Dealing With Kid Paper Clutter

Despite schools adopting more technology and digital instruction, there was still quite the avalanche of papers that came home daily with my kindergartners this school year.  As someone who doesn't like a lot of clutter, I made it my mission to stay on top of all the school papers this year.  I wanted to get some systems and routines in place that I can stick to throughout the rest of their school careers.  Having those routines and systems in place will cut down on some of the daily decision-making that can overwhelm me.

The first thing I have my kids do when they come home is to hang up their backpacks.  Adam added this set of hooks before the kids started preschool and they are still just as pretty and functional as the day he installed them.  After I get the kids settled with a snack, I go through their backpacks.  As they get older, they can do this step themselves.  But as kindergartners, I just do this for them.  I immediately put their lunch trays in the dishwasher and their lunch bags in the cabinet.  Then I take care of allllll the papers.  Lyla neatly placed all her papers in her folder each day, whereas Archer just wadded up his papers and shoved them in his bag.

 

From there, I put the papers in one of four places.  For papers that I needed to reference at a later date (like class newsletters, flyers about upcoming school events, or papers with login information) I clipped on the side of the refrigerator.  I just got two heavy duty metal magnetic clips and wrote each kid's name on one in Sharpie.  This way, I always knew where to find the important papers.  

Any schoolwork or artwork, I clipped onto our metal clothesline that lives in our kitchen.  I put this up when the kids were just babies and kept ripping their artwork off of the fridge.  It continues to be a great way to showcase all their creativity.  Since we can see it from our kitchen table, it serves as great talking points during dinner.  Adam and I can ask about their pieces and it helps jog the kids' memories about what they did in school each day.   

The other two places I put their daily papers in is the trash can or the recycle bin.  Sometimes we wound up with other kids' work or flyers that didn't really apply to us.  So those items immediately went into the recycle bin (paper, cardboard) or trash (things with stickers,tape or glitter can't be recycled.)

Eventually, our clothesline would get pretty full so I would pull everything down and sort through it.  I kept only the most precious items and threw away or recycled the rest.  Those few precious items went into a file box I keep in each of the kids' closets.  I put a file folder for each grade to keep just a few items for me to look through in the future and for the kids to have when they are older if they want them.  My mom asked me awhile back if I wanted several boxes of schoolwork of mine she saved and I just didn't.  I am not a sentimental person and just didn't want more stuff.  So keeping a small file box per kid seems manageable for me.  As I added more items to the file box, I would often get rid of items I had previously saved.  There is probably about 7-10 pieces I saved per kid from their kindergarten career.  One other thing I did was make up a sheet for each kid where I could include their picture and record their school, teacher, friends, favorite subject, favorite part of school, what job they want when they grow up and a place for their signature.  

Those simple steps really helped to combat all the school clutter this year.  It worked well, so I plan to continue when they move into first grade in the fall.  I'm sure this summer they will be creating far more artwork.  To manage all the artwork they create here at home, we have two places for them to keep their creations.  They each have an "art box" in their closet which is just a plastic lidded bin.  If it gets full, they have to go though it to make space for new creations. 

They also each have some wood strips with clips that Adam whipped up for them in their rooms.  They can display anything they want on here.  If definitely helps the kids to have some physical boundaries for places they can put their creations.  I'm sure as they get older and want to add posters to their walls, we'll revisit what we're doing now.  But as kids who can easily end up with twenty pages of artwork each day, this helps us to keep from drowning in paper.  And at this stage, their artwork is more about the process than the finished product.  I certainly encourage their creativity and provide lots of opportunities to make lots of different types of artwork.  

Hopefully these ideas can help out others who might be drowning in stacks of paper on their kitchen counters.  Best of luck to you in this never-ending battle against paper clutter!  

The LEGO Invasion

Archer has a newfound love for LEGOs.  And they are quickly taking over my floors.  There's nothing quite like a LEGO being shoved into your foot as you take an innocent walk across your living room.  Those pesky clear pieces blend right in!  And even if you think you are thorough in picking up all the pieces, there's always a rogue one that gets left out and manages to end up right in your walking path.    

