How about worm composting? Why is a tumbler more space efficient than a DIY bin? A tumbler is whatever size the manufaturer makes it; with a DIY bin you can go off in a 'free' direction -- Up.

Plus, the issue of smells. I have found it easier to keep problematic ingredients like fruit and veggie waste, and smelly fish parts in the middle of a DIY bin than a tumbler. Which means less odors.

I, too, live in a warm climate and have a small lot. During the cooler months, we use an envirocycle that is close to our front door (maybe 10 feet). We tend not to put new greens in the envirocycle during the warm months, because of the fruit flies that inevitably congregate around the composter. (We have another composter for the summer.) I am worried about your bedroom window. Given your interests, I wonder if an earth machine, maybe on some dirt, if you have it, would be better? Anyone else have ideas?

Here is a link that might be useful: earthmachine

Hi, Robert and Deltabreeze, thanks for the responses.

Robert, I considered worm composting (GREAT for kids!), but I'm afraid we'd kill them off. (Because they won't be able to run away like my cat did!) The patio gets *hot* and *cold*.

I expected anything I made DIY would be prone to odors (unless somewhat large, so I could constantly bury all our veggie and fruit scraps), and I would want it far far from my house . . . maybe at the neighbor's place. :)

Deltabreeze, I've seen EarthMachines in catalogs. They sound really accessible for kids because the compost can be harvested easily and in small amounts, but the reviews are unfortunately mediocre; people report trouble with durability, low temps, and trouble mixing. No way of knowing if they are using these bins as intended, however.

If there's no magic, roach-proof, non-stinky, tumbling composter out there (unrealistic? me? ha!), a drilled-up garbage can *might* be just as easy/hard for us to use . . . hrmm.

If I'm lucky I'll find two shorter cans (easier for us mix and pour), and use a small drill bit to make lots of tiny holes for aeration, vs. several big ones in the commercial bins. I'm afraid a bit of the stinkies but it's worth a go, isn't it?

Thanks for the feedback!

Here is a link that might be useful: Future Gardeners

I'll promote the do-it-yourself bin a bit more.

In my experience, it is easier to control odors in a 'open' mesh bin than in a 'closed' tumbler. The terms 'open' and 'closed' are just one of the adjectives that could be applied to a type of compost system. If I lived in a more windy and dry climate, wrapping my bins with 3 layers of burlap or 1-3 layers of landscape fabric might make it less of an 'open' system.

Two reasons for better odor control:

1) the buffer or 'padding' layer is greater in my mesh bins (4 foot diameter and 18" or 24" high. I keep at least a 6" layer from the core where the smelly ingredients are put.

2) You can turn the core of the bin fairly easily with a compost fork. But you really can't turn the core in the tumbler without rotating it which means that the core and outer layer get mixed up and the chance of odors increase.

P.S. Do-It-Yourself does not mean difficult or time consuming. My mesh bins take 5 minutes to put up. My tumbler took three hours to put together, although the manual gave two hours as a suggested time.

Thanks, Robert.