Thanks for all of your thoughts and suggestions on the beginnings of our pantry project on Tuesday. We’re kind of swimming in ideas for what to do, but for starters we knew we wanted to take everything out (even the door off its hinges) to begin the process of priming and painting.
And, thanks to the conversation between Sherry and I that Tuesday’s post sparked, one thing that won’t be going back into the pantry is our trash can. Instead, it’s gonna go into this cabinet right here. This the cabinet on the end of our peninsula, facing in towards the prep area (as opposed to the eating area). Just ignore all of the pantry cast-offs on the counter.
Although we didn’t have any odor issues with our trash can in the pantry after a month or so of use that way (we initially worried about that and mentioned it here), our decision to move the garbage out of the pantry was three-fold.
- We knew that bottom space could be more functional for storing stuff if so much of it weren’t taken up by the trash can (and trash can lid-clearance).
- When we really thought about it, having a kick-step trash can wasn’t nearly as hands-free now that we had to open the pantry door and then get our foot in there to open it – so one of those moves (either pulling something open with our hand, or stepping on the can when it’s out in the open) would be more efficient than both.
- This cabinet wasn’t doing a whole lot except for housing a few vases. Hello missed opportunity. Nice to meet you.
Rather than just jam a trash bin in there, we decided to purchase a product that many of you recommended in the comments on Tuesday – one of these Rev-A-Shelf pull-out containers. They also sell a larger version with two cans, but we didn’t have a cabinet that would easily accommodate that configuration – and we figure one small can will encourage us to empty it more regularly (we have a plan for our recyclables too, but we still need to flesh that out).
The somewhat frustrating thing about this cabinet was that it wasn’t a natural fit for the system, thanks to this barely visible half-shelf (it’s in all of our lower cabinets, and it prevented the can from sitting all the way back). That shelf doesn’t just slide in and out – it’s nailed in on all sides so it’s permanently built-in, as opposed to being removable or adjustable. Urgh.
But that didn’t stop me. I knew I’d just have some wood cutting in my near future. So I followed the instructions, lined up the paper template in my shelf, drilled some pilot holes, and then screwed the two tracks into the floor of the cabinet.
Then I snapped the other pieces into place, which took very little time. The entire conversion would’ve taken no more than ten minutes if I didn’t have my little half-shelf issue to deal with. But at least having the track in place meant that I could mark the shelf with where I needed to cut (note the green tape).
I only need to notch out a 3″ deep by 8″ space for the can to slide into, so I broke out my Dremel Sawmax (here’s the one we have) to do my dirty work because it’s fairly small and good at plunge cuts (i.e. I can plunge the blade into the wood at any point). It was a fast cut to make, but sure was messy. It spewed sawdust everywhere, as you can sorta tell from my awesome iPhone pic. You’ll have to forgive me. I was actively being sprayed with sawdust.
With everything cleaned up, the can slid back into place, and even the vases put back – I could’ve called this project done… but I wasn’t satisfied.
Next to the pull-out cabinet converter, I saw that Rev-A-Shelf also sold a Door Mounting Kit, which intrigued me because it meant that I could further make our old cabinet function like a newer one.
The installation of this was less straightforward – partly because the instructions were a bit vague. But the gist was that you had to install these two bracket “fins” to the sliding portion of the trash can tray.
This was easier said than done considering the nuts and screws were tiny and hard to hold in place. Made me wish I had tiny Kristen Wiig hands.
Once those were attached, you bolted on some larger brackets – which is where you’d eventually attach the cabinet door.
When I put everything back in place (except for the cabinet door, which I had removed) I immediately realized I had a problem. Although I followed the instructions, they didn’t account for old doors like mine, which sit half-recessed into the cabinet frame (they literally are half-sunk, so there’s a lip that rests on the frame and an inset area that slides into the opening for a tight seal). You can see from the picture below how the brackets were overhanging our frame, meaning this cabinet door wouldn’t sit flush like the rest of them.