The invasion started slowly, but has ramped up rather quickly.  A couple years ago, Adam gave the kids a small box of LEGOs that were from his childhood.  There weren't that many and he picked some of the larger pieces.  It was easy enough to pick up all the pieces and put them away when the kids were finished playing with them.  Since Archer really seemed to get into putting the LEGOs together, he ended up getting a few smaller sets for birthdays and Christmas.  I kept those sets separated into small bags and would let him get out one at a time.  Well, then the sets he got started getting bigger and more complicated and with more pieces.  And the sets would connect to other sets so he didn't want to put one set away before getting out a new one.  But then he'd inevitably take apart the sets and the pieces would get all mixed up and then he'd get upset when he tried to rebuild them but couldn't find all the pieces.  I even spent several hours one weekend painstakingly separating out all the sets and putting them in labeled bags.  But then they somehow got all mixed up again!  

My kids typically play either in the living room or their bedrooms.  We don't have a dedicated playroom, so I rotate out toys in our living room and keep some in their bedrooms.  I started by having Archer keep the LEGOs in his room, but then I'd find him with his light on tinkering with his LEGOs well after he was supposed to have gone to sleep.  So then I moved them down to the living room.  I would let him keep his creations on the fireplace, but have him pick up all the unused pieces off the floor each evening.  But each morning he would dump all those pieces out again.  Many of those tiny pieces would trickle into the hallway and kitchen.  Finally, I got sick of stepping on LEGOs all day long.  I gathered them all up and stuck them all in the family room.  Since that space is a work in progress, it is essentially a large open area.  Archer did like having a larger area to spread everything out and not have to pick up all the pieces each evening.  

But then, as LEGOs tend to do, they started slowing creeping into more areas.  He liked to use the hard flooring by the door to our garage as a base.  But this, being the entrance to our home we use most often, became problematic.  We all got tired of stepping over Archer's creations anytime we wanted to leave the house.  Adam and I tossed some ideas around and we decided to make him a LEGO base/storage unit.       

Adam whipped up a plan to use some of the plywood we had used when our family room floor was being replaced.  He cut up a base that would fit underneath our couch in the family room.  Then he added some wood along the edges to serve as a fence for keeping all of the LEGOs within the unit.  Adam made sure to sand everything smooth and even routed the edges of the fence so it would be safe for little hands.   

We also decided to put a divider inside the unit.  Our thinking was that one section would be the building area and place where he could keep his completed pieces.  The other section could house all the loose, unused pieces.  We ran this idea by Archer and he enthusiastically approved.  Adam also added a handle on the front of the unit to make it easy to pull the unit out from under the couch.  He made it nice and big so it can be easily grabbed and is super sturdy.  

The final step was to paint it all.  Since it wasn't made from the highest quality plywood, Adam decided painting it would result in the smoothest, splinter-free finish.  We showed Archer all the random paint we have in the basement and he settled on a gray, blue and green color scheme.  Before the paint, Adam and Archer put down a coat of primer.  Archer was pretty pumped to participate in this step.  He very enthusiastically slapped on the primer.  Notice that Lyla decided goggles were in order to keep any paint splatters from getting in her eyes.  

Waiting for the paint to dry was quite the challenge for Archer.  The night after he helped Adam put on the final coats of paint, he came down from his room (when he was supposed to be asleep) to check on how it was drying.  The next day he got to try out his new LEGO unit!  He was thrilled to get to add all his pieces to it and start building!  

Archer adores his new LEGO playing station!  The divided sections definitely help give Archer some visual cues about where to keep the creations he's built and also the pieces that aren't being used at the moment.  It's super sturdy, so it's no problem when Archer decides he needs to get up close to one of his builds.  

I adore the fact that there's now a physical boundary for all the LEGO pieces.  I don't find them scattered all around the house like I used to.  We keep the unit out for the most part so Archer can keep his creations up.  But if we need some more floor space or are taking a break from building, it tucks right under the couch.  Hooray for hidden storage! 

The large handle makes it easy for Archer to get it out all by himself.  This has been such a fantastic solution for corralling all those LEGO pieces.  My feet are most appreciative.    

