One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to go green in as many ways as possible. It’s a big undertaking that requires some significant changes to my lifestyle, but I’m willing to shake things up. My biggest project is to start a vegetable garden. I have a black thumb; for real, I’ve killed every houseplant I’ve ever had. But I’m determined to start growing at least a little bit of my own food. To help with this, I’ve decided to start composting.

Since I’ve started, I’ve been amazed at how much organic matter I would have thrown away. The heads of strawberries, orange peels, coffee grounds; it all piles up pretty quickly. With just a little effort, all of that will turn into DIRT!

Here are some tips if you’re new to the green thing…

1. Compost stinks! Like literally, it smells really bad really quickly. Get it outside ASAP.

2. You don’t have to buy a $100 compost bin. I use a trash can with a lid and a few holes poked into the bottom. I can secure the lid on, turn it on its side and roll it to stir it up.

3. Methane gas from food in landfills is a HUGE source of pollution (even bigger than gas-guzzling SUV’s), so composting is an easy way for your family to go green!