting curious? Let me know! What could be more fun than talking about decomposing food garbage all month?

Shameless pen&thimble product PLug

And when it comes to wasting less when snacking is involved. Don’t forget to skip the plastic baggies and grab a reusable snack bag or a bundle and save! Eat it all or compost anything that remains and simply wash the bag when you’re finished! That’s easy no-waste snacking!

Are You Waste Free Curious Too?

If producing less waste is something you might be into this year, I’d love if you’d join me! Follow my personal and business waste-free journey from the comfort of your inbox. Sign up to so you don’t miss a thing: Click here to sign up! You’ll get a plastic-free produce storage cheat sheet just for signing up. And you’ll get pen&thimble exclusive coupon codes — yay waste free products for less!

Also, I’m using the hashtag #wastefreecurious on Instagram to share our waste free journey. I’ve just started the hashtag and I’m sharing our waste free wins and fails and tough spots with a mix of posts and Stories. So come on over!