The Compost Bag

I have a plastic bin on the kitchen counter that I put food scraps in for composting, and when it gets full (or stinky) I dump it in the bin outside our back door. But since it’s winter, and we’ve been, ahem, blessed with so much snow this winter, I’ve been unable to put the compost in the outside bin. (Because after a few blizzards, I just gave up on trying to get to it.) So, what’s a girl to do?

Well, the plastic bin is becoming a hazard zone. It’s full of compost items, and lots of questionable mold and liquid. This morning it went right out the back door, unopened, to sit in a snow bank until it freezes and I can uncover the outdoor bin again. That might take a few weeks (the uncovering, not the freezing).

I’ve resorted to a brown paper bag, and relying on our forced hot heat and very dry air to mummify food remains. So far, so good. In goes dry items like bread, remains from the cockatiel and lovebird’s meals, old spices and tea from my kitchen cupboard cleanout, etc. And in goes semi-moist items like banana peels, vegetable bits, and grape stems. I try not to put in anything wet (like freshly used tea grounds) to avoid mold. I even put in bits of thin paper, like muffin liners.

So far, so good. It’s not a perfect solution - I now have a few bags sitting out by the back door waiting for the snow to melt, but it’s working for now. When I can get out there, I can just toss the bags straight into the bin – the brown paper is compostable too!

What do you do for composting in winter (if you compost)? I’ve been lusting after an indoor worm composting system after seeing it featured on another blog, but unfortunately that’s out of our price range right now. And I have no idea where I’d put it with Max becoming a toddler soon. I can’t even imagine the havoc a toddler would wreak on a worm farm…