Kitchen scraps are going in milk jugs and then set on top of the compost pile out back. This way they should go through several freeze/thaw cycles before being finally added to the bin. Late December in northern-Illinois and you don't know what you'll get - today was the first real snowfall of the season but tomorrow is supposed to be back to low 40s F. I thought about the reusable grocery bags but gave up on them after a while. I am thinking one would work well if I need to store VC before we thaw out for next season. For the most part the bags are made of non-woven polypropylene. UV from the sun will eat that stuff up before a season is over in the garden. As for a bin it would be a good test. It will have a high surface area to volume ratio though. Expect to water it a lot is what I think. Would a small bag like this make more of a batch process compost cycle than a traditional bin?

The best way is to do your research on the contractor before hand. You should know and be comfortable with a contractors business practices before you ever go to bid. Interviewing a contractor is like interviewing for a new employee. Research , research and more research. You should talk to the owners of the last 4 homes they have built. There should be a level of trust that you have researched by doing your homework.

Snookums, I completely agree. I am seeing over the mountain to "not enough money to finish the job" - great design and no money to pay. So now (subject of a different thread) I have decided to hire the contractor, get the exterior work done, and get the interior work prepped but not order cabinets or countertop yet. I'm going to take some appliances from other floors and buy some new appliances, and cobble together more of an open-shelf kitchen that is usable but simple, as part of this phase. The goal now is to get done with the city-permitted part of the job (deck, stairs, door, and opening up walls, putting in a header etc.), get in a tenant on our ground floor for rental income, and just live in the space for a bit. And apply for a line of credit (we were denied one to add the deck and kitchen because we didn't have even a bare-bones 3rd kitchen in a 3 family, so now we will have a bare-bones 3rd kitchen). The goal is to then finance the cabinets and design part with a loan. I reailze this is a bit of a risky plan but I've been stuck for a few weeks and the longer we wait the longer it will be before we can get a much-needed tenant (we can afford the house with a tenant, really can't without one, and we're in month 3 without one right now; my goal would be to have a tenant in mid-June or starting in July, and not ...whenever). Back to the interior designer - I told her this plan and she still suggested coming out on an hourly or much smaller fixed fee basis to give advice (e.g., location of door off kitchen), and I'm inclined to get her help, but ask that it apply toward a fixed fee if we convert to that. I'd pay her the fixed fee or for her time, and we could go from there.

Update in case anyone is interested. lol. Mom and I went to Kohls today and I found these two Croft & Barrow night gowns originally $30, on sale for 50% off. The blue one is 100% cotton, the aqua is 60%cotton/40% polyester :( but it's pretty. Much better than paying $69, but some day I'll splurge. (where else but The Kitchen Table would I post a pic of my pj's? hee hee)