DIY Compost Bin

The produce section of the grocery store is always so fresh and bright that I fill my cart with a zillion plastic bags of fruits and veggies. At home I put them in the "crisper." A few weeks later the crisper has become the "rotter," and I'm throwing out way too much produce.

I convinced my husband we needed a compost bin for all of the limp lettuce and bendy carrots along with our table scraps (my 3-year-old won't eat anything green). He quickly agreed, because it would save him bagging and hauling a ton of leaves in the fall.

We aren't remotely handy, but you don't have to be. I went to a hardware store and got 4 pallets ($2 each) and convinced a guy there to tie them to my car (no you don't need a truck, just drive slow).

At home we used L-joints and bungee cables to attach them in a square, then we attached it to our fence so it wouldn't blow over.

It took a year of sprouted potatoes, bags of salad (minus the bags), brown bananas and leaves/grass, but we got enough compost this spring for our flower beds and garden. It is so amazing how all that trash turns into healthy compost!