As much as we all love the final product, watching Archer and Adam work together on this project was the true highlight.  Watching Archer chose paint colors and help out allowed him to grow his confidence.  Seeing Adam let go of some of his perfectionism to allow Archer to take the reigns was fun to see too.  Much like all DIY projects, you get just as much out of the process as you do the final product.    

Ah, The Joys of Home Ownership!

As anyone who owns a home knows, it's not always rainbows and sunshine.  There's always something that needs to be fixed or replaced.  Most recently, the sewer line under the concrete slab in our family room needed to be replaced.  Cha-ching! 

We noticed some significant settling going on in our family room last spring.  We thought it was just some random settlement and decided to try to mudjack the floor.  While the mudjacking appeared to have fixed the problem in our family room at first, over time it started to settle again.  We really noticed this when Adam brought in the new aquarium stand he is building into the family room.  He realized the floor was incredibly unlevel and had settled since we had the slab mudjacked back in April.  (You can see in the photo below how much the aquarium stand would have needed to be brought up in order to be level on the floor).  Adam, being an engineer, used all his knowledge and figured out there had to be some sort of water or leaking causing the settlement.  It turns out his guess was correct.  After having a sewer line inspection, we found out the sewer line below the concrete slab in our family room was broken.  It was completely disconnected.  And all the water we were using in the showers, toilets and washing machine was just pouring out of the disconnected pipe.  There was also a section of the pipe that had a belly to it, so instead of water flushing through the pipe, it was just hanging out in the low spot.  To say we were shocked was an understatement.  

While Adam is an engineer, he wanted to get some other perspectives from engineers who specialize in residential engineering to help us figure out what to do.  So he consulted with two different residential engineers to help us figure out the best course of action.  Adam's uncle who has significant knowledge in construction was also able to give us some insight.  After taking everything into consideration, there were two options for fixing the broken pipe.  

One option was to trench around the pipe in the concrete slab, replace the broken section and low bellies of the pipe, then pour back concrete where the trench was.  This was the least invasive and easiest fix.  However, we weren't sure what all that water had done underneath the slab.  The fact that the slab was settling in multiple areas led us to believe it had washed away a lot of the gravel underneath the slab.  So even if we fixed the pipe, there could still be continued settling since we wouldn't be able to backfill all the areas that would need more gravel.    

The other option was to completely demolish the existing concrete slab.  That way we could replace the entire length of the pipe and replenish all the necessary gravel to prevent settling from happening in the future.  It would also give us the opportunity to tie the floor slab into the stem wall foundation, which it was not previously tied into.  

Ultimately, we decided to completely demolish the existing concrete slab.  This, of course, was the most expensive and challenging option.  Luckily, Adam had a solid understanding of everything this project would entail and took on the role of general contractor.  He arranged for three separate crews to tackle three separate jobs.  But before any of the crews could start their work, we had a lot of prep work to do.

Adam did most of this work, though I tried to help out when I wasn't doing all the everyday kid and house stuff.  My dad also was kind enough to help out.  All the furniture had to be stuck somewhere else.  The carpet (that we just had installed in April) had to be removed, along with the carpet pad and carpet tack.  Part of the flooring by the entrance from the garage had to be taken out and the steps that lead up to our kitchen.  The toilet and vanity in the half bathroom had to be taken out, too.  And the vents needed to be sealed off to prevent a bunch of dust from getting into our HVAC system.  Since the concrete slab was going to be removed and a new concrete floor was going to be poured inside our house, we wanted to contain the construction zone as much as possible.  Adam made a temporary wall to block off the family room from the rest of our house.  This definitely helped keep the project zone contained, which was super nice.  Though it meant we could no longer access the garage or basement. 

Once everything that needed to be removed was out, Adam moved onto protecting what was left in the room.  He put up plastic sheeting, polystyrene and pipe insulation around the door frames.  (I'm not gonna lie, using all this plastic and Styrofoam in our home made my sustainability-seeking heart hurt.  But we figured protecting the woodwork and drywall we had would prevent us from having to replace it after the concrete was poured would ultimately be the better option.  Adam was also able to pass along the polystyrene to someone else to use for another project).  Getting everything prepped for the first crew to come in was a job in itself!  

