Lois - I'm so HAPPY for you :-)

Almost the same thing happened with me and my hubby. He thought I was nuts to want to start composting even though he's a avid "recycler". Once he got into the grove of it though, he's enjoying it and he likes how the stuff doesn't go to the dump.

Val

Lois, pretty soon your husband will be finding ways to equip the thing with a motor. Congratulations on your nice, big bin.

Congratulations, Lois. Now that you have a compost bin you'll be hanging out here with us in the looney bin.

Karen

We're always thrilled to hear of another compost convert! There's nothing like it! Well, almost. ;)

My DH was always a sort of reluctant composter. Oh, he'd help but only because he wanted to help me, not because he gave a hoot about compost. He's seeing the light now tho and helps with all the various bins and piles quite enthusiastically, even picks up UCG when he's in town by himself without being asked. Ain't compost wunnerful! :)

That's wonderful!

Isn't it amazing what excites us gardeners!!

Congratulations Lois!

You will be sending one gallon of compost off certification, after its finished, won't you?

Joe - I've been thinking - since you're such a BUSY woman, you might consider getting yourself a helper. Since we live so close I could help you out with those inspections. I could be the pre-pre-inspector.

I solemnly swear that if it passes my pre-pre-inspection I'll send it on to you. Then you could do your pre-inspection. If it passes your tests you could then send it on to Polly. Quality control, you know?

I'm just trying to be helpful...bwahaha!

Val

Man, you guys are so funny.
Now I sprayed coffee all over my keyboard and monitor.
I know, I know, NO food and drinks near the computer. (anybody following this rule?)

All your fault Val.

Otis.

Otis, save the napkin you sop up the coffee with and take it home to your compost pile! Don't you dare put it in the trash.
Kris
(also bwahaha!)

Now I sprayed coffee all over my keyboard and monitor.

Reminds me of a story - When I was working computer support, one of the office guys brought his company laptop to the admin and told him that it "just stopped working". He had NO idea why. So the admin handed it off to me to check out and see if I could figure what the problem was.

Well...99 times out of a 100 it usually would be that the people would load software on them that wouldn't work with the company software. No matter how many times we told them it didn't matter they would still do it.

When I turned on the guys laptop and checked the software loads, it actually looked pretty good. There were a few kiddie games on there and the guy did have young children but the games weren't something that should have interfered with the laptop operating. But the keyboard wouldn't work right and you couldn't do anything. Keep in mind that the outside looked good so I took it apart and guess what was inside? A sticky gooey mess, like soda had congealed in the bottom of it.

The admin called the guy on it and even though he admitted that he sometimes let his kids play on it (he knew we'd found the software) they had NOT spilled soda in it. He didn't know how that soda had gotten there. Maybe, he said the factory did it and that's how it got shipped to us. Oy Vey!

So boys and girls - no drinking soda while computing. They just don't go together.

All your fault Val.

Naturally! With Lloyd laying low, who else can take all this heat :-)

Val

Kris:
yeah, I had to go rummaging in the trash when nobody was looking, and while I'm at it, might as well get the other compostable stuff too! hehe.

Hope I'm not getting infected with a cold or something here.

Otis

I started a compost bin this weekend too:) Can I type while hugging my trees??

Although a tiny voice in my head is yelling "BPA", I bought 3 plastic garbage cans and poked holes in them. It's so dry here that I think I need a "container". I have notified the non-recycling neighbors to save the biodegradables and pass them here..I even dug DH's banana peel from the garbage this am. Now I just need him to nab the UGC, and filters:), from his work; or go to SB and answer ALL the questions...

I love this!!

Happy Composting

I know someone on this forum, who shall remain nameless, unless they out themselves, who actually has washed their key board in the dishwasher... I guess it works...

AHM, I have been rescuing banana peels from the trash too!
But I think the family members are catching on -- any left-over fruit is starting to go next to the sink instead of in the trash now.
(The next step would be for them to put it in the container right next to the sink for scraps, how hard can that be? But I guess baby steps.)

I just talked the gas station owner into letting me leave a plastic tub for UCG. He was reluctant at first then he said, why not, it just goes in the trash anyway. And the local whole foods store has a little cafe where someone is ALREADY collecting UCGs, oh noez! But the guy behind the counter very kindly suggested I leave my own bucket and they will fill it after the other person's bucket is full. Yay!

ajpa - thought of leaving a bucket too!! That's awesome.

