I agree, Judy... my compost pile is constructed very randomly, and yet, it turns into black gold...
I will say that a few years back i got some "compost activator' stuff from Gardens Alive and used a couple of cupfuls of that in my compost pile, then used it again for the next couple of years, and the compost that i get now is a lot nicer than what I used to have. But I'm not sure it was actually the activator, might be that I changed what I was adding to the pile (more "other stuff" in proportion to the grass clippings or something), or how much water the pile was getting, or ?? All I really know is that you don't have to construct a compost pile in any sort of scientific method to get good finished compost... just do it!
