To Compost or Not To Compost

I am new to gardening, so composting is also a new subject to me.

That being said, whether you garden or not, composting is a great idea. You will have so much less trash.  And, if you recycle too, you will have very little trash.

I know a lot of people compost by just having some sort of container or plastic bag on their kitchen counter where they place all compostable items. That never really appealed to me. I have so much stuff on my kitchen counter as it is! On the left side of my sink is the dish drainer for hand washed dishes to dry, as well as my crock pot. Then on the right side of my sink is our coffee pot and our espresso machine (yes, we need both… we love coffee!).

Anyway, not much room for other things.

Nature Mill was my answer! They have some awesome compost bins.

You can put virtually anything in the bin and it will do it’s business and turn it into compost.

Here’s how it works: There is a top bin that you put your food in that you would normally throw in the trash or in your compost bag by your sink.  The food sits there and is heated, mixed and aerated.

The compost will stay in the lower chamber.  When it is ready, you can transfer it to wherever you would like to use it. (about every 2 weeks)

Did I mention the compost looks nice?  Check it out!

This is the one that I received. It’s called the NEO. The other 2 models have a stainless steel look to it along with black. Those models are bigger if you need it.  The NEO is big enough for us.

Better than a plastic bag on the counter, right??

The only negative I have about this, is the fact that it turns the food in the top chamber on a cycle of every so many minutes. This actually doesn’t bother me, but it bothers my husband. You don’t notice it during the day, but at night it apparently wakes him up. I don’t even hear it, but I’m a heavier sleeper than him. I would say that would only bother you if you are a light sleeper.

So, to wrap up, here are all the things that are super cool about the Nature Mill Compost bin:

• You can put practically anything in it (including meat, fish and dairy)
• The smell is contained in the bin, so you won’t have a stinky home!
• Only 2 weeks and you have fertilizer ready to put in your garden
• It is nice enough to have out, but compact enough to fit under some cabinets.
• It’s so easy! You just put the food in the machine and 2 weeks later you have compost!
• Less trash in your house, which leads to less trash being picked up at the curb, which leads to less trash in the land fill, which leads to a happier Earth!

Also, they now have ceramic countertop compost pails if you don’t want to go all the way with their automated bins.

Do you compost? Have you ever thought of purchasing something like this to make the process easier?