Tell The Truth Tuesday -- My Compost and Shed Area

You may have noticed in last week's inaugural Tell The Truth Tuesday post, far in the background of one of the photos, there was an abundance of clutter in my compost area. In fact, the area all around my shed near the compost bins is a mess. Over the years this part of the garden has become a catch-all area, where crap tends to congregate. Until recently there were hundreds -- and I do mean hundreds -- of gallon pots here. I managed to sort through them -- kept some and tossed the rest in our recycle bin. I still have quite a few larger pots, which sometimes come in useful. The really big five-gallon pots contain compost ingredients that haven't made it into the bins yet, mainly because what's currently in the bins has aged and needs to be shoveled out and used.

What else is here? Plant supports of various kinds, planks, old pieces of driftwood and branches that I want to save, a dead tree that I plan to paint and use as a vine support...

I'm sure you get the picture.

In fact, here is a picture.

Coffee grounds

Bag of shredded paper

All kinds of stuff has accumulated around the back of the shed -- old sheets of clear plastic and hoops from when I had a hoophouse, old hoses, old pots, old racks, etc., all covered with Douglas fir litter.

And at the other corner in the front, we find the ubiquitous pile of rocks, mini pot ghetto and miscellaneous accoutrements. It's nothing like the so-called "She Shed" that appears everywhere on Pinterest, so meticulously decorated inside and out. Shall I open the doors and show you what's inside my shed?

Forget it. I'm not opening these doors. At least the shed is recently painted.

I also realized recently, after peering inside the compost bin for the first time in months, that the raccoons have been using it as a toilet.

Little piles of raccoon poop

The raccoon toilet problem had a not-too-arduous solution, of course. On one of our recent, very cold mornings, I went out with an empty grocery bag and spade, gloved up, and shoveled all the poop into the bag and tossed it into our trash. Fortunately, since the temperature was below freezing, the poop was still frozen and not too messy or dangerous to handle.

Not a pleasant task, but at least a relatively easy one.

And now, with the lid down, hopefully there isn't enough room for them to get in and do their nasty business.

How tidy is your compost area? Do you have a spot in your garden where stuff accumulates? What do you do with old pots? Do you have some ugliness worse than this to show us all?

Tell us your troubles in a post, if you feel up to confessing your sins, or simply in a comment if you prefer.