At this point, we were ready for the first crew to come demolish the existing concrete slab.  Adam decided having the concrete cut into sections using a wet saw, as opposed to having it jack hammered out, would be far less dusty and result in far less damage.  We went with a local company that specializes in this sort of work and were very happy with the results.  The kids and I stayed out of the house while this was going on to avoid the noise, while Adam stuck around to manage everything.  As you can see from the photo below, once the floor was cut, it sunk quite a bit in many areas.  This told us there were voids underneath the slab and made us realize we had made the right choice by taking out the whole slab.  Once the sections were cut, the crew removed all the sections.  

We were left with a giant gravel pit.  We weren't sure exactly what to expect once the concrete slab was removed.  There was a chance we would need some sort of remediation since sewage was essentially pouring out of the broken pipe.  But we got lucky in that regard.  We didn't need remediation and there was no smelliness to deal with either.  The second crew stepped in at this point.  They worked on filling in the voids, digging to the broken pipe and putting in some piers to help further stabilize the new concrete slab that would be poured.  Here's the broken pipe.  It's a little tricky to tell from the photo, but there's a giant gap! 

Now that the pipe was unearthed, it was time for the third crew (the plumbers) to step in.  They took out the old sewer line and replaced it with a new PVC one.  This took care of the broken segment and also the belly in the pipe.  They did have to drill a new hole in our basement wall to make the slope of the pipe work correctly.  Obviously the water had to be turned off while this work took place.  The kids had preschool in the morning and then I kept them out and about for the rest of the afternoon, while Adam kept an eye on the progress.    

 

Once the plumbing was wrapped up, the second crew could come back to get things prepped for the new concrete slab.  They worked on putting in the piers and leveling the grade.  

Next came putting down a vapor barrier to help with moisture and to help keep the family room floor a bit warmer.  Laying the rebar happened after that.  Once the rebar was in place, it was time for the concrete!  

Here's where things got a bit tricky.  Things had been going pretty smoothly and on schedule up until this point.  But the morning the concrete truck was supposed to arrive, things went awry.  The pumper truck arrived and got their hoses hooked up.  Then everyone waited and waited for the concrete truck to get here.  When it finally arrived, it was well beyond when it was expected.  I don't know much about concrete, but apparently you have a time limit from the time it gets mixed in the truck to the time it is poured.  Our time limit had expired and the pumper truck guy didn't want to risk the chance of the concrete drying up in his hoses.  The mix also wasn't the exact mix that Adam had specified.  So we sent the concrete truck back.  This was a real bummer, but we also wanted to make sure everything was done correctly.  With the amount of money we were spending and the time we had invested, we weren't going to take any chances.  So we had to reschedule the pumper truck and the concrete truck for later in the week.  Luckily, things panned out the second time around.  And one silver lining was that Archer and Lyla got to be around to see it all happen since they were at preschool during the first go around.  

The concrete got poured without a hitch.  The crew got it all smoothed out.  And now our floor is pretty darn level!  It's not one hundred percent perfect, but it's close enough.  The fact that we kept the walls by the half bathroom in made it tricky to get the floor completely level.  But taking those walls out would have resulted in even more work and money and time, so we are pleased with how everything panned out given the constraints.  

Now we get to wait for the concrete to cure before we can start putting our family room back together.  Adam and I are both very happy to be on this side of the project.  While it's far from over, we feel like we made it past the most difficult hurdles.  Projects like these aren't for the faint of heart!  While Adam and I tried really hard to keep a positive attitude during all this, we certainly weren't immune to all the stress that came with it.  Adam took on so much to figure out how to solve this problem and then to make it happen.  And despite having sewer line insurance, it wasn't covered by insurance because the pipe was "under the dwelling."  We're thankful we had money saved up for issues like this, but it's never fun to put money into house projects that you won't end up ever seeing.  It's also been a big disruption to our regular routines and having our house in disarray has been hard for a tidy person like myself.  

