Comments on: Is everything in your home in its best place?

By: Ethel

Ethel — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:36:58 +0000

Yeah, it’s kids that probably explain why people keep their trash cans somewhere inconvenient. Even if you don’t have them - your mom did, and I think many of us learned habits like hiding the trash from our moms.

We keep ours in the open, but on the other side of a baby gate. I still tend to congregate my trash while prepping a lot, and then put it with the other trash. I’m not interested in paying a lot for a trash can, but I do hate having to open doors to get to the trash.

By: Carol Olmstead

Carol Olmstead — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 20:40:45 +0000

As a Feng Shui consultant, “where should I keep my kitchen trash can” is a question I frequently hear. Sometimes you have no choice but to keep it out in the open, under the sink, or away from your pets. I offer this Feng Shui advice: keep your trash can where it is most convenient for your situation, but keep it as small as you can live with and empty it frequently. That will keep the good energy circulating in your kitchen.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:06:19 +0000

Check ou this site for kitchen and office organization: http://www.simpletins.com Magnetic tins are awesome!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 05:44:42 +0000

Unfortunately, the sheer layout of my kitchen does not allow me the space to have a trash can out and on the floor…unless, I want to leave the work area, and walk around the long counter (35 feet, round trip from the sink/stove area). I keep my trash can under my sink, but I pull it out each time I’m getting ready to cook. I’ve found it’s even easier to scrape the scraps off of a cutting board into my lidless can than it was when I had a kitchen with the fancy, stainless steel (that showed rust very quickly, DO NOT BUY!) trash can with a foot pedal. If the lid doesn’t swing back 180 degrees (think REACH toothbrush flip-top head guy), all it’s doing is impeding your dumping things into it.
As for the smell factor, ours never gets smelly, and I do mean NEVER. My solution is keeping a trash can small enough to necessitate emptying it every 2 days and I shake a little baking soda in every time I put a new bag in.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 11:53:43 +0000

Since we are talking trash…could you tell me what you do with grease/drippings? I currently just pour it into a can, wait for it to cool and toss it in the trash but am curious if any of you have a better idea.

By: LazyLightning

LazyLightning — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:08:39 +0000

Composting is a good idea for home or townhouse owners… but what do you suggest for apartment dwellers who don’t have a yard or outdoor area for composting?

By: Melissa A.

Melissa A. — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:58:21 +0000

Food waste goes in the mini compost bin under the sink. I don’t want that out in the open. I don’t have a good spot for a garbage can that doesn’t involve being in front of a cabinet or appliance, or being on carpet in the hall or the dining area.

By: Jessi

Jessi — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:51:18 +0000

I agree with Wesa!

I compost. I keep a plastic tub to toss compostable scraps in, and a paper bag from the grocery store for non-compostable trash. Both reside on the floor underneath my sink. I have no cabinets, just plywood counters and a couple of shelves. My kitchen was formerly a darkroom and has no amenities to speak of.

I have no pets or kids, and I do not cover either container, just toss in. If I have meat scraps or bones, which is rare, I either put them in a used plastic bag, or I just take it outside to the big trash can right away.

My kitchen is so tiny I rarely have to take more than 3 steps to reach anything. The exception is the fridge, which I have to take 6 steps to reach cause it’s in the garage; it doesn’t fit in the kitchen. But my kitchen is practically in the garage anyway. I call it my ergonomic kitchen!

By: Wesa

Wesa — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:58:28 +0000

When you toss produce (or other biodegradable materials) into a plastic bag and that bag ends up at the landfill, the organic matter in the plastic bag never decomposes because the landfills prohibit the plastic bags from ever decomposing. Please please consider composting or using a yard waste container.

By: Melinda

Melinda — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 04:40:37 +0000

I just don’t have any floor space in my kitchen. My trash can is in the broom closet and will stay there.

By: carol

carol — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 04:11:44 +0000

I do a mix between the “plastic bag on the counter” routine and the “move the trash next to the prep-area” thing. It depends on what I am prepping - to skin root veggies, I get a larger target area to catch shavings if I aim for the trash can. Also, it’s easier to shoot the shavings down into the trash into that little plastic bag.

For the most part, it is easy enough to pull the trash can out three feet from the cabinet instead of leaving it out. We’ve got a galley kitchen and there really is no other place to put the trash that is out of the way.

By: karen

karen — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:24:20 +0000

can anyone tell me if the oval trash cans are any easier to get garbage bags in & out of than the round ones? i spent a ton on a round brushed aluminum step can, and the d@mned bags are a pain to get in without having the top of the bag show around the top of the can. ugh. i finally bought a cheapie plastic step bin–slimline–and i like it much better.

By: Kris

Kris — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:32:30 +0000

This is the one we purchased ... and you get cheap shipping, too. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Touchless-13-gallon-Automatic-Trash-Can/2300162/product.html

By: juice

juice — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:26:40 +0000

We’ve got a small bin from Ikea (Rationell?) that you can buy a hanging rack for, and it lives on the back of the pantry door. Swing the door open during prep, and you’ve got a bin that’s at waist height for dumping stuff into, close the door when you’re finished and it’s out of sight. And the cats can’t get to it either.

By: Jacki Hollywood Brown

Jacki Hollywood Brown — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:17:00 +0000

If you’ve got kids or pets you’ve got to keep the garbage secure. I know a kitchen designer who hides the garbage in a cupboard (mostly under the sink) and you can open the door with your foot and the garbage can slides out. It’s pretty cool and you don’t even need monkey toes to do it.

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 02:02:54 +0000

I second (or third!) using plastic bags. I have a cat, and even when I tried using a sturdy trash can, it’s annoying having him constantly underfoot trying to get into the garbage! I have a bag open in the sink and toss trash in there, and take it out after dinner. It’s also a good habit to get into as there are never any food scraps to attract bugs overnight.

By: Serene and Not Herd

Serene and Not Herd — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 23:43:11 +0000

First, I guess I must have well behaved cats. The garbage has never been a target, though I’m sure if it were, I’d be putting garbage behind a door.

This post and the comments have reminded me how much I hate the swing lid on my current garbage can. It always gets coated in yeuck as we throw things away, and if the garbage is too full, it won’t swing open at all.

Time to buy a new one.

By: Jul

Jul — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:58:17 +0000

We have trash under the sink (it’s a small kitchen - anything else would take up valuable space). While cooking I throw scraps into a convenient container on the counter - the container is lined with a bag (I re-use small plastic bags which veggies come in here). This bag serves a double purpose: (1) it keeps the container clean and (2) I can tie it off before tossing it in the trash, thereby reducing the odors coming from vegetable bits in the trash.

By: Christy

Christy — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:21:29 +0000

One more pet owner here–the cats and dogs actually work together to get at the trash behind the door. Without one of those “baby locks” on the door, the cats will work on the door until they open it and then the dogs knock the can over onto the floor. Everybody wins with a little cooperation!

By: LazyLightning

LazyLightning — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 22:15:15 +0000

Yeah if our trash can isn’t behind the closed door, our 2 cats just pull it right over. Lids don’t stop them. Also, where would a standing, accessible trashcan go in a galley-style kitchen? I fear we’d trip over it.

I do what madmolecule does — a good use for thos flimsy bags.