Composting is a breeze when you have the right tools, but in the winter season many people neglect composting their kitchen scraps so as not to deal with the frozen earth.  Since I just moved onto my property in October and winter hit extremely early and hard, I don’t yet have a larger, outdoor open compost pit.

Instead, I bought a composting drum to use over winter for storing my kitchen compost which I will then transfer to a pit style compost pile in the spring.  To make it even easier for me, I moved it onto the back patio for winter since the frozen temps (and choosing the right scraps) will keep any smells at bay.

Rotating compost bin (both ends can be opened)

Today we were lucky enough to get up to 35 degrees for the first time after weeks of sub-freezing temps and single-digit nights, so I was able to get the bin open and add a couple of bags of scraps.  (I keep them naturally frozen in my unheated garage when I can’t get the bin open!)  With the extreme temperatures and the bin being only about 1/2 full, there is still enough heat to keep the ice melted under the bin which means the process is working–even in winter!

My kitchen scraps

Inside my kitchen, I use a kitchen composting crock with biodegradable bag liners (much better than cleaning out chunks!) and charcoal filters.  The crock works wonders while also looking nice on the counter and we have never been able to smell the contents, even when standing directly next to it.

So if you aren’t already, save those scraps!  You can feed much of it to the chickens, hogs or goats, or you can save it for the garden compost pile.