5 Signs You May be a Compost Addict

I realized it this morning--it hit me like a ton of bricks. For the first time, I took leaves from someone else's curbside, knowing how valuable they are for brown ingredients in my compost pile. I crossed the line, I took some leaves. I am truly a compost addict. Are you a compost addict, too? If you fit one or more of these criteria, I'm betting you are.

1. You drive or walk past a neighbor's house and see unwanted bags of leaves...and then can't think of anything else all day until you can return to ask for them.

Leaves on a neighbor's curb from a little spring yard cleaning: VERY exciting!

2. You cringe when you see people throw any kind of green scrap ..or coffee grinds ..or eggshells into the trash can.

Don't panic, the photo is staged. No veggie scraps were wasted. :)

3. You realize that you have not one.. not two.. but FIVE books about compost checked out from the library. And you curl up with them under a blanket the way you used to curl up with spicy fiction. Pre-compost addiction, you never would have realized that !entire books! could be dedicated to making it.

Sigh...sweet compost books from the library...

4. You become better acquainted with your paper shredder. Junk mail suddenly serves a new purpose and is shredded for the pile (again, for some much needed brown ingredients!) instead of being tossed in the recycle bin.

That shredded paper will also come in handy
for the worm farm you always wanted and plan to get.

5. You save up garbage until you have a space for it. This fall my compost tumbler was full and I didn't have a new bin built yet, so the garbage piled up in containers under the sink...and on the front porch. I just couldn't bring myself to throw it anywhere but in a compost pile! In late November, I finally slapped together a place to put it.

Don't worry, I get it. I understand your addiction to compost, because I'm living it. The idea of getting free, nutrient dense soil from mere garbage is something I'm hooked on, and I'll never stop doing it! No intervention required, and in fact, this is one addiction that I recommend feeding as much as possible. Your garden will be the happiest it's ever been!