It started as a joke.
I told a friend I was “thinking about getting into composting,” and he laughed:
“Cool, let me know when your kitchen starts smelling like a barn.”
What he didn’t know is that I’d already ordered worms on the internet.
Three days later, I was elbow-deep in shredded cardboard, banana peels, and existential questions about food waste.
🚮 The Before Times: Trash Can Guilt
I used to throw away everything organic without thinking—coffee grounds, veggie ends, wilted greens.
But after a while, I noticed the pattern:
- I was buying food that died in my fridge
- I was wasting money and nutrition
- I felt disconnected from what I ate
- And I had no idea what happened once I “took out the trash”
So I bought a plastic storage bin, poked holes in the sides, and built a worm farm in my pantry.
🐛 The Setup (Surprisingly Easy)
- 1x 10-gallon bin (opaque, $10)
- 1 lb red wigglers ($25 online)
- Shredded newspaper + damp cardboard
- A handful of soil
- Food scraps (not citrus, dairy, or meat)
That’s it.
No stink.
No flies.
Just quiet decomposition, happening in real time, under my cereal shelf.
🔄 What It Changed
I didn’t expect to feel emotional about garbage.
But the first time I opened the bin and saw black, rich, sweet-smelling compost, I realized:
I had turned rot into life.
Waste into resource.
Guilt into growth.
I didn’t just reduce my trash—I rewired how I thought about value.
🧠 Side Effects (None of Them Bad)
| Old Habit | New Shift |
|---|---|
| Tossed scraps mindlessly | Paused and sorted with care |
| Groceries died in drawer | Now I plan meals and use everything |
| Trash bin overflowed | Now it’s half-empty every week |
| Compost seemed “gross” | Now it’s an act of stewardship |
🌿 Unexpected Wins
- My plants exploded with new growth
- I saved $ on soil amendments
- I started buying food more carefully
- I felt calmer after feeding the worms (seriously)
This was slow joy. Quiet joy. The kind that composts your ego a little, too.
🧪 Try This: The 7-Day “Worm-Free Compost Mindset” Challenge
Even if you’re not ready for red wigglers:
- Save all food scraps for 7 days
- Weigh or eyeball how much you produce
- Notice which foods are consistently wasted
- Find a local compost drop-off—or build a passive bin outdoors
- Reflect: how much life are you throwing away each week?
✅ Awareness first. Then action. Worms come later.
📥 Subscribe to download: My Simple Indoor Compost Starter Guide
Includes:
- $50 worm bin build
- Acceptable scraps cheat sheet
- Plant-boosting compost tea recipe
- Low-odor, low-effort methods for apartments
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