If you read this blog regularly, you know I love to garden. That's why I started composting; it's a cheap way to replenish soil in my garden. But composting also offers a way to avoid food waste (if it goes bad before you can eat it, you can probably compost it) and recycle things we'd normally toss in the trash (like coffee grounds, vegetable and fruit peelings, and garden clippings). I'll be posting soon about creating cheap and easy compost piles, but right now I want to recommend a little gadget for your kitchen. I used to put my kitchen scraps in an empty coffee can or plastic bag, then transport them to the compost pile every day. That works fine, but it is a little bit of a pain. Then, for my birthday, my hubby bought me a kitchen compost bucket. I love it because:

* it's attractive and can sit on the counter without being an eye sore. * it's large enough I can go several days without emptying it. * it's not so large it takes up valuable counter space. * it has a build in (replaceable) carbon filter, so it never smells. And while many kitchen compost bins are pricey, I found mine at World Market for $29.99. (I've seen this exact bucket elsewhere for $50 and up!) They also have a kitchen composter for only $14.99, but it's ceramic and therefore more breakable. So if you want to make your garden soil better - or you just want to recycle your kitchen scraps - I can't recommend a kitchen composter enough.