Try shredded junk mail and newspapers.

Yes, but I would use them to cover the kitchen scraps & grass clippings, shredded leaves.
I have composted over 800 pounds of coffee at one time.
They stick together, lump up, if you do not turn then.
Go to a bait shop & get red worms to put in the waste.
They love coffee & tea ground, paper, most kitchen scraps, grass clippings & leaves.
Outside Vermicompost can be fun & you get worm poo in your compost.

Thanks lazygardens and jolj.

I would be a bit squeamish about public restroom paper products, but paper towels would certainly work as a brown.

If you work in an office perhaps you can get shredded paper? Although if it is being recycled, that's a better endpoint for high quality office paper. You sure do need to find something so you can compost your kitchen waste again. It is rich stuff!

Also, you can directly bury kitchen scraps in the garden if you have any open ground. This is said to really give plants a boost!

And make sure the coffee filters go in the bucket along with the grounds! My wife started doing this at her office and brings home a couple of gallons a week to put around the roses or in the compost. It works great!

We are a closed office so I am not worried about what else I may find in the paper towels. Plus I was thinking I could run them through my leave shredder to break them up a bit. I talked to housekeeping and if I follow through they would be willing to make sure no feminine products found their way into the garbage, or I could just take them only from the men's room. My thought is that for the most part, when a person grabs a paper towel their hands should be clean already, right?

Another source of paper is at your home as long as no chemicals used on these things:

used facial tissues
paper napkins
toilet paper & paper towel rolls
packaging paperboard from cereal, crackers, mixes, etc.
junk mail & newspaper as listed previously

I was a bit leary about using the tissues & napkins, but haven't noticed a problem the past 2 years with using them in the compost.

Great suggestion to shred up the office paper for browns to mix with the coffee grounds.

I suppose other people's mucus is no worse than cow poop, really, once it's been composted. *Mine*, of course, is as clean as the driven snow. :-p

I have enjoyed and appreciate everyone's comments about this. I think I have a source of browns now if I need it. Now I just need to finish off the new landscaping so I can get my bin in its final location and renew my composting efforts!

With those materials you could also set up a fine worm bin.

I put kitchen scraps in a plastic bag with a zip top or twist tie if I can't get them out to the bin right away, then in the freezer. Add in paper towels and coffee grounds. No smell.

I'm in southern Wisconsin and have been composting consistently for 5 years. Here's a different take on your situation:

I'm assuming you have a garden? If so, consider dumping your coffee grounds, or at least some portion of them, directly into your garden. If you're concerned about putting too much into your garden, just start with a smaller amount to reassure yourself that it'll work ok.

All of my coffee grounds go in the garden or my dry leaf pile (when I have one), except when I need an extra dose of nitrogen in the compost pile.

Coffee grounds are nice in their versatility - they're fine to sit on the surface of the soil, unlike most other compostables.

Best of luck!

PS Since I'm also in Wisconsin and you say you're newer to composting, I feel I should mention up front in case you don't know - you *can* compost through winter. Or, at least continue to add to your pile. It'll freeze at some point but will thaw and get back to business in the spring. :)

Some paper towels are treated to be more resistant to moisture and that can present problems with composting them.

Besides leaves, Shredded junk mail is the primary component of browns in my pile.

In a couple months, you start nabbing OPBL (Other People's Bagges Leaves) for browns.

I want to get a good way to keep control of the OPBLs I accumulate. I don't want them blolwing around all winter. I suppose the big brown bags people have to use in order to be eligible for curbside pick up would work well, provided the dry out in a reasonable amount of time, I suppose a pallet under them would help as well. Stand them in the corner of the fence for a little support. Hey, this could work.

The whole backyard is a work in progress. I have cut-down 3 pine trees and am reclaiming the space for a new garden and want to make sure the soil is good. I have two composted bins at the moment that are going to be tilled into the ground back there, just need to get the stumps out first. Need time to do this around the other tasks deemed more important. Doesn't matter, I am having fun when time allows.