If you live in a dorm with a kitchen, then you know exactly how much trash you throw down the chute every week. If you have more than one roommate, it may even be that you travel to the trash room every few days.

But have you ever paid attention to what you’re throwing away? Fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, egg shells… all things that can be composted. Who knew?

A quick search on the internet can let you know just how close a composting center is to you, in which case I recommend you take the plunge and learn how to compost. Not only will you feel good about scooping your coffee grounds into the compost pile every day, but you’ll also make Mother Earth feel good, too. It’s time for that environmental studies class to come in handy, my friends.

Ready

Who doesn’t love research? It only takes a few minutes to look into how easy it is to compost and figure out which method works for you. For example, a lot of people recommend keeping food scraps and items that can be composted in a large bowl in the freezer, to prevent the bowl from stinking up your entire dorm. However, if you are able to take your composting out more than once a week, then consider buying/making your own composting bin and setting it next to the trashcan.

I am fortunate enough to live near Union Square, where a composting center is open four days a week from 8am-5pm. Couple that with the fact that there is no freezer room to spare, and my roommates and I figured that a composting bin is the best way to go for us.

Set

When you’ve determined which method works best for your lifestyle, start keeping track of the items you put into the trash and see if it can be composted. Did you know hair can be composted? Ground up egg shells? Shredded cardboard?

Another way to get ready to compost is by paying attention to what you purchase. I watched this inspiring Ted talk (inspiring Ted talk, ha) on how to live a zero-waste lifestyle, and while I’m a few years away from being that extreme, one of the recommended ways to begin is by paying attention to how your food is packaged. Many tea companies, for example, put on the bottom of their boxes what parts of the tea bag can be composted. All you need to do is take the few extra seconds to research brands that allow for easy composting.

Compost

Once you’ve got it all figured out, it’s easy to start composting. In fact, it’ll be fun. When you’re cooking your morning eggs, you can use the dirty bowl to ground up your eggshells before depositing the pieces into your compost bin. My roommates and I are still looking up all the different items that can be composted and love adding new things every day. No longer will we be taking out the trash every damn day. Nope, we're composters now.

It’s an adjustment, for sure, but some things are worth the extra effort. Bonus points if you write about composting in the hopes of inspiring others to join in on the fun. *wink*