Yes, that what made it confusing. The thatch depth from my test holes did not seem bad at all, the surprising thing was that the root structure of the lawn was only around .5" - 1.5" deep. The rest is our wonderful Illinois clay.

Hi Mike & Welcome! Congratulations on taking the plunge! I agree w/joepyeweed - 3:1 ratio of average items works well for me too. Here's my experience - I compost in a bin - a self-made 33 gal rubbermaid that's got some drilled holes & bottom cutout & is hidden in a corner (also have a HOA). I happen to like getting "nearly finished" compost sooner (& I don't screen b/c too much of a setup for my small HOA space) rather than later for a few reasons - would rather use my "good wholesome" quality compost in the garden than bagged compost - would rather use my almost $0 cost than pay for bagged compost - enjoy replenishing the earth w/my kitchen scraps than filling a landfill w/it I mention these b/c everyone has their individual reasons for composting - and a lot of times, the reasons inform what one does & why. So, I like to my compost to be done sooner rather than later - so, I do a few things (that others might not do) & I like the results - BUT after you compost for a little while, I believe that you'll find your own groove w/a little experimentation & you'll find out what you enjoy & what "works" for you, so here's my thoughts/experience for you to build on & take w/"a grain of salt": - I cut things small - in a container & given the "rate" of 2 mos or less for my desired "almost-finished" compost, I find the smaller the pieces the better - that means that instead of just chopping off the tops of the celery - I keep chopping up the tops & then put into the countertop crock - it works for me, it may "burden" others - so do what works for you - I use a countertop crock (stainless steel) to put all my kitchen scraps (including used napkins, papertowels w/o cleansers) for one or two days & then take to compost - sometimes I put coffee & UCG in there, sometimes I keep them in their own separate container - b/c I don't have a paper shredder & would rather not spend the time to tear pressed board, cardboard, paper towel inner tubes, scrap paper, envelopes, junk mail, etc into finger-sized pieces, these usually get torn into pieces as small as time & my patience allows, which is, well, not too small - my compost pile really likes beer (which I drink about 2x a year, so if I'm buying beer from a package store, it's probably for the compost) - it heats up & the slugs come - which means that they stay out of my garden - I LOVE to turn my compost - I have a pitch fork which allows me to get down into the top 2/3 of the rubbermaid when full - I enjoy the exercise, the checking out the pile, feeling the "heat," adding the oxygen, the analyzing (I love analyzing things, so of course, I enjoy doing that w/my compost, others feel differently), etc., So, I enjoy turning my pile everyday, which usually doesn't happen if I'm busy w/work or it's raining. With the lid on the container 75% of the time, I believe that the turning adds the much-needed oxygen that it doesn't get b/c it's in a container. - As to the bottom 1/3, it really tends to get compacted in the bottom of the rubbermaid, so I've added some additional air holes down there & I've gotten a "bulb auger" attachment for my drill, which I haven't had a chance to use yet b/c it's been too rainy here. - I usually leave the lid (has no holes in it) on my rubbermaid container, except when I'm home for a little bit on a non-rainy day, then I know that if anyone (say, from HOA) comes snooping, I can deal w/it. Also, it gives me more confidence (although I probably don't need extra precautions b/c there's no "odor") that little guys - or big black bears - from the nearby woods will stay out. - As to greens/browns, I usually go by moisture & smell, and adjust accordingly. I'm usually adding a thin layer of leaves (or torn pressed board, etc.) on top to discourage aromas wafting into the nearby woods anyway. And so, when I empty the countertop crock, I'm usually adding a couple handfulls of browns (yesterday it was from my "stash" of cut up old white cotton socks & paper towel tubes). Again, too much moisture, I usually add more browns. Looking/feeling lame, I usually add more greens & cut back on the "browns." I go by feel. Fastest compost I made in the bin was last October 1 - 22 (ish) - compiled it all at once - from a lot of garden scraps - especially chopped up tomato plants & spent butterfly bush blooms and leaves (whole, not shredded) and shredded paper/pressedboard and kitchen scraps - turned it (almost) every day. Reduced in volume by about 1/3. Came out wonderful - not perfect, but wonderful for me. I don't really like doing it that way all the time b/c without a 2nd compost bin to accumulate stuff, it doesn't allow me to continue composting stuff & it "forces" me to have all the stuff on hand all at once - I just give you this experience w/these factors so you can have some sense of other peoples' experiences & timeframes. Hope this helps, and keep asking questions! Wishing you, All the Best, Tree PS Which type of "bin" did you buy? What does the manufacturer recommend about turning, moisture, etc.? PPS I added a link below to get your brain "brainstorming" about compost ingredients in your house (including browns) that you may not have considered before.

I figure that as long as most of the items I purchase are made somewhere in the USA by some type of US based store, whether it's online or not, that's good enough. I consider "local" to be my tiny town, but there are NO appliance stores within its boundaries. I don't care about supporting the suburb fifteen miles away any more than I care about supporting the economy in California, which is where I purchased my appliances (I live in Michigan). Put another way, I don't see the difference about helping people who live a little bit closer to me than those who live farther away. However, if I could buy a particular item in my hometown for a good price, I would. What I do care about is trying to buy American in America. That's local enough for me, I guess.

As LL did, I'd keep the sink and DW on the top wall (does the window overlook the garage?), with the fridge between the DW and kitchen table area. Can you move the DR door down? That might leave enough space for the cooktop and ovens on the short wall. Then if you can move the bathroom door down, and cut the corner on a diagonal, you could still have a more open kitchen: You would also keep most of the traffic out of the work area. ETA, if you also move the PR as you suggested, you can have a wider work aisle: