Yesterday afternoon I emptied the entire content of my bin onto a tarp...the smell was umm...different. It was very damp, and I had a lot of clumping. I spread it out a bit and mashed it up with a hoe and let the sun dry it out a bit while I worked on the bin. I also had 7 coffee cans filled with kitchen scraps that I've had for the last 2 weeks. I layered as follows, cardboard, shredded newspaper, new kitchen waste, cardboard, shredded newspaper, old compost. I also added a few sticks in the hopes of creating more air pockets and topped it off with cardboard and shredded newspaper. By the time I was done I was totally exhausted and the bin was full to the top. I had a heck of a time putting the bin back up on the cement blocks. I took a whif, and I didn't notice any odor, good or bad at all. The sun was shining, it was hot, and I figured this was ideal. Then, out of nowhere, the storm that was supposed to miss us hit us with a ton of bricks drenching everything, even ruining a few of my plants.
I do tumble the bin every few days. After seeing the clumps in the bin I dreamed of one of those expensive tumblers with the blades to help chop this stuff up. But the point of my composting is it is supposed to be cheap, easy, and I shouldn't have to buy anything. I don't have a spot to not use a bin. In the community I live in the yards between mine and the neighbors are very close, only seperated with a fence. If I put a pile in the corner it is right up against a neighbors fence. I don't think they would like that too much.
Anyway, do you think what I did yesterday afternoon with the bin is OK? I am wondering at this point when I should tumble the bin. Should I wait a few days to let the paper and cardboard absorb some of the dampness? It rained again all day today and the forecast is calling for rain for the next 3 days.