• "BROWNS" - wood chips, dried leaves and grass, sawdust, twigs, branches
• "GREENS" - fresh, moist materials such as grass cuttings, tea bags, coffee grounds, food scraps, small bones, small pieces of meat
• a place for the compost pit, pile or bin
• water
• large sheet of plastic or tarp to cover

What to do:

1. Make it a regular habit to collect all household organic waste (those that rot like food scraps etc.) in your kitchen.  Place a little container so that you can add this to your compost whenever convenient.
2. Get equal amounts of "BROWNS" and "GREENS".  Pile in layers (like lasagna), alternating the browns with the greens.  Don't flatten.  Air should pass through the layers.
3. Dampen with some water (as damp as a wrung out sponge).
4. Cover with a large sheet of plastic or tarp to protect from rain oversoaking it yet keeping moisture in.  This will help it decompose faster.  It will also keep the pile from blowing away and deterring flies.
5. Just keep adding greens and browns to the pile until it has an earthy soil smell.  In 3 to 6 months, you can then use this as fertilizer.

Useful Links:
www.homecompost.com
www.a-horizon.com/compost/how_to_compost.html

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