So I improvised. I took the brackets off and switched them around so that they faced inward instead of out. Problem solved. Oh, and here’s the genius part. This whole time I was worried about attaching the cabinet door back in the right place. How would I keep it straight and lined up with the other door? With the double-stick tape they included, that’s how.
The tape wasn’t a permanent solution, but it allows you to hold your door up, get it right where it looks good and then press it against the tape.
Then you can gently pull the whole thing out – door still stuck in place – and screw it together more permanently from the back (just be sure you’re only putting screws into the thick frame of the cabinet, otherwise you might see some poking out the other side).
With the cabinet door secured to the brackets, things went back into place once more (can you tell there was lots of putting together and taking apart in this process?). But the end result was not too shabby, if I do say so myself.
Although I’m a little sad to give up the size of our old garbage can, I’m really impressed with how easy it was to install this new system. And how in some weird way it makes these old cabinets of ours feel a little newer. The nice thing about this is that we can reuse the system in our new kitchen, or even keep it in place in these old cabinets when we reuse them in the garage to make a little workshop down the line (won’t I be the fanciest man in town with a pull-out garage trash can?).
The only thing left to do is touch-up the screw holes where the hinges used to go on the right side. Although I’m secretly dreaming about a way to reinstall them as sort of “dummy hinges” so that both doors look symmetrical. But that’s a project for another day…
We picked up some other baskets, bins, and pantry organization gizmos on the same trip that yielded this trash can contraption, so once all of our priming and painting is done we’re excited to get stuff back in the pantry – hopefully in a much more organized manner. And considering all the snow that we’re getting, I think we’ll have plenty of time to futz around in there over the next few days. Then the pantry party is officially on.
P.S. Wanna see more home improvement updates? Here are a whole bunch to peruse.
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we have this set up in our house and LOVE it. though guests never know where to find the trash can. ha!
Someone else joked about that too! I’ll have to get used to saying “just pull out that door on the end” :)
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Yay! I had one of these nifty contraptions in our new house when we moved in. It’s a double, so there was a second bin behind the first when you pulled it out. I spray painted the 2nd bin blue and use it for recycling. I still love how well the whole thing functions and how fancy I feel. I’ve never had such a “newfangled” kitchen. :)
I’m in the process of building a house and they just took my cabinets doors off to paint/stain them and I just emailed to ask if the trash can cabinet has a door on hinges or if it’s attached to the trash can pull out system! Thanks for the idea!
So glad!
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I don’t know if mine was the only suggestion for this (or a variation) of this guy but I am so glad you did it!!! My larger one holds two large cans and its awesome. People at parties are confused but they figure it out fast. and just get Clara emptying the trash as part of her chores…it will be great!
Love that!
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I’m all about clear canisters & labels for pantries. Being able to open a door & see with a quick glance how much stuff you have has saved me do many frustrating “argh, I have to run back to the store” trips.
I can’t wait to see where your pantry ends up!
http://www.bakecreatelove.com/search/label/organizing?m=0
I have one of these installed in my kitchen, but didn’t know it had a kit to attach it to the door. I got all excited and ran to my kitchen to see if it looked like a kit could be added on…..then noticed my cupboard knob is on the left – not centred.
Yours is as well. Does it open easily when you’re pulling one knob located on the left side of the cupboard door?
Oh yeah, the whole sliding system is really smooth, so you barely pull and it comes flying out. Works really well!
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You will love this! Our Rev a Shelf is wood based with the recycling bin, and we also mounted the door on the front of the rollout. The extra weight made the original door pull feel a little wonky when we pulled the door open (like we were pushing/pulling the door to one side). To make the shelf pull straight out, we mounted a separate (matching) door handle, on the top of the door front. (I hope this is making sense.) We also use the sideways pull at the top for a much needed towel hanger. I kept the original door knob on for looks and symmetry. It looks great, adds a place for my towel and allows for a straight forward pulling motion that doesn’t stress the rollout rails. We love it. Fun to see how you tackle the same project!
