c/apartment-composting

My compost bin used to smell like a forgotten gym bag after just 2 days, but adding a handful of shredded paper with each layer of scraps has kept it odor-free for a full week now.

Has anyone else found a specific 'brown' material that works better than others for controlling smell in a small space?

Can we talk about how a single frozen orange peel saved my indoor bin from fruit flies last summer?

After my first attempt with a basic countertop bin turned into a fruit fly circus within a week, I started freezing all my citrus scraps in a dedicated ice cream tub before adding them, which completely stopped the eggs from hatching and gave me time to manage the pile.

Showerthought: My 'odor-free' compost bin turned into a science project

I bought this fancy ceramic 'Urban Composter' for $75, thinking it was the magic answer. After two weeks, it started smelling like a swamp and I found a whole ecosystem of fruit flies living inside. Has anyone else had a bin that promised no smell but totally lied? What do you actually use that works?

My worm bin hit 5 pounds of finished compost this month

I started with a basic Urban Worm Bag in my studio last fall, and I just weighed the finished stuff from the bottom tray. Hitting that 5 pound mark felt huge because it means my system is finally balanced and I'm not just generating scraps. I had a real issue with fruit flies back in March, but adding more shredded cardboard fixed it. Anyone else track their output, or is that just me being extra?

My worm bin got way too wet last week and I had to fix it fast

My compost bin hit 90 degrees this morning and I panicked for a second

I thought my bokashi bucket was overheating, but it turns out that's just the microbes working really hard, which is a good sign you're doing it right and won't get any smell.

Warning: People keep forgetting the 'browns' and it's a huge mistake

I've been doing apartment composting for about three years now, and I see the same thing over and over. Folks get excited, get a bin, and just toss in all their food scraps. A month later they're complaining about the smell and giving up. The problem is they aren't adding enough dry 'brown' material like shredded paper or dry leaves. I learned this the hard way in my first tiny studio. My bin got so wet and gross I almost quit. The rule is roughly two parts brown to one part green scraps by volume. Has anyone else found a good source for browns in a city apartment?

I tried the 'just add more browns' tip from a gardening blog

They said to dump a bunch of shredded paper on any smell, but in my Brooklyn studio it just made a damp, moldy brick. I had to break the whole bin apart with a trowel. Anyone have a better fix for a too-wet bin besides paper?

Finally chose between a worm bin and a bokashi bucket for my studio

I went with the bokashi system because you can ferment meat scraps, which I have a lot of... after a month, the pre-compost just smells like pickles. Anyone have tips for burying the fermented stuff in a city without a yard?

Appreciation post: my freezer trick saved my whole setup

I was about to give up because my countertop bin was getting gross and smelly after just two days. Started freezing all my veggie scraps in a big ziplock bag until it's full, then add it to the bokashi bucket. Zero smell now, and it breaks down way faster. Anyone else try something like this with a freezer?

Remember when everyone said you needed a fancy tumbler for apartment composting?

Honestly, I tried a plastic tumbler bin for about six months in my old place in Phoenix. It was a pain to turn, and if I missed a day, it would get this weird, sour smell. I switched to a simple five-gallon bucket with a tight lid and some holes drilled in it for a bokashi system. The difference was crazy. The bokashi bran stops the smell before it even starts, and I can keep the bucket under my kitchen sink. Now I just bury the pickled scraps in my friend's garden plot every few weeks. It's way simpler and there's zero fruit fly drama. Has anyone else made a switch like that and been shocked at how much easier it got?

My balcony worm bin started making a weird hissing sound on Tuesday

I was adding some coffee grounds from my morning pot when I heard this low hiss coming from the corner. I opened the lid and saw the bedding was way too wet, basically soup. I realized I hadn't added any shredded paper for over a week, so there was nothing to soak up the extra liquid. I mixed in a whole newspaper and by Friday the sound was gone and it smelled fine again. Has anyone else had their compost make noises?

