gardencpa - hey girl, congrats on getting into your new home. I use the 2 lb Folgers plastic coffee containers that it comes in to collect my kitchen scraps. It seals up nice and no stinky going on. I leave the container by my kitchen window so that the sun hits it and ferments it....YUM boil and brew! Just take a deep breath before opening! lol It works good for me and it is right next to the coffee maker so spent grounds and filters go in every day. Just be sure to not use any scraps that contain meat, oils, salad dressing. Also remove any seeds from fruit and veggies before putting in your counter composter or you will have veggies/fruit where you don't want them. Not too big to handle and it seems to be air tight. Works for me!

I have been wondering how other folks collect the kitchen scraps also. I have used the big plastic buckets but the seal has not been very tight. Gnats and the smell has cause marital irritation,LOL. Now I make trips to the compost pile.
Cindeea's idea sounds good. What do the rest of you do?
Felix

I am getting a kitchen compost bucket with filters this week (internet purchase) because DH wants the other side of our double sink back. That's where I've been keeping the 2 gal. Breyers tub used for kitchen scraps. It really doesn't smell even after 4 days but I agree it would be nice to have both sinks available.
Yes the gnats are the biggest annoyance but the new bucket should have a better lid.

for years I used the margerine tubs, exchanging them as the new tub was emptied. I just always hated the look of it, an old plastic container sitting in plain sight in my kitchen.... so I bought I stainless steel container with clear lit that snaps down with a bracket. the kind that is used for sugar/flour/etc. It looks so much nicer. I empty it onto the compost every evening, and every few days it goes into the dishwasher.
Of course it is too small when I do cooking for company, then I just use a regular big bowl and it goes out to the compost as soon as I am done with prep work.

Evelyn

We just looked around at the discount stores until we found a porcelain/ceramic container we liked okay. It has a good heavy lid, and it's big enough to hold a day's worth of kitchen scraps. We keep it on the counter by the sink, so it's easy to get to while cooking or doing the dishes.

Outside I have a plastic garbage bin, 35 gallon or so, with a lid that fastens down. I drilled some small holes along the sides, a few more in the bottom for drainage. Every day I carry out my ceramic container full of kitchen scraps to dump it in this bin, and every few days I try to put some shredded paper, leaves, used potting soil, etc. in the bin for a layer of "browns." This keeps the smell down.

Bill

Verrry interesting. I did want something that looks decent because having just built a brand new house, I didn't want something unsightly on the counter. I think if I took the label off a Folgers container, it might not be too bad though. I'll look around and see what I can find though.

Bill, I plan to do something like your outside can. Most of my old cans have holes in the bottom already and I am going to take the best of them and put in some more holes on the side.

Thanks.

I have a porcelain bucket with lid (appox. half gallon size) from the thrift store. When it becomes full, about every second day, I bury my scraps directly into my garden. Never have an odor. Re: Cindeea's comment about seeds, I just ate a delicious honeydew that grew from my buried compost. Potatoes are another plus. When the sprouts appear, I just pull the soil up around them & plant around them. As you can guess, my garden is not organized very well, but hey, I works for me.

I bought the container listed in Burpee's catalog with the charcoal filter and keep it on the ledge outside the kitchen window over the sink. Very handy and holds quite a bit of scraps. I like it because it's easy to carry to the compost pile with the handle and the filter does help. Those folger plastic cans are nice too and can go under the sink.

Ginny

Keeping it under the sink wouldn't work for me, I'd forget about it LOL

Gee Cindee, great minds think alike! I love the Folgers plastic with the "aroma seal". It's under the sink. I have a lg plastic potato salad container as back up until I can use all the coffee in Folger container #2.

My Folgers can sits next to the trash in a little nook next to the refrigerator.

LOL Wonder if Folgers knows how much we like their containers!! That seal is amazing. Tonight when I deposited the spent coffee grounds and my avocado skin - when I popped the lid...whew the aroma. Popped the lid back on and not a smell.

We use the stainless bucket with the filter.. We bought it thinking we could wait until the end of every week to dump the bucket while we did other household chores, but we learned the hard way that this little bucket still does need to be taken out every two days or else little critters seem to grow right in the filter! Yikes!

Speaking of the filter, after finding buggies a few times we washed out the filter under the faucet. Does this wash out the charcoal and leave the filter useless? I don't really know how it works...Thanks!

Jane

I use a small metal step-lid can next to the trash can.

It helps the kids remember to throw their apple cores, banana peels in, etc. and with a sturdy plastic bag in it it won't smell for a few days but I take it out about every 3 days. Very handy.

Enjoy your new home!
Jen

That is handy Jen. Great idea!

Y'all are awesome. I was certain I had a Folgers container in the garage of the old house. I found the container but not the lid so I just went by Wally World today and got this stainless steel canister. It has a nice rubber seal around the lid. I'll see how it works. If I can lay hands on a Folger's container, I will but I don't drink enough coffee at home to use up that much coffee in a year. :)

Thanks for all your advice.

By the way, after THREE truckloads I have most of my plants here. There is still the five foot tall cactus and some other large potted plants to get but the bulk are here. I have them stuck everywhere.

Under the camphor tree:

By the well:

And in front of the porch:

gardencpa-Cool canister, very nice compared to my red plastic folgers container. Your new home is a great undertaking. Don't let it overwhelm you! Just take it in bits and pieces and it will all fall together. You have a beautiful new place. I love the long back porch, patio area under the trees! Keep us posted!

I read a story about a woman's grandmother who raised a large family during the great depression. She said her grandmother would peel her potatoes and put the peelings in a trench and cover them. The woman said her grandmothers peelings were so thin that you could almost see through them, but they would grow. She said those potatoes fed the family all year long, year after year.

I use an old Country Crock tub and make daily trips to the pile. It's not always fun, but it's good excercise, right?

I use a large container that comes with carbon embedded filter. It keeps the odor down and gnats out and doesn't have to be taken out every day. I had problem with gnats and mold etc... with other crocks and containers.
Kat

It's funny that this thread has popped up again. I still use the stainless container and then transfer it to the cans like castorp recommended. Both cans filled up and it wasn't quite composted enough for me so I just dumped it in a pile a few weeks ago. Not enough left like food to attract the critters as far as I can tell.

Looking at the pictures of my yard 6+ months ago are a shock. It looks so much better now.

Let's see some pics! Please!