Lived without a garbage disposal in NYC; going without was an LA apartment deal breaker. And I vermicompost.

What's your composting setup in an apartment, bon? And why is it vital here and not in NY?

It used to be illegal in NYC. I have a worm bin in the coat closet!

We have once a week trash pick up and, although I sometimes will put it out if it gets real stinky, you're not supposed to put it out until the night before pick up. So, I love having a way to get rid of bio trash. I like the idea of composting but I don't really understand how I would use it. I don't really have a yard to speak of.

I have a worm bin in the coat closet!

And then what? What are you feeding with your output?

Given how it smelled up on the deck when the ivy was naturally mulching, I don't dare explore composting (and I know it is not supposed to smell. My whackadoodle postage stamp back yard is also not supposed to self-mulch. I know my limits.) I usually don't have more than a grocery bag of non-recyclable trash (same sitch as lisah) not counting litter. I can usually make it a week, but sometimes have to double bag grocery trash and sequester it in the basement in the summer.

I am required by law to recycle and compost. Supposedly I could be fined if I have too much of the wrong stuff in the trash. Also they charge by the size of garbage can.

The current gymnastics standard hair style seems to be dorky ponytail, so a very different hairstyle would probably not have been a good idea either. Also, I suspect that stylists for black hair are pretty rare in Des Moines.

Well, yeah. I thought the half-but (damn you autocorrect--half BUN) thing was sloppy looking, but I thought that about all the gymnasts who had it (several).

I have some herbs and containers trees/plants on the balcony. Don't get me wrong, harvesting is annoyingly messy and I'm not sold on the benefit to my plants. But it's not stinky and it's an easy option for apartments if you like to produce less veg/fruit/paper waste. Certainly eliminates guilt about my Costco produce habit.

I wonder if braids would feel too heavy and cornrows to distracting for someone who was a gymnast.

I have an indoor worm bin and an outdoor compost pile, and I don't garden at all. They just serve as a place to put my food waste, essentially.

What are you feeding with your output?

With a worm bin, after a few months, (or longer, worms will regulate their population and output based on how much you feed them...they can go into a near-stasis if you slow down how much you give them) you can harvest it, and give some worms to a friend, and the castings to someone who does garden. We have a worm bin in our office for our office fruit and veg scraps and coffee filters and tea bags, and we haven't harvested in over a year, and it's not overflowing or anything. And it doesn't smell, and no one knows it's there unless we point it out.

If you have a cold, enclosed outdoor pile, food and yard waste will break down pretty slowly, and animals won't get into it, and you don't necessarily have to worry about using the compost, unless you want to. If you have a hot pile, well, that's a lot of work. I'm too lazy for a hot pile. If I were industrious enough for a hot pile, I'd be industrious enough to garden.