Composting 101: How to Get Started on a Budget at Home

Published on July 3, 2025

Through composting, your kitchen waste can be nature’s gold. Composting is nature’s recycling system, turning your food scraps as well as kitchen and garden waste into rich, earthy goodness you can use to feed your plants.

You don’t even need a big budget or a lot of equipment as you follow these tips to get started:

• What you can compost: You want a good balance of greens and browns. Greens are wet, nitrogen-rich materials like fruit and veggie scraps, coffee grounds and grass clippings. Browns are dry, carbon-rich materials like dried leaves, shredded newspaper and paper egg cartons. Don’t compost meat, dairy, oily foods and pet waste as they attract pests and don’t break down well.
• Choose your compost bin or make one: Plastic storage bin with holes drilled for air, old trash can with the bottom cut out or a pile in a corner of your yard if you have space are some easy ideas to consider. Aim for circulation and drainage. Don’t seal it completely and rest it directly on the soil so worms can join the party.
• Build Your Pile: Start with dry browns like shredded cardboard and add food scraps. Cover each green layer with browns to avoid smells and pests. Then keep layering and keep it moist like a wrung-out sponge.
• Stir it up: Once a week, mix the pile with a pitchfork or shovel to add oxygen.
• Be Patient: In a few months you’ll notice a dark, crumbly earthy-smelling material at the bottom that is ready to enrich garden beds, pot your houseplants and mulch around shrubs.

Composting cuts down your trash, reduces methane emissions from landfills, and feeds your garden naturally. Start small, keep it simple and your plants will thank you.