How do you make a compost heap at home?

In a nutshell, compost is made through the decomposition of organic matter. Once something is completely decomposed, some of the original object will have turned into gas (carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, hydrogen), some into liquid runoff, and there will also be left over a completely stabilized black crumbly substance called humus (pronounced hyo͞o'məs) which is what determines how dark soil is, and is what contains the nutrients which plants feed off of. So compost has always been constantly produced by nature, but when someone makes compost in a compost bin they're trying to control the process of decomposition in order to make the most valuable end product. The way one does this is by balancing the mixture of "green" material with "brown" material so that the Carbon:Nitrogen ratio (how many parts carbon there are to one part nitrogen) stays ideally around 30:1, making sure the compost is always damp, and making sure there's always a supply of oxygen. This ensures that the smallest amount of gas and liquid is produced as possible and that by the end there will be a far higher percentage of the nutrient-rich humus then if you just put a pile of rotting fruit on the ground. It is gold for the garden, an Excellent way to recycle organic matter, and really quite easy. Anything you need to know about compost is readily available at gardening sites, wikipedia, or the library, and if you're interested, then believe me you can do it.