The result? A Three-Bin Rotation System

All three bins are easily accessible from the front. It's an 8'x8' area, minus the back corner, so a 48 square foot area for compost.

The goal is to have two "short-term" compost bins - primarily garden waste - where the waste from one year goes in one while the other bin is used for the current year's compost. The third bin would be a long-term bin for woody-er items

It's not elegant, but it's a sight more orderly than the giant heaping pile that it used to be.