Composting is a great way to differ tons of organic waste from landfills. Most people know to compost food scraps, grass and flowers, but did you know there is so much more that can be composted?
Take a look at my 10 11 things you never thought to compost:
- Just brushed your hair or your pet’s coat? Human and pet hair are rich in nitrogen and can be great adds to your composting bin. As a bonus, they might even deter little critters.
- Instead of throwing your polish-free nail clippings or your pet’s nails into the trash, consider adding them to your composting pile or bin.
- Not sure if this is a myth or not, but I have heard it happens; leftover beer and wine. If this has happened to you, don’t fret. Beer and wine can kick-start bacteria in your composting pile.
- There are companies that upcycle wine corks into soles of shoes or floors. But if this does not seem like a viable option for you, try composting them instead of discarding them in the trash.
- If you are not drying your clothing on the clothes line or clothing rack, please add your dryer lint to your composting.
- I was wondering just the other day as I was cleaning my ears with a cotton swab if there was a way to divert my ear cleaner from ending in the trash? And it looks like there is. Composting; as long as the handle is made of cardboard and not plastic. YAY!
- I hate to vacuum and I avoid this chore like the plague. But when it has to be done think about adding the vacuum remains to your compost. This can also apply to sweeping, which is my preferred chore over vacuuming.
- Left sitting on the toilet staring at a toilet paper roll? Get a new one and toss the left over one in the composting bin. Paper towels rolls can composted as well.
- What to do with your cardboard egg carton after the eggs are all gone? Either return it to the farmersmarket to be reused or add it to your bin or pile.
- Adding fireplace ashes can help reduce the acidity in your compost pile or bin when used correctly.
- Natural-fibre rags eventually become unusable. Wash them up without fabric softener or harsh chemical soap and add them to your compost.
What will you add to your composting bin? Any interesting things that you compost?
Sources: Earth 911 and WebEcoist
composting
I am the Good Girl Gone Green. Seeing garbage cans overflowing with recyclables breaks my heart.
Thanks for hopping on Mom Blog Monday… I love this list! There are definitely some that I didn’t know about!!!
Thanks! I have even read that some people compost roadkill. Yes, you read that right-roadkill…. I am not here yet!:)
Great tips! RIght now we are about to move into a townhouse, so there will be no compost pile for a while.
Boo!!
Boo! Worms?? Good luck with your move.
I’ve never thought about adding pet hair to the compost. We do usually brush them outside & let the hair fly.
One thing I add to compost are egg shells. We haven’t had issues with rodents or anything.
Great post!
Thank you, Dana! I never thought of pet hair either, but why not? Egg shells are great for the soil…rich in nutients!
Neat post!!
Thanks Cort!!!
really? pet hair? I didn’t know that either, our lab sheds a lot!
I find egg shells are really hard to break down and you usually see a lot of shell in your soil. maybe not if you finely crush them first. same with corn cobs, they are always left in there too.
I know hair. Crazy, eh, Jenn? Corn cobs are the worst….they take forever!!
Always find your posts useful and informative. thanks!
Thank you Mrs.Pancakes! Love that you are reading my blog!
This is awesome information for everyone. great blog by the way!
Thank you so much!
Interesting – I didn’t realize dryer lint, fireplace ashes or vacuum waste was compostable! For some reason I thought that they’d be too “chemical” – but I guess in retrospect they really aren’t……?sorta?
Checkout the link I added for the fireplace ash. You can’t just throw it all in the compost…there is more to it. For the vacuum waste, I mean if you have big chunks of plastic maybe don’t put that in the compost. Just use your own judgement.
AWESOME!!!! I am so excited now! I’ve been wanting to start composting and this is so helpful!
Thanks! If you look on the right side of my blog I have a composting category. I wrote a few posts already on composting.
Great tips! We just started composting, so this definitely helps, thanks!
Great to hear you are composting! I wrote a few other posts on composting. On the right side of my blog I have a composting category. Good luck!
Awesome! I have been wanting to get a compost started here but we have not yet. I am a new follower from Monkey Blog Hop.
http://mompointofview.blogspot.com
Do it!
That’s a great list! I recycle egg cartons and toilet paper rolls etc. but never thought of putting these things in the compost – makes perfect sense! Hair and nails … learned something new today
Thanks Eva! I am glad I was able to help out!
I like to put eggshells, and coffee grinds in my compost, along with lemon rinds, really any rinds – watermelon, cantaloupe. The butterflies LOVE to feast on these while they are waiting to decompose.
Lisa, it use be nice to see all the butterflies hovering around your compost!
What a wonderful list of tips! I really need to START composting. It’s been a goal for a while and I just have not gotten to that point yet. Sigh. I do toss some of my fruit/veggie rinds over the fence into the woods behind my house for starters, I think that the wild animals enjoy whatever doesn’t fertilize the earth that way!
(Or at least I hope!)
LOL! At least the fruit and veggies will compost and not sit in a landfill. Start off composting slowly and you will see how much you love it!
Good list! We have a shih-tsu, so we have tons of pet hair. We’ll add that to our compost.
Great!
I just started adding the hair from my brush to our compost. Here in San Francisco the city collects the compost, which is great! I found you through the fun tuesday hop. I’ll definitely keep checking back for more tips.
Thanks! It’s great that cities are picking up compost. Hopefully one day it will be the norm!
What a great list! So much more will be going in my compost, but I have to draw the line at the nail clippings. Just typing those two words makes me gag.
LOL! Do what you can!
So many great suggestions that I never thought of!
Thank you!
Txs for the comments on my blog! I am now following you. I’m not sure if you are following me yet(I don’t see you on my friend list) so if you can double check it would be greatly appreciated. Btw, love love your site! Love going green http://www.the-mommyhood-chronicles.com
Thanks and sure thing! Will do!
Wow!! Dryer lint and pet hair are in abundance around my house. I never even thought about putting them in our compost pile. And toilet paper rolls…..awesome list!!
When I started composting with worms last far that is when I found out how much can be composted and well I also checked around on the internet too!
I appreciated your list! We bought a compost bin a couple years ago, but have struggled with knowing what to put in it. I had no idea about the dryer lint and vacuum dust.
Thank you! Just make sure you are not outing plastic on the compost if you happen to pick sue up with the vacuum! Plastic doesn’t decompose, well at least not very well!
WOW! Crazy list of never before thought of things to compost. I am going to spread the word to my friends…I cant believe some of them. Thank you SO much for the info.
And than you for the good you are doing through your blog.
Awesome.
jenny at dapperhouse
Thank you! Please spread the word!
Thank you! Just starting to compost again after almost ten years since we stopped. Great tips to know!
Glad I could help!
Thanks for the ideas!
No problem!!
[...] patterns, needs of the land, and how it can be achieved through natural methods: sheet mulch, composting, sprout gardening, seed saving, observation, and [...]
Small Footprint Family has a list of 100 things you can compost, including many that had never occured to me! http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/100-things-you-can-compost