But we're moving on and looking forward to turning our family room into a space for our family to enjoy together!  We've got tile installation scheduled for our half bathroom and carpet re-installation scheduled for the family room in a few weeks.  Pretty soon we'll be enjoying our new and improved space!   

A Little Preschool Preparation

Somehow my children are old enough to go to preschool!  It is baffling to me because just yesterday they were unable to hold their own heads up.  Now they are ready to go to preschool without me.  I know that I will have a harder time adjusting than they will, so I am throwing myself into getting all the details sorted out.

One little detail I wanted to sort out was creating a place for Archer and Lyla to hang their backpacks.  I am all about every item in our home having a place to live.  You know, a place for everything and everything in its place.  I wanted it to be somewhere visible and somewhere Archer and Lyla can easily access.  That way they can be in charge of keeping track of their backpacks.  

I found the perfect spot for their backpacks right by our front door.  It was practically begging for some hooks!  I threw around the idea of just hanging some hooks directly into the drywall using some drywall anchors.  But my kids tend to be a little rough and I had visions of them tearing the hooks out of the wall the first time they picked up their backpacks.  So I decided a wood board behind the hooks was in order.  That way, the board could be directly screwed into the studs and the hooks could be directly screwed into the board.  

Lucky for me, I knew the perfect guy for the job.  Just look at how excited he is to have one more task added to his already lengthy to do list. 

Adam has lots of scrap wood lying around, so he found a piece of poplar that would do the trick.  I told him I just needed it cut down to size and stained, but he wouldn't stand for just that.  He had to add his woodworking skills to the job and decided to route the edges to give it some more character.  

Once the edges of the board were routed, he stained it using some old stain we already had on hand.  It's the same stain (General Finishes Gel Stain in Nutmeg) we used on our DIY growth ruler that we made several years ago.  Then he finished off the wood with a satin topcoat.  Once the board the was dry, he added the hooks and screwed the board right into the wall.  Two sets of screws went directly into the studs.  The far set of screws just went into the drywall, so Adam made sure to add some drywall anchors into the drywall before securing it to the wall.  To hide the screws, he added some wooden button plugs.  It turned out beautifully!   

The new set of hooks fits in nicely with the rest of our little makeshift command center.  The brass hooks tie in nicely with my thrifted brass mail center.  And I'll be sure to take a "First Day of Preschool" picture with the kids holding our letter board sign.  

We made sure to hang it at the perfect height for our kids.  They can easily hang up and take off their backpacks from the hooks.  I asked Adam to include four hooks so they would also have a place to hang a jacket or coat.  Having these hooks will help us keep track of the items they'll need to take to preschool and also foster some independence for Archer and Lyla.  They'll be in charge of hanging up their backpacks when they get home.  

We've got all the supplies we need and are ready to start preschool!  We even made sure to get their teacher a little something to let her know how much we appreciate her.  Our preschool made it easy for us by including a list of each teacher's favorites on their website.  So Archer and Lyla will be bringing their teacher a Target gift card and Snickers bars when they head to preschool.  They also each made a little card.  Having been a teacher before staying home with Archer and Lyla, I remember how much those small kindnesses are appreciated.  

Now we're all set for the start of preschool!  And I'll try my very best not to cry as I drop them off.  

10 Books to Read This Summer

I adore reading books.  Reading is in my blood.  My mom read to me as a kid and took me to our public library.  I would shove my pillow in the crack at the bottom of my door so I could keep my light on and read when I was supposed to be sleeping as a kid.  I worked at my local public library in high school and college.  When I was a teacher, my most favorite part of the day was during our read aloud time.  I went on to teach middle school reading.  I still read every single night before I go to bed.  Like I said, I adore reading.  The only thing better than finding a good book to read is to tell someone else about it so they can enjoy it too.  

I check out the majority of the books I read from my local public library.  If I do end up buying a book, I try to find it at a local bookshop or buy it through bookshop.org, which is an online bookstore that supports local bookstores.  

So here are a few books to add to your summer reading list: 

Ways the World Could End by Kim Hooper

A husband loses his wife and turns to doomsday prepping to fill his time.  A daughter loses her mother and is struggling to find herself.  Despite its depressing set up and title, it's actually incredibly heartwarming.

