I find these hard to remember so I think "Woody Brown" like it were some one's name, or "Car Brown" for carbon - I once had a brown car, and "Nitrogreen" to remind me that primarily nitrogenous, i.e. nitrogen-rich plant material is "green" and primarily carboniferous, i.e. carbon-rich material is "brown". You'll hear organic gardeners and composters talking about green and brown - and if some one needs more brown, you might be able to offer up some cardboard boxes you've been saving to help them out.
"All living organisms need relatively large amounts of the element carbon (C) and smaller amounts of nitrogen (N). The balance of these elements in a material is called the carbon-nitrogen ratio (C:N). This ratio is an important factor determining how easily bacteria are able to decompose an organic material. The microorganisms in compost use carbon for energy and protein to build and repair our bodies. The optimal proportion of these two elements used by the bacteria averages about 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen. Given a steady diet at this 30:1 ratio, they can decompose organic material very quickly.... "
"It helps to think of materials high in nitrogen as 'greens,' and woody, carbon-rich materials as 'browns.'" PDF from UC Davis Cooperative Extension ~ Composting 101 ~ Carbon and Nitrogen
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