Pile too wet, newspapers?

[Sevie]

I am composting in a 32 gal. plastic garbage bin. The bin is too damp, as a result I have lots of gnats and a tiny bit of an odor. We have had a lot of rain and I didn't realize how much greens I get from the kitchen. I am having trouble getting browns. Sure I toss in clean paper towels, cardboard tubes, lint from the dryer, chopped up leaves (stolen from the neighbors yard but she didn't care LOL) and I've tossed in a few dead branches/twigs from the neighbors trees. It just doesn't seem to be enough. I was thinking about skipping the recycle bin this week and shred my newspapers. I've read on here that you should soak the newspaper in water prior to putting it in the bin, won't that defeat my purpose? The bin isn't heating up anymore and I don't want to give up.

[beezybody]

try shedding newspapers and turning your pile to introduce more air.

There are also other threads in here that can help you.

Don't give up yet. Learn as you go Sevie.

[Sevie]

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.