    

No Hiding in Boise by Kim Hooper

This book is centered around a shooting that happens at a bar and is told from several different perspectives.  It really touches on the humanity that connects us all.  

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth 

This is a thriller of sorts told from two different points of view that keep you guessing the whole time.  Fern relies on her sister Rose to help keep her life neatly-ordered.  Rose is struggling to get pregnant.  Fern sees a way to help Rose realize her dream of having a baby.  Which one ends up being the good sister?   

Consumed by Aja Barber

This is an eye-opening nonfiction book that pulls back the curtain on the fast fashion industry.  The author helps the reader understand how colonialism, climate change and consumerism all intersect and the role we as consumers play in the whole mess.  What I love most is that the author also gives specific, actionable steps we can all take to combat the fast fashion industry.  Despite being a heavy topic, the author presents it in a way that's interesting. 

Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

An atheist lesbian winds up working as a receptionist at a Catholic church.  The previous receptionist was murdered and the new receptionist tries to figure out what happened.  I love how this charming book tries to point out that we're all more similar that we might believe. 

Clean by James Hamblin

This nonfiction book looks at our obsession with being "clean."  The author interviews dermatologists, allergists, beauty industry experts and also explains about our skin microbiome.  What could be an incredibly boring topic is actually very intriguing.  After reading it, I certainly feel better about my minimal skincare routine! 

   

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

If you are looking for a sweet, wholesome romance set in the book publishing world, here it is!

The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward 

A mom wins a trip on a cruise ship and brings along her three adult children.  Family drama and antics ensue.  This was a funny, enjoyable read! 

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza

Riley is a Black television journalist.  Jen is white and married to a police officer involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager.  Riley and Jen are best friends.  This novel is told from both of their perspectives and it's powerful.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

Ruth returns to her parents' home when her father starts to suffer from dementia.  While it seems like it might be a depressing book, it's actually pretty funny and heartwarming.  Plus, the author's writing style really drew me in. 

Now it's your turn!  Give me your book suggestions please! 

My Home Composting Experience

When I first started trying to increase my sustainability efforts, composting was something that kept coming up.  I had heard about it, but didn't really know much about it.  I now understand composting is basically recycling organic matter (think food scraps and yard waste) into soil.  According to the EPA, "Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 30 percent of what we throw away, and could be composted instead.  Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas."*  That's a really large percentage of stuff that could literally be prevented from ever going into the landfill!

After doing some very basic research, I decided to just go for it and learn along the way.  In January of 2020 I convinced Adam to put what's considered a digester in our backyard.  A digester is essentially an enclosed compost bin.  (Here's a link to a tutorial you can use to make one of your own.)  I decided an enclosed compost bin was best for our situation.  We still had our sweet dog Jazzy and she loved to eat any and all food.  So we wanted to keep all those food scraps contained and away from her.  Plus, Archer and Lyla were younger and like to explore everything.  We also have lots of bunnies and chipmunks and squirrels and probably other critters I don't care to know about hanging around our yard.  The idea of a compost bin that wouldn't encourage more critters was very appealing.  So we got a garbage bin, drilled holes in the bottom and sides, dug a hole and stuck in the bin!  It was simple and didn't take too much time.  

Once we had our bin in place, we added just a bit of dirt to get things set up.  Then I did some more research to determine what exactly we could put in our compost bin.  You want to have a fairly even mix of green matter and brown matter.  Green matter includes things like fruit and vegetable scraps and grass clippings.  Brown matter includes things like cardboard, twigs and dead leaves.  The EPA's website has a good list of items to get you started.  Here's a list of some of the things we compost: fruit and vegetable scraps (think watermelon rinds, apple cores, potato peels), dead flowers, wine corks (make sure they are actually cork and not plastic), hair trimmings, toothpicks, cardboard, eggshells, parchment paper (make sure it says 'home compostable' on the the box- we use the 'If You Care' brand) and floss (again, make sure it says 'home compostable.')  Some things definitely break down faster than others.  The smaller you break down the items to begin with, the quicker they will break down into compost.  So instead of throwing in a whole cardboard box, rip it up first.  And smush up eggshells instead of throwing them in whole.  You get the picture.  Oh, and remember to remove any stickers from your produce before putting them in your compost bin since they won't break down. 

