Down and dirty with Restoration Hardware
Might be the result of an online shopping habit, but I get tons of mail I don’t ask for. One day this came. It was about an inch thick with page after page of gorgeous furnishings and linens. Really gorgeous! It was too much paper to toss and way too beautiful. I did what any logically sound person would do. I turned it to dirt!
This isn’t just another article on gardening and compost. This is the true story of how I composted the Restoration Hardware catalog. Some of you would rather do anything than get your hands dirty and cultivate earth worms. For you, as always, enjoy the pix as pure art or pass it on to your hippie friend. Everybody has one. : )
This is it! Seriously, the composted catalog being worked into the soil beneath my tomatoes! It really is! I’m not joking, it’s magic!
This definitely isn’t for everyone. As a gardener, I LOVE the rich soil it makes and I kind of feel like I’m sticking it to the corporate man a little by turning all that junk I get in the mail everyday into something useful. I tried signing up for programs that promise to stop the delivery of junk mail, so far, all have been unsuccessful, so until then…dirt!
My simple instructions and tips are at the bottom. Tell me if you go for it and write me if you have questions. I’m NO expert but this technique works great for me! kimi.
If you’re into it, here’s how I do it.
- Drill holes in the bottom of a big plastic garbage can
Add materials in layers. Super important, that’s the synergy, the real magic of composting! Wet/green layered with dry/brown:
- shredded paper (catalogs, newspaper, cardboard boxes, junk mail-run it all through a paper shredder)
- kitchen scraps (NO cooked foods, fats or animal products)
- yard waste (dirt, dirt clots, soil from dead potted plants, grass clippings are great and add loads of nitrogen, dry leaves, garden trimmings – best if nothing is over 2 inches long, it breaks down faster)
- Layer items thin so you have a good workable mix of wet and dry. They need eachother desperately.
- A good healthy batch of compost shouldn’t get stinky, if it does, it’s too wet. That’s a nasty situation and you need to layer it in with fresh ingredients and it will come out just fine.
- Make sure the containers have lids that fit to keep unwanted guests from inviting themselves to dinner.
- Keep a bin full of shredded paper near the compost bins and always top kitchen scraps with it to keep from attracting flies.
- When it’s filled to the rim, put the lid on it and forget about it for 3 months. At that point, check it, if it’s almost done I leave it alone, if it needs a push, I mix it up as much as I can with a shovel OR I dump it by shovel fulls into another garbage can so the lesser done compost on top is now on the bottom and the finished stuff is on top where I can start using it. THAT’s the method I use most! Both ways introduce oxygen and speed up the finish. Compost should be done in 3-6 months.
The compost will be full of red earth worms. I don’t know how they get there, but they do and they are not yuck! These are your friends. They breakdown the garbage and churn it into nutrient rich soil for your plants.
Related articles
- Simple Composting For All: Tips for Easy Composting (hippiemagazine.com)
Hey Kimi,
I am thrilled I ran into you at Hanson`s, learning about your blog and all. now this is awesome news with the shredded junk mail. I have a bin free option to share. My compost is directly in the ground in the backyard. One big hole with a separating wood board in-between. I fill one up while the other one is composting. Once I get the finished compost out (about every 3 months), I pull out the wood board, simply shove the waste (top to bottom) with a shovel over in the empty composting section, add the divider back in place and start filling up the now empty part again. it might be a alternative for some who don`t want bins, and you can cover it with a wood board.. Either way, lets keep composting!! Sandy
Sandy, Hi!!! Great idea!! That composting post gets loads of hits. So people will see your comment, too. Can’t wait to bump into you again! AND…see what you do with your blog! ;)) k.
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Great photos… I’ve just planted runner beans and I filled the bottom of the trench with shredded confidential mail mixed with uncomposted kitchen waste as an experiment (I love in situ composting). I shred and compost anything with my address on but usually put junk mail in the recycling bin, but you are making me think again…
Good! Ya, do it! You will really notice how much less garbage you haul to the curb. Incredible the amount of junk we get. Happy day. k.
Wow, Kimi. You are such an entertaining writer, you reminded me of Patrick McManus for a moment. Respect.
Paul…you always make me feel like I’m more than just an oopah in a wetsuit! THANKS aton!!! Glad you keep coming back and I am gonna check this guy out! Patrick McManus….see what all the fuss is about! k.
I can’t wait to use my unwanted mail this way. It will make me feel much better than sticking it in the recycle bin! Love all your great ideas Kimi! :)
Thanks!! I really only have a couple good ideas..the rest is just filler with great photos! ; ) k.
I love the Pixie! “Life is a Garden…Dig it!” hehehe.
HAHAHAH….wish you were here diggin with me!!
One of my things to check of my Life List is to start composting and use it in my garden… the junk mail is something I hadn’t even thought of! Yes!
I know! ahhaha I’m on my 2nd paper shredder! I’m a before and after maniac so this totally makes me happy!
Great post! One question- how do you stir it once the trashcan is full? I would love to do this- we are renting, and I keep getting vetoed for any kind of “pile” type method. This just might work. :)
Haaa…that’s why I say sometimes. I use a shovel cuz at that point it mostly dirt. Another trick is that I shovel it all into another bin. That finished it off quick and puts the less done stuff on top at the bottom but its a job. Best is just to leave it. Thanks tho….I’ll change that on the post…ya…its not really a “stir” now, is it? Haha…thanks!
It’s updated, read it now….thanks for the prompt, duh!!! That’s a huge tip! k.
Thanks, Kimi! Love your blog! :)
:)
You’re my only hippie friend.
Hahahah….I knew I’d hear that from somebody! Can’t think of anyone better than YOU!!! LOVE, k.