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Apartment Composting with Toddlers

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I’ve posted about a lot of gross stuff (cloth pads, menstrual cups, family cloth etc) but this one might take the cake- and it wasn’t even my idea!

My 2 year old requested that we make compost after seeing an episode of Curious George where George makes compost. I couldn’t say no to such a great learning opportunity (even if I do find worms to be yucky!).

What We Used:

  • 2 food grade 5 gallon buckets (tip: we get ours from the Publix bakery for free!)
  • screw driver (or a power drill)
  • screw 
  • brown paper bags
  • Browns and Greens for compost- coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells, vegetable scraps, banana peels etc
  • Red Wriggler Worms

I chose a 2 bucket compost system since we live in a condo and don’t have a lot of space. I also wanted one we could make without spending any money.  We already had the buckets handy.

Start out by drilling 11 holes into the lid. You can use a power drill but we just used an old screw and a screwdriver. We made an inner circle with 5 holes and an outer circle with 6 holes on the lid.
Next, turn the bucket on its side and make 15 more holes along the edge. Flip the bucket over and make seven holes in the bottom. Place the “holey” bucket inside the one without holes. This one will catch the drippings (these are also great for your garden!).

Cut the brown bags into strips and line the bottom of the holey bucket with them. This was a great way to introduce scissors to our toddler!

Add some water and you are ready to add your compostable material. It’s that easy!

D loves dumping the coffee grounds each morning and crunching egg shells.

We keep a small container on the counter to collect scraps.

It’s been a great way for him to learn about gardening and reducing waste through composting. What I really love is the entire project was child-led!

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