Last weekend James and I accomplished something that has been on our “to do” list for a very long time: build a new compost bin.

Growing up, my mom always had a compost bin behind our garage.  Every year, volunteer pumpkin plants sprang from all sides of it, and they are still harvested for jack-o-lantern carving to this day. I love composting because it not only helps reduce waste, it also provides beautifully nutritious, free soil.

When James and I moved into our house in August, we built a compost bin out of old shutters. We’ve been adding to it, and it’s finally full and ready to bake down. The center of a compost heap can get upwards of 100 degrees! Last month our neighbor was tearing down his house, so we took advantage of the excess wood and saved it to build this beauty.

You don’t actually need a bin to compost. At our old house, I rolled with a 3 ft x 3 ft pile, but that isn’t always the most beautiful asset to a garden.  If you want to build a bin like mine for yourself, Garden Girl has a great video on building planter boxes, and our compost bins use the same concept. We added a flat top with hinges to keep all of the mountain critters out, and the heat in!

Happy Composting!

xo brittany