Wednesday, September 01, 2010

This post is gross.


When Justin and I started thinking about buying our first home I read somewhere that renting in general was better for the environment than home ownership. What a buzzkill! So, being the contrary type and the earth-loving type, I have been on a mission to be the exception to that generalization.

Our first act of defiance has recently become my favorite. We purchased an Earth Monster brand compost bin with a green subsidy from our town (way to go Salem!) and have been waste-reducing and good-soil-making ever since. Well, truthfully, the bin did get off to a smelly/fly-infested start. We were making lots of rookie mistakes (not stirring the bin & adding too many veggies and not enough dry material) and I had just about decided to quit composting.

Our compost stopped distressing us when I realized that Hodge and Yoshimi's used bunny litter could be just what the bin needed to balance itself! This was a huge revelation. Bunnies are one of the few pets that makes waste which can be composted because they are herbivores and their poop is nutrient rich for plants! The Carefresh recycled paper pulp and hay we use as litter is perfect for composting too! Contrary to what one would expect, adding the litter to the bin has made it smell so much less and I can't tell you how happy we are about that. The compost bin is located outside our bedroom window and you can well imagine what a rank stank like that can do to seduction attempts. This is especially true when you mistakenly suspect your mate is the source of the stink. Oops!

In conclusion, if you have a bunny... compost it's waste and save your marriage!

6 comments:

alex*at*aufdemaur said...

aww hahaha. helpful hints that you wouldn't find just anywhere! :P

Anonymous said...

I'm jealous! Our landlord took away our yard to make our driveway bigger and we've been feeling some back year envy ever since then. We use to play badminton and let our kitty roam around a little and I could hang our laundry up to dry in the sun in the summer. So if you ever need some company while you weed....

Elise of Argyle Whale said...

Yap. I realize this post was a little niche-oriented. :)

Rhea, That stinks about losing your yard. I would love it if you wanted to come over and throw some scrap in the compost and putter in our shabby yard. Currently our "lawn" is a disgrace with knee high weeds. The neighborhood cats love it for stealth.

O'Reilly Ink said...

It's so good to see you blogging again! I was honestly a little worried when I noticed your last post was from November of 09.
Keep it up! :)
(Oh, and yay for animal poop!)

Littleclouds said...

whhhhat how is it that buying is less eco than renting?
When people move place to place they go through a lot of dumping and buying new stuff plus all the redecorating landlords do between tenants !

oh and cute bunny heh heh,bunny to the rescue!

Elise of Argyle Whale said...

I am still not 100% convinced that buying is less eco than renting. But I think it had a lot to do with land size, property size & utilities.

I was definitely more wasteful as a renter!