How a $6 Amazon Find Can Make Your Trash Can a Million Times Better

updated Jun 25, 2019
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn

If you have one of those plastic tub-like trash cans, you probably love its simplicity. You most likely got it because you want to stash your trash in the cabinet under your sink. And you like being able to easily toss stuff in or to pull the can out and brush scraps directly into the can from the counter. It’s a total no-frills setup, which means there’s not much to complain about.

Unless the bag starts to get full and slips into the can, getting all slimy. Then, if people don’t notice the bag has fallen in, you run the risk of having more trash piled in on top of the bag. Not cool.

Luckily, we have the most simple solution for your most simple can: Command hooks! They’ll keep your garbage bag in place so you don’t have to stick your hand into a pile of broken eggshells and coffee grinds in order to find the drawstring.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn

Using the adhesive strips that came with your Command hooks, affix a hook on the two skinnier sides of your trash can—about ¼ or ⅓ of the way down from the top. Make sure they’re firmly in place (they shouldn’t budge) and, here’s the really important part: make sure they are upside down. If they’re right-side up, this hack won’t work.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn

Next, put your drawstring trash bag in the can like normal. Then, pull the drawstring out a bit so that you can loop it around the hooks you just installed. This way, instead of falling into the can, the bag will stay in place as you fill it up. When it’s time to take the trash out, you just have to un-loop the drawstring and cinch it closed.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn

Command hooks come in a few different sizes, from ones that hold half a pound to heavy-duty ones. The medium hooks, which support up to three pounds each, should suffice for a normal-size garbage can. You can get six of them for less than $6—which means this is really just a $2 hack!

This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: How a $6 Amazon Find Can Make Your Trash Can a Million Times Better