Make your own compost bin out of Concrete Blocks

Maybe you're noticing a theme here- I like concrete blocks in the garden. Even more accurate than I like them might be to say that I have a ton, and I'm always finding new ways to use them!

For this project, you'll need to decide how big you want your compost pile to be. Our compost pile is 3 ft across by 5 ft long. This decision should factor in how much you plan to compost (including food scraps, yard waste, leaves, etc), how much space you have, and how "active" or "hot" your compost pile will be.

There are two terms used frequently when talking about compost- Hot compost and Cold compost. Essentially, Hot compost requires keeping track of Nitrogen/Carbon ratios and frequent turning of the compost. Cold compost is more of a "chuck veggie scraps on top of the pile" type of method. Hence the reason why my compost pile is a Cold compost.

Next you'll pick the spot where your future compost pile will be! This is most dependent on the available space you have. I chose to place my pile pretty close to the side of my house - I think the radiant head from the house helps to keep the compost active longer in the winter.

Lastly, you can assemble your compost pile! I used around 35 concrete blocks to put my compost pile together. As you see from the pictures, I staggered each level of blocks.

Once you assemble it, you can add some base material- some finished compost, maybe some leaves, or grass cuttings. As you add material to the compost, you want to keep a healthy balance- 25 to 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen, or 25-30:1. Here's a helpful link to common compostable items and what their carbon to nitrogen ratio is. Good luck as you design and create your very own compost pile! Whether it's a frequently turned hot compost, or a "throw stuff on the top" cold compost like mine, either way you'll be saving food scraps from the landfill or the trash!

Reduce the Waste challenge results

I just realized I forgot to post the results of the Reduce the Waste challenge we did here- and they're pretty exciting, as far as trash goes!

As you might remember, we purchased a new trash bin that is smaller and fits under our kitchen sink. Our existing trash bin was re-purposed as an indoor place to store recycling as it accumulates.

Some of the things we were going to focus on to help us reduce the amount of waste we generate were:

• being more conscientious about what we threw away
• trying to re-purpose and recycle more
• continuing to compost all food scraps, 
• and just using less, 

I am proud to report that we only had 1 small bag of trash for the 3 of us! Our usual is 1 or 2 completely full bags.

Now that we're 3 weeks into the on-going "challenge", we're realizing even more positive results:

• Getting even better and bringing bags with us to shop
• Bringing lunch to work in washable containers
• Using Glass jars and re-used plastic containers to get bulk items from the co-op
• Making more food at home to reduce the need for "take-out trash" 

We didn't even have to take out the trash last week- so in the past two weeks we've only generated 1 bag for the whole house! Before we started, I was a bit skeptical about how much we'd be able to reduce our trash generating- we already are big recyclers, and re-purpose some things. I've been surprised at how much less we can use than we did in the past, and all the little ways that trash adds up. If you're thinking about reducing your "carbon footprint", I would suggest setting up some parameters for you and your household, and see what you can cut back on. You might be surprised too!

Reduce the Waste Challenge check in

It's Day 5 of our Reduce the Waste challenge week here at Happy Home, and it is going super well!
We only have about 1/4 of our smaller 20 qt trash can filled, and about 3/4s of our recycling bin! Most of the trash we've generated this week (as you can see) is plastic packaging.

20 qt trash can

35 qt recycling bin

My thoughts on the challenge so far:

• Being so conscious about our trash his has been a nice visual reminder to buy things in bulk, and has helped us think twice about buying things that are wrapped in plastic.
• I have been better at remembering to bring containers with me to the co-op for bulk purchasing
• When you think about what kind of resources needed to be used to make all this plastic packing- for chips, for cookies, for breads, making a loaf of bread at home doesn't sound like such a time-consuming task anymore!
  

If you've been trying to reduce your waste, what techinques have worked best?
What lessons or thoughts have been provoked because of it?

Reduce the Waste week-long challenge

I am issuing a challenge this week, my friends! This week, starting today, will be Reduce the Waste week at Happy Home, and you too can participate! The rules of the challenge are simple, and can be fitted to accommodate you and your own goals. 

Goals of this challenge:

1) Analyzing all the "trash" you create in a week's time

   -- Sort your waste into trash vs recycling

   -- Set a goal of how much less trash you'd like to have per week

   -- Monitor your progress towards that goal

2) Consciously reducing the amount of trash you create and therefore throw away each week

   -- Before you pitch something, think about it:

           Can it really not be reused or repurposed?

           If not, can you recycle it?

3) Creating a more intentional space for recycling in your home

   -- Investing time, money or even thought into your trash/recycling system will help you be more intention about your efforts, and also will give you a place to put all the trash you save from the landfill, by either repurposing or recycling!

Doing these things will allow us to:

1) Make better decisions when shopping, eating at restaurants, and going about our daily lives (thinking about packaging on groceries, take out boxes and other "disposable" things)

2) Be encouraged to re-purpose things rather than buying new and creating more trash

3) Recycling more of what can no longer be re-purposed or reused

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So in order to set my household up for success, here's what I've done to prepare:

Re-purposed my current trash can (35 qt) into a recycling bin 

-- Before, there was no space for the recycling inside (besides hauling the bright red recycling bin inside and back out every week), so all the recycling would pile up on the counter- ug!      

Labeled the (now) recycling bin so people don't forget about the new purpose and throw trash in there

Purchased a new, smaller 20 qt trash bin (grey one on the left)

-- Hoping that a smaller trash can will remind me to throw away less and will also literally fill quicker so I'll have to stop and think more about what I put in.

Installed a pull-out cabinet system for the new trash can so it is out of the way yet easy to get to    

Announced the challenge my roommate and my partner, and got their buy-in, so everyone is up for the challenge and on the same page

Reduce the Waste- Day 1 trash (L) and recycling (R) 

If you're up for the challenge, set a trash-reduction goal for yourself, and leave a comment! Good night, and good luck! :)