In addition to the recycling I can now do on account of Chicago's new Blue Bin recycling program, (Thank heavens I can now rid myself of years worth of yogurt containers and marinara jars that I just couldn't bring myself to throw in the trash!) I have just gotten set up for part one of composting.

I have two five-gallon buckets under the sink. One is full of pine shavings (thank you, Feed Store) to sprinkle onto the food waste whenever I dump it in. I don't really know much about composting, but my friends in Oregon, the organic farmers we went to visit in November, actually use this kind of system for dry indoor toileting. It's not smelly, and actually really cool once you get your head around it. When the bucket is full, it goes on the compost pile. I need to get a big 50 gallon trash can or something so I will have a place to dump the food waste. But I have at least a day or so to figure that one out.

Anyway, I am feeling very ecological today!