So smart!
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My parents installed the two-can version ages ago, and I insisted that we have it, too. My fiance actually had to move the water pipes under the sink to make it fit, but he did, and it’s AMAZING. Seriously, we love it…didn’t know about the door mounting bit, though, so we may have to go back and add that…after we get our house’s first dishwasher tomorrow!
It’s amazing that he moved those water pipes to accommodate it! Your parents must LOVE HIM! Haha!
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Nice switcheroo. What did you do with the old can? I have been told by Michael that telling/singing to him how cute he is in my best Kristen Wiig tiny hands impression is not cute or sexy at all. Love. I’m doing it all wrong! :)
My best, Lynn
Haha! The old can is sitting in the garage. I think I’ll craigslist it for $10 or something ;)
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I’ve repurposed a couple trash cans before (after thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting them). A tall skinny one I moved into the closet in our office, and it now holds tubes of wrapping paper (without the lid).
Another one I moved into our laundry room for all of the dryersheets/lint garbage that we have to throw away. I don’t know why, but I always had tiny garbage cans in my laundry room, the taller one is so much more convenient!
Also: We’ve used small, blue trash cans throughout our home as recycle bins. It really helps us remember to recycle more when there is a bin nearby. We have one in our master bedroom, one in the office, and one in our kitchen. It has significantly reduced the amount of garbage we produce.
Love that!
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It looks like a simple human trash can, we used ours with our extra large wet bag for diapers. Great if you can make it work somewhere for that! (it holds stink really well!)
Smart idea!
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YAY! So glad the trashcan came out the pantry – that was a definite EWWW factor! Anyway, we have a similar trashcan made by Simple Human. We’ve had it for 6 years now and still going strong and funny thing is out of everything we have it’s the most discussed item in our home when we have visitors. Everyone loves it!
Much better … more convenient. :)
I have the trash kit – having a smaller can does take some getting used to, but it’s not too bad. We have an excellent recycling program where I live. We have large yellow bins that we leave out with our trash and they collect it. We keep the bin just outside the door of the kitchen in the garage and take out any recyclables every time we take the dog outside.
I bet you already love it! We have the same in our island (though no drawer above) and have two bins one for garbage one for recycling on the same slider. Love it.
Lol. whenever i’m in someone else’s kitchen and am looking for their hidden trash can, i look for the cabinet with a knob in the middle. yours is hiding like a ninja!
Haha! Sneaky ninja trash can…
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We had the kind of trash can sliding thing that slides but isn’t attached to the door. I liked the idea in theory, but man, did it get gross on those rails. Hard to clean around. (My kids aren’t aces at throwing things IN the trash can.) So when we painted the cabinets, I took those off and am much happier. Good luck! ;)
Thanks for the tip Chris! Will keep an eye on them!
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Yay! You will not regret this move. We have the double can system so we can sort the recycling in the same place as the trash and it is the best. You could add recycling to the cabinet next to it to maintain symmetry. I’m sure I’m not the first to suggest that idea!
Thanks Skooks!
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At the risk of sounding like a commercial I have to say I LOVE our Rev-A-Shelf pull out “drawers”. We are military and move a bunch, and I appreciate how they only require 4 screws and are easy to transfer from place to place. Of course not every drawer works in every home, but they make a big difference when they do!
I love that! We heard so many people saying such good things about Rev-A-Shelf stuff.
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Great solution! While you are in shelf-building mode in the pantry, why not pull out the compactor and have John add some open shelves in its spot like he did in your bathroom? You could store large platters or small kitchen appliances on them!
Or maybe since there is electric for the compactor you could move your microwave under the counter, if the space is wide enough so you wouldn’t have to open the pantry door to access it.
That would be cool! The microwave is a lot wider though so it wouldn’t work, but I’d love to make that functional for other purposes!
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We’ve definitely talked about doing something in the place of that broken compactor! Would love to tackle that sometime- although getting stuff off the counter and back into the pantry is priority #1, haha!
