The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out...

Worm Compost Bin

Outside our backdoor we have a redwood box that serves as our worm compost bin.  Unless I tell people what it is they are never the wiser.  I've actually had it on my to do list to make a cushion for the top of the worm bin and lockable wheels on the bottom so it can double as a movable bench/seat.  There are may different ways to make a worm bin, but here's how I did it.  I bought the pre-made box at a local gardening store along with the worms, soil, and coconut fiber (for worm bedding).  I put the worms and all the fixings in the box and viola worm bin.  Now every evening after dinner I put our fruit and veggie food waste into the bin, varying the food placement each day. It's that easy.  The benefit is that we are keeping a portion of our food waste out of the landfill, we make compost for our veggie garden, and my son not only loves feeding the worms, but is learning hands-on about the food cycle in his own back yard.  What's not to love!

Out with the Old and In with the Old

Two of my New Year's resolutions are to purge our garage and office of the clutter that has accumulated in them, and  is to finally get around to completely furnishing and decorating the humble above that we've been living in for six years. Yes that is correct SIX YEARS!  Obviously interior design is not one of my strong suits nor do I have the time, money, or desire to spend my weekends shopping for home furnishings. But the time has come.  So I decided that the perfect way to accomplish this is to repurpose....as in, one person's trash is another person's treasure.  We're going to donate, Craigslist, or send to consignment anything that we no longer want.  In turn we're going to furnish as much of our house as possible with used treasures that we can fix up and make our own.  In the end we're hoping that we'll have a home that perfectly fits our style and that we love to come home to, we won't break the bank, and we'll be living true to our philosophy of simplicity.  I'll try and give you periodic updates on our progress, but given the reality of our busy lives this is truly going to be a year long project.  Wish me luck.