Sunday, November 8, 2009

On Death & Dying: Composting Series 2: Anger


Welcome back to the composting series!  This week we'll be working through the Anger phase.  Anger during these early stages of composting can crop up in a variety of different ways.  I'll share my points of angst and you can feel free to comment below on your particular points of pain.

If you're following along, you should have surveyed your land and chosen your ideal place for your compost heap.  Now it's time to get serious about this and by serious, I mean you are going to need to go to Home Depot or similar home shop.


Anger Type 1: You will research bins and find that ready made bins cost $75-$200, this is upsetting and inappropriate! So, to build a basic compost bin, you'll need some 2x4s, screws, washers and medium mesh wire "fencing" (total cost $30ish).  Chickenwire's holes are too big so choose a type that has smallish squares or rectangles.  This would also be a good time to pick up a small pitch fork. 
You're basically going to build a frame out of the 2x4's and attach the mesh inside the frame on the 4 sides using screws and washers.  Reference the diagram above for a hilarious depiction of what your bin could look like!

Anger Type 2:  This could occur at various stages during the building of your bin.  You will forget something and have to make multiple trips to the store.  Just come to terms with it now.  You might also realize that your bin is too huge, too tiny or trapezoid shaped.  These will all pose problems for you in the future, so consult appropriate measuring devices to get it right.  You could also incur a host of injuries during this phase so take appropriate safety measures as I can't be held responsible for anything that happens to you or your doting husbands/boyfriends as they try to "help."

Let's assume that you got your bin built.  YAY!  Good job.  If you're not stingy, you could have just bought a nice plastic bin but where's the fun in that?!  Plus, the storemade bin will deprive you of most of the fun interactions you could have with your pile in the future.

Anger Type 3:  Feeling overwhelmed that you now have a giant wooden form but nothing to put in it.  Never fear, stick to these do's and don'ts and you should be well on your way to filling your bin.
DO: Compost anything that grows in the ground, on a tree or similar.  This includes things that might have been 'processed' but not added to during processing (coffee grounds, raw nuts, seeds, egg shells, etc).
DON'T: Compost any meats, oils/fats/bones, human or animal wastes.  You'll find info that says you can compost these things at high enough temperatures but let's just start off safe and avoid them.

Your task this week is to go forth and build your bin.  If you're Type A, Concrete/Sequential or MBTI J's, feel free to google "how to build a compost bin" for step by step instructions.
Blog in soon to learn about Bargaining and what you might Bargain for regarding your compost.

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Guilty of Animal Testing


I've been against animal testing ever since 6th grade when the horrifying stories of rubbing mascara into bunnies' eyes came out.  Regardless, I used my dog today to test a natural beauty product!  What is wrong with me!?  I didn't even give it a second thought.  Before you report me to PITA or similar, my friend and I have been talking about experimenting with various natural beauty techniques.  The one in question involves using baking soda in lieu of shampoo. 

My dog gets really smelly.  She has comparatively simple beauty needs.  Her hair is mainly one length and she doesn't have any chemical residues from styling products.  She also, consequently, doesn't mind if she is having a bad hair day. 

In my defense, I did research baking soda applications for dog bathing on several message boards and it was getting rave reviews from other owners of stinky/itchy afflicted mutts.  So I tricked her into the tub and wetted her fur.  I sprinkled a generous amount of baking soda on her and rubbed it all around.  I gave her a vigorous rinsing and viola!  It worked, sort of.  The greatest benefit is that she hasn't itched or scratched even once since the bath.  Normally, no matter how much rinsing we do, she will itch a little more than usual for the first few days after a bath. 
I have been inadvertantly torturing my dog with shampoo for 6 years. 

Does she smell "good" now?  Probably not to the general public. Does she smell better than she did when we started? Definitely.  What is missing is the familiar green apple scent of her store bought pet shampoo for "problem skin" (only $9/bottle).  This new lack of artificial scent got me wondering why pet shampoos are scented?  Honestly, if you think dogs should smell like fruits or foods, you probably shouldn't be a dog owner.  I've never met a wolf in the woods who smelled like vanilla beans or cherries jubilee or chocolate kisses (no smart remarks about how often I've encountered a wolf).  Dogs smell funny, it's their nature.  So give up perfumed and expensive, boutique dog shampoos and opt for about 8 cents of baking soda instead.  Your dog will smell better and you'll feel comfortable using baking soda on your hair too! 




Stay tuned for the human hair experiments.....(I hear it works better on mullets)