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This post is perfect timing for me! We have an old trash compactor in our kitchen too. Right now we just leave our trash can in the compactor. But, I’ve got plans to remove the compactor, build up the floor so that there is a toe-kick like the other cabinets and install the pull out container inside. I’ve been pricing door replacements online to attach it to. I’m adding this page to my favorites so that I have better instructions on how to install it!
Love that idea!
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Ooh, I *love* this! It makes me want to do the same since I literally have my plastic grocery bags hanging from a hook in our pantry as a makeshift garbage.
My initial idea of what you could do on the other side is maybe a pull out with a container for dog food for Burger?
We keep our recycling bin and our dog food (small dog, but we still buy bulk food for her) in a similar cabinet with one container behind each door (though I am not as skilled as you all and smashed the nailed in shelf out with a hammer since I had no saw – eek!) and now I’m thinking I should put these in for that system we’ve got going.
Now to find such a contraption in Canada!
That’s a fun idea too! Thanks for all the suggestions guys!
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When we re-did our kitchen, the pull out trash/recycling drawer was my #1 requirement. I love it. I love not seeing an ugly trashcan and having it take up floor space. That kit you guys used is such a great idea for retrofitting existing cabinetry!
Your post yesterday got me all inspired and I spent my lunch break looking up organization ideas for small pantries. We’re moving in five weeks and our new apartment has an awesome little room off the kitchen that has the washer/dryer, hot water heater, and pantry shelves. I printed out a photo of the shelves and wrote little notes all over it about where I could store different items. I’m very good at planning to be organized…though the execution doesn’t always happen.
We’ve also been looking into buying a pull out bracket kit for our garbage in the new place but it seems like they’re a little more expensive here in Canada. I was looking at Canadian Tire and Home Depot and didn’t see anything for less than $40.
I love that you spent lunchtime planning your pantry! A girl after my own heart!
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Glad to see that you moved the trash can out of the pantry as it wasted so much space. You also probably don’t want to store your food so close to your trash anyway. I am anxious to see how you will organize the pantry now. I am so surprised that you didn’t decide to build your own sliding shelves complete with a detailed tutorial. Your love of building and Sherry’s love of organizing makes this solution seem like a perfect YHL project.
We’re definitely retrofitting the shelves in there and adding a few more. We’re actually sketching out different layouts right now :)
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We bought a new house this summer and I’d be lying if I said the pull out trash can wasn’t one of the deciding factors.
Haha!
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We have the Rev-a-Shelf pull out can under our kitjchen sink and I really like it. We got the single but it wouldn’t work under our sink because a pipe was in the way. So we bought the double one because the cans sat back to back, but it still hit the pipe. My husband modified it by cutting and sodering some of the metal and turned it into a single can, and it works great.
Really smart solution!
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We have this exact setup and we love it!
It actually brings me joy to open a cabinet door and have the garbage can so easily accessible!
We’re painting and updating our kitchen right now – similar age as yours. Glad to see that these systems can work well in cabinets with that divider running down the front. I’m headed to Lowes/Home depot to check it out before the cabinet doors get put back on. As soon as the roads are clear from last night’s snow.
Speaking of trash bins, does anyone have a suggestion of a container that will hold a paper grocery bag well, for recycling? Lid is ideal, but not required. It’s surprisingly difficult to find a rectangular one that fits properly.
We used to put all our recycling in a paper grocery bag tucked in a corner, but that’s not working now that we have a puppy. Plus it’s kind of ugly. Under the sink isn’t an option for us, and we don’t have extra cabinet space.
Anyone have tips for Emily? I would check out the whole Rev-A-Shelf system since they seemed to have a bunch of options.
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You guys are so handy! I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time now, but it would be in the cabinet under the sink and the pipes/plumbing won’t leave enough room for it.
Also, the door mounting kit link didn’t take me to Lowes (but to HomewareHQ.com) and I can’t seem to find it at the lowes website… I guess it wasn’t meant to be, and I’ll just daydream about being like you two.
