There are lots of products out there for collecting compost. But whether they are pricey, difficult to clean, or inconvenient to tote outside to your compost pile - you'll usually find some sort of flaw and you may even stop using it. That's what happened to us; we ditched our cute little compost collector and opted instead to use tupperware containers. That is, until I devised a super simple solution that would free up our precious food storage. It's fairly cute, plus easy to keep clean and deliver to its destination - whether that's the compost pile or the chicken coop for feeding scraps. It's certainly reusable, up to point, and then you can easily make a new one by upcycling the next available coffee can.

Step 1: Remove Old Label

Just peel the outer label from the coffee container. If you're lucky, you might be left with more of the shiny coating than I had. Either way, it's fine.

Step 2: Cover Outside With Strips of Duct Tape

Carefully wrap the duct tape around the exterior of the coffee can as shown. Overlap each strip just slightly for full coverage. If you use the size shown here, you should only need 3 strips of duct type.

Step 3: Cut the Inner Circle of the Lid

Using scissors or exacto knife, cut out the inner circle from the original plastic lid to the coffee can.

Step 4: Create and Secure Filter

Using a strip of light to medium landscape fabric (or cheesecloth - whichever you have handy), cut a circular piece to size. The easiest way I found is to secure the fabric in place underneath the lid, then cut all around the circumference of the can. Next, remove everything and hot glue the fabric to the underside of the lid to keep it in place. This serves as a "filter" to keep the worst of the smells trapped in and the buzzing flies locked out.

Step 5: Decorate and Use!

This is where you can let your creativity fly. I kept it simple and used a sharpie for the text and some decorative lines, which are supposed to distract your eyes away from the unsightly tape seams. Spray paint, stamp, or otherwise jazz up your can but remember that you'll probably be rinsing out the inside a lot and don't want anything that can't tolerate a splash of water.