One thing that has been helpful is keeping a bowl in our freezer for all of our food scraps.  This keeps food from smelling and freezing it first actually helps it break down faster.  It also prevents me from having to go outside anytime I end up with an apple core.  I just toss things in there and then take the bowl outside when it gets filled up.  I might just be weird, but it brings me a nice sense of satisfaction each time I empty a bowl of scraps into our compost bin.   

I was a bit overwhelmed when we first started composting.  I think I checked Google before composting anything because I was worried I would do it wrong.  But composting isn't an exact science.  Even if you don't have an exactly equal amount of green and brown matter, it will still break down.  And after doing it for two years, it's become second nature.  Whenever we go on vacation or visit family that doesn't compost, I feel incredibly weird throwing away banana peels in the trash.  Archer and Lyla even have a pretty good sense of what to stick in the freezer versus the recycling bin or the trash.

Another piece of the composting puzzle is to regularly turn it.  Every once in awhile, when I bring out a bowl of scraps, I will grab a shovel from the shed and stir up all the contents of the compost bin.  Since our bins are buried in the ground, water seeps in the sides and we don't really have to add any water.  If you have a compost bin that's above ground, it's a good idea to give it a spritz of water every once in awhile to help it decompose.  

After composting for about two years, we realized our bin was getting pretty full.  Things were definitely decomposing, but we kept adding in new stuff.  Since it was January, we weren't ready to use it in our garden.  So we decided to add a second bin.  That way, we could stop adding stuff to the first bin and let that totally decompose so it would be ready to use in our garden when we planted it in May.  Looking back, we probably should have added two bins to begin with.  But we figured it out eventually.  

So this past May, I got to add our first batch of compost to our little raised garden.  It was pretty amazing that all those food scraps and cardboard somehow turned into soil!  We had enough to give our whole garden a good layer of compost. 

And look at how happy my garden is!  It is thriving this year and I truly think the compost made all the difference.  I planted lettuce and tomatoes this year.  We enjoyed lettuce throughout June and even had extra to share with our neighbors.     

We've had a few cherry tomatoes ripen so far and they are delicious.  I'm looking forward to even more throughout July and August.  We planted mint way back in 2016 and it comes up every year even though I rip it out continuously throughout the year.  We also had a few volunteer plants pop up this year.  They appear to be vines, so it will be fun to see what we end up with.  Could be pumpkins or cucumbers or watermelon, who knows?! 

With our two compost bins being so successful, we decided to add another compost setup strictly for our yard waste.  Adam got the idea from our neighbor who has a similar setup.  Our neighbor even shared some supplies with us.  (We are truly lucky to have so many sweet neighbors.)  The plan is to put all the sticks we pick up from the yard, along with leaves in the fall and plant trimmings into these bins.  It's divided into three sections.  The first section is where we add stuff to begin with.  Once it starts to break down, we add it to the next section.  Once it's fully broken down and ready to be used as compost, we'll keep it in the third section.  With this system, we'll be able to completely eliminate the need for curbside yard waste pick up.  Plus, we'll end up with more compost for our garden and flower beds around the yard.  

So now I just toss all those random sticks and flowers that I've deadheaded into the first section.  When I'm watering the garden, I give the setup a spritz of water to help things break down a bit more since it's above ground.  I'm so glad Adam came up with this idea.  When we were visiting my parents this past weekend, we had some corn on the cob.  Adam asked if he could bring home the husks for our compost bin and I've never been more in love.  Just kidding, but I do love how he's hopped on board this sustainability train with me.       

Composting has allowed me to reduce our household waste by a lot!  We end up with one trash bag each week and usually it's not even full.  It has also helped our little garden grow.  And I'm so happy this is one small thing I can do to help our planet.  I hope you'll consider giving composting a try!  I'm always here to answer any questions.  

*https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home