Anyway, it’s a pleasure to visit your blog,
xo
Aw thanks Marta! I think John couldn’t find a link to it on Lowe’s so he linked it there so people could see the box, but if you go to Lowe’s in person they sell it right next to the trash can system :)
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Speaking of Hinges, I have the exact same cabinets which the previous owners painted white ( love them for it, saved me so much time ;)
But I hate the exposed hinges, I would love to get concealed hinges. Wondering why you guys didn’t go that route? Is it not possible for this kinda cabinets ( with frames?)
Can anyone advice me on which kind of hinges to get, I really want to get rid of exposed hinges.
Yes, with half-sunk cabinets like these it’s really hard, if not impossible (we did a lot of research in our last house and came up dry) to use invisible hinges since the doors are sort of stepped down around the edge (and to make invisible hinges work you route out the back of the door, but the edge of ours was too thin because of that step if that makes sense).
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One fun thing we did in our kitchen to help visitors find the cabinet containing our trash can (we have like a crazy # of cabinets)…we grabbed an Anthro-inspired knob at Hobby Lobby. Now, all we have to say when people ask is “it’s the fun red knob!”
Such a fun idea!
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This is a great idea! My husband installed the same thing in our kitchen, and we love it! He took it a step further by removing the drawer above the cabinet, making the trash can accessible (but not visible) to drop things in when our hands are full. Of course our set-up is on an island facing the sink and is not visible when you walk into the kitchen.
I love your blog!
Sounds awesome!
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Smart problem solvig with the brackets, we have the rev a shelf system too, although I didnt install it myself. Its very convenient!
Have you thought about removing the old trash compactor and using that space for your recycling?
Yes, we’d love to slide that out and use it for something else (anything is more functional than a broken trash compactor!).
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I cry laugh every time I watch that Kristin Wiig tiny hands sketch. If I can figure out how to make my forehead look that large, I am totally going as Doonise for Halloween this year.
We just finished remodeling our kitchen and my favorite feature out of all of it (other than the touch faucet) has got to be my new trash cabinet. It’s between the sink and stove for us, really more by accident than thoughtful planning and yet the placement couldn’t be any more perfect!
Perfect! Such great projects to share, and so helpful to be able to see how the rolling trashcan hardware actually works out. We’re going to be upgrading my mom’s old kitchen very soon, so it helps a lot to see the things we’re considering in action. FYI… we just left a house in which every single *#@!! cabinet had those half-shelves in the back. I think they’re one of those not-so-great ideas that came out of the eighties. Such a nuisance! And you figured out a good way to get around that one situation, for sure.
So funny! We had never seen half shelves like this before!
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We got a very similar product from Ikea. Cost wise, i cant remember how much it was. 10 for the actual can– but i do not remember the cost of the pieces to install. BUT WE LOVE IT. we use it for our recycling and after redoing out entire kitchen– my husband still says that is his favorite upgrade. which is kinda sad. haha
Haha, I love that!
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I have one of these also. After 8 years, I finally realized I could buy a lid for it. It helps with odors (and keeps our beagle out). I got the lid on amazon for under $10. I love it!
Sounds like an awesome option!
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We have that same pull out. I love it! We also put this bag holder from ikea behind it because there was wasted space back there:) http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80010222/
Love that! Thanks for the link!
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We have this same system, with the knob in the same place, it works perfectly fine. Also, we don’t have oder issues. I don’t ever put stinky stuff in there, that goes out to the dumpster asap. I like having to change the garbage frequently because built up garbage is just gross. Also, the trash can placement is perfect I would think because it’s probably where you do a lot of kitchen prep, and bam, the garbage is right there for dumping your ends of vegetables, etc.