Saw a guy at the Portland farmers market trying to sell a 'zero smell' compost bin that was clearly just a regular trash can with holes drilled in it

My balcony compost bin got a surprise inspection from the building manager

Last Thursday, I was just about to add some coffee grounds when she knocked. She said a neighbor reported 'suspicious odors' and needed to check my setup. I use a sealed Bokashi bucket, so there's no smell, but she still made me open it. Honestly, it just smelled like pickles. She left a note saying it was fine, but now I'm paranoid. Has anyone else had their compost questioned by management?

My neighbor in 3B saw my worm bin and said 'you're keeping what in there?'

I explained it was just red wigglers for food scraps, and now she asks me for compost for her window herbs every spring. Anyone else convert a skeptic just by showing them your setup?

My neighbor in 3B convinced me to stop freezing my scraps

We were talking in the hall last week and she said she never freezes her kitchen scraps before adding them to her bin. She just chops them small and buries them under the browns. I've been freezing for two years to stop smells, but her countertop pail doesn't smell at all. She showed me her setup, a simple plastic bin with a tight lid and plenty of shredded paper. It made me realize maybe the freezing step is just extra work for my small apartment. Has anyone else skipped the freezer and had it work out fine?

Appreciation post: my freezer trick for fruit flies

I was getting fruit flies around my countertop bin last month, which was driving me nuts. I started putting all my fruit scraps, like melon rinds and apple cores, into a plastic container in the freezer instead of the bin. After a week, I thaw it and add it to my main compost bucket. It cut the flies down by about 90% because the cold stops them from hatching. Anyone else have a good trick for dealing with fruit flies in a small space?

My neighbor told me his compost bin never smells. I had to see for myself.

He lives in the unit right below me in our Denver building. He showed me his setup, a simple plastic bin with a tight lid. The key was the shredded paper he adds every single time he puts in food scraps. He said it soaks up the wet stuff and keeps the air moving. I tried it for a week and my kitchen smells way better now. What other cheap things do you guys use for brown material in a small space?

My bokashi bin in my Phoenix apartment turned into a science project

Last Tuesday, I opened my bokashi bucket and it smelled like a dead animal, not the pickled smell it should have. I realized I forgot to drain the leachate for over a week because my kid was sick. I poured the whole mess into a big planter on my balcony with some old soil to bury it, and the smell was gone in two days. Has anyone else had to do an emergency burial for a failed batch?

A friend's apartment in Portland taught me to freeze scraps first

I was helping a friend move last month and opened their freezer to pack it. Inside was a full gallon bag of frozen veggie scraps and coffee grounds, not a single smell. They said they started doing it after their countertop bin got fruit flies one hot week. Now I keep a container in my freezer too and only add to the worm bin once a week. Has anyone else switched to freezing their scraps to cut down on bugs?

Showerthought: I was adding way too much water to my bokashi bin

My apartment smelled like sweet, rotten fruit for a month before I realized the scraps should be damp, not swimming. I was basically making pickles in there. How do you guys judge the right moisture level?

My roommate's mom said 'it's just dirt in a bucket' when she saw my setup, which made me realize I was overthinking the whole process.

After that, I stopped fussing with exact ratios and just started layering my kitchen scraps with torn-up junk mail, and the smell vanished completely.

My friend told me my compost bin smelled like a dumpster behind a restaurant (and she was right)

PSA: Heard my neighbor say their compost bin 'just needs air' and it made me check mine

I was taking out my trash yesterday and overheard the guy across the hall telling someone his countertop bin never smells because he 'just gives it air sometimes'. That got me thinking, so I opened my own sealed container after three days. The smell hit me hard, and I saw a bunch of wet, slimy stuff stuck to the sides. I realized I was trapping all the moisture in by keeping it shut tight. Now I'm leaving the lid cracked open a little and mixing in more shredded paper. Has anyone else found a good way to let air in without letting fruit flies get in?

I finally figured out the right brown to green ratio for my kitchen bin

Three weeks ago in my Seattle studio, my compost started smelling like a swamp. I realized I was adding too many fruit peels and not enough dry stuff. So I started keeping a small bag of shredded paper next to the bin and adding a handful every time I put food scraps in. The smell went away in two days. Has anyone else found a good dry material that works for them?