I had a container on the counter for compost materials but I guess it was invisible?? Today I bought a long skinny container to place NEXT to the garbage can. I even moved the garbage can further under the sink so people have to cross the compost container to reach the garbage can...

Well...it definitely takes some training to get the masses to follow your lead but if you're persistent it can happen. Now days my neither my hubby nor my granddaughter would think of putting anything in the trash that can go into the under-the-sink bucket. It just takes time.

I can tell you this much...they learn a lot faster if you have THEM dig it out of the trash :-)

Val

YES!! I gave a slight scolding this evening and DH asked if he should bring home his orange peels from work!!

I said - no - just the UGC and filters from all of the coffee pots!!

I look forward to no more icky smell in my garbage can:) and of course the incredible compost for my yard.

Re keyboards in the dishwasher, just make sure it's set on air dry, not heat dry. And it works really good as long as you remember that part. If you forget, not so good.

...DH asked if he should bring home his orange peels from work!! I said - no

Ah...but soon you will be saying yes. Hubby now cuts and cores his apples at home so they can go in the bucket also peels his hard boiled eggs. And he brings home his orange peels and banana peels. It's just a matter of training.

We buy ice cream and sherbet in those big tubs. I have a stack under the sink. When the weather is nice it gets emptied more frequently, but when the weather is FREEZING like now, I just sit them on the deck and grab a fresh one.

Welcome to the craziness that's called composting :-)

Val

So David - can I hose down my keyboard in the sink ? - saving the dirty water to go into my compost - of course !
Can I then let the keyboard air dry or does it need to be blown dry - on a no heat setting ?

You can take the keyboard apart, remembering which order the plastic sheets are in and wash the whole thing in the sink. DRy the pieces and put it back together. I've done it successfully twice. I've never tried the Dave52 method.

ZOMG, whole foods place called -- the bucket is already full!
*boggle*

Keyboards -- if you take them apart, you can also put the keys back wrong in case there's a non-touch-typist in the house and afford yourself lots of secret amusement.

Keyboards -- if you take them apart, you can also put the keys back wrong in case there's a non-touch-typist in the house and afford yourself lots of secret amusement.

LOL - you absolutely can do this and it's pretty hysterical to the person who changes the keys around. Not so much to the one who it is changed upon.

I don't look at the keyboard when I'm typing so once when I was working on a guys computer ('cause it just ain't working right), it took me a little while to realize that one of his cubicle mates had switched keys on him. I had a good laugh along with the jokester but the guy it happened to didn't find it quite so funny :-)

Val

Well, at some point, say 5 years on the same keyboard shared by two teenagers and an 11 yr old, you'll notice a seeding tree popping up between the F1 and F2 keys, that whole number pad part has a non-discrete 'eau de Limburger', and the earwigs are slugging it out with the ants in the arrow keys. One seeks remedies.

I suppose you could just compost the whole thing.

Then I found I could replace the old USB keyboards for about $8, and that was easier.

Congratulations on your new compost bin, austinnhanasmom... I know what you mean about wanting to fill it up as fast as possible. I had collected a garbage can full of horse apples from the stable down the road - but wouldntjaknow we'd get this big freeze right afterwards. So now I have all these lovely greens frozen solid in a big can which is frozen to the ground... And only a few feet away is the new compost bin ready to go... Very frustrating. So I distracted myself with stealing a bag of the used coffee cartridges from the machine at work. When emptied, I had a heaping shovel full of coffee grounds. Not bad for a start!

Lois in PA

THANKS LOIS!!

Although my bin is not filling as quickly as I had imagined, this week my garage trash can smelled as good as one should!! It was also nearly empty on trash day:))

oh my oh my ----just got through searching behind the big mall and found brand new palletts ----asked the manager at The Office Max and he said I could have all I wanted ---loaded the truck up and only need one more to make a 3 bin system ----can't wait to start assembly --- had a pile on the ground last year and got a real nice batch ---but I think the 3 bin system will work even better and allow me to compost even more ----can also keep out the critters ---Opossum---Armadillo and who knows what else ---can't wait to start hammerin'------yeeee hawwww----JB