What I am wondering in a nut shell is this, do you think just paper towels and coffee grounds would make a good compost mix?

If this ends up being a viable option I will start collecting the kitchen scraps again, but will still add a good amount of coffee grounds to the mix so want to make sure my idea is solid. When fall rolls around I am also going to do my best to get my leaves and some of the neighbors stored in good fashion so I don't need to resort to the paper towels, but on the same note, I would be keeping some of them from the landfill.

Thanks!

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!

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'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. :)

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

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.