Everything above is true, but...
it really need not be that complicated, and I think this put many people off trying to make a compost pile!
we collect some grass clippings when we mow the lawn.. throw them in a pile on the ground and they'll start heating up. Start adding your kitchen veg scraps and weeds from the garden, and throw some more lawn clippings on. Get some "compost starter" from a local nursery or a garden catalog and add it into the mix. More kitchen scraps, more weeds, more lawn clippings. Keep going that way through the summer and fall, let it sit through the winter, turn it over, mix it up, and before you know it... you have fabulous compost. Or just pile up everything that you have and a couple of years later, without any assistance, it will rot and be great compost. Let it rot!