Will you be putting the door back on the pantry? It might look kind of cute without the door, and less crammed in that corner with the other door. Just a thought…
Yeah, I think once we cram a whole bunch of stuff in there (especially with all the colorful mismatched food packaging) we’ll like having a door to tuck it all away. We also plan to use the back of the door for more storage :)
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My dad created one like that too from scratch and I loved it! I love that the garbage is hidden, yet still easy to get to! I think you’ll like it too!
So cool that he made one from scratch!
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Why do you keep vases in the kitchen cabinet? It just seems like you have so many places full of tchotchkes and decor accessories in this house (kitchen desk, dining room table, storage room). Do you plan on paring down come garage sale season?
I think since I fill vases with water and put flowers in them in the kitchen (that’s where I cut the flowers – in the sink) that in my head it made sense to keep the vases in the kitchen instead of with other decor accessories. It’s not a big deal to carry them into the kitchen if I relocate them tough, so the real answer is I just plopped them there eight months ago when we moved and didn’t really think twice. Haha!
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My vases are also stored in the kitchen in the cabinet above the frig like yours. It makes total sense to me since that’s where they usually go anyway to add water and trim the flower stems.
So funny!
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I have this exact set up and absolutely ADORE it!
Awesome! Could you spare the other side for another bin? For recycling? It would double your garbage space.
Yeah, we’re debating between putting it there or in the pantry (since it wouldn’t need as much space or lid clearance). We’ll definitely keep you posted!
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Just a suggestion when you get to the recycling part, we had 2 huge 6″ tall pull out drawers under our oven, never used them for anything significant, we had a cabinet make make a new deeper drawer that pulls out all the way and got 2 square white bins from Ikea that fit perfectly and us that for recycling…It’s wonderful no black bag sitting on the floor…so If you have any low drawers that you really don’t use…thanks for all of the great ideas and photos..JB
Sounds awesome! Thanks for the tip JB!
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This looks like a really great system!
If it were me though I would have removed the old trash compactor next to that cabinet and put the trash can under there. (That is if the trash compactor can be removed easily from under the countertop)
Yeah it’s kind of complicated to remove that (there seems to be strange flooring that runs under it, it doesn’t just slide out, etc) but we’d love to tackle that sometime so we can use the space for something better!
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Looks great! If you want to get really fancy, Haefele makes a foot pedal to open the door. That way, if you have raw eggs or something else nasty on your hands, you’re not getting it on the cabinet knob.
No way! Never knew they made that!
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My husband and I have a small trash can under the sink and we love it. Sure, we have to empty it more often than a large can, but that’s hardly an inconvenience. Plus with a higher trash turnover, the stuff that gets thrown away never has a chance to sit too long and start to stink up the place, and we’re never lugging a super heavy bag that might split open and spill all over us. I think (hope) that you guys have the same experience. I’ve never ever missed having a large trash can. It’s really not as bad as one might think.
This is just what I needed to see today after cleaning up garbage yesterday afternoon in our mudroom. My evil-genius, 85-lb. dog knocked over the dog-proof can to get at the scraps from breakfast. I am willing to sacrifice cabinet space (which is a hot commodity in our small kitchen) to make this a permanent solution, unless someone has any other suggestions for keeping my dog out of the trash.
Aw man, that stinks, but it sounds like this could work! Anyone else have tips for Kate regarding dogs & trash?
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No real solution here, but a fun anecdote – friends of mine had this problem with their clever adopted stray. She would ignore the trash completely when they were home, but every day they returned home from work to find garbage all over the house. She was otherwise very well-behaved and they wanted to avoid leaving her in a crate all day, so they borrowed a video baby monitor from a friend, pretended to leave the house for work, stood in the driveway and watched… storming back inside in time to catch the dog in the act and give her a good scolding. She apparently became convinced they were clairvoyant and never tried it again.
No way! That’s pretty smart to catch her in the act…
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We had that issue with our last dog. My hubby found a trash can at Bed, Bath & Beyond that latches. The first day you can tell she tried because the plastic bag that hung over the edge was torn from her teeth, but she couldn’t get in. That was the last time I saw teeth marks. Total game changer.