What to Buy
Let Me Tell You About My Trash Can (It’s the Best)
The investment piece your home really needs.
I’ve done the separate trash and recycling can thing… and to be honest? It sucks. When I bought my first Simplehuman can five years ago, I wasn’t exactly sure about New York City’s recycling laws (for the record, it’s all bottles and cans in one bag, all paper in another) and I didn’t want to commit to a dual-sided trash can if that wouldn’t totally work. Oh, and I also wasn’t making all that much, and couldn't really justify a bigger splurge on something I was literally dumping garbage into.
Five years, three apartments, and one better paying job later, I became a Simplehuman trash can convert, and it was finally time to take the dual-sided plunge. Lucky for me, Simplehuman still manufactures the exact dual-sided step can of my dreams, and lucky for them, I’m a real adult now (kind of). Read on for all the reasons I’m shouting about my garbage can from the rooftops—it’s that good.
Easy-to-Clean Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is sometimes my worst enemy, because quite often, it’s stainFULL. The fridge, dishwasher, and oven in my apartment? Constantly covered in fingerprints and water drips, and it drives me bonkers, so much so that I'm constantly wiping each of them down. Apparently Simplehuman uses an “invisible silver-ion coating,” but I also think this has a lot to do with the sheen of the stainless steel. While my appliances are more matte, this can is super shiny, so A) it gets less finger-printy and dirty to begin with and B) it’s very easily cleaned with a damp cloth.
Compost Bin Attachment
I audibly gasped upon seeing the adorable compost attachment. I was so excited, in fact, that I made a resolution to really start composting this year, and to drop off all our food scraps at the local compost bin (which is only a five minute walk from my apartment). It has a low-profile hook that attaches to the side of the can, and a truly stink-proof lid (I’ve had some rank old bananas in there I couldn’t smell). Plus, the whole thing detaches for easy cleaning and disposing.
Large-Enough Recycling Bin
A gripe I have with “Big Garbage Can” is that so many recycling cans are small. Sure, I take the garbage out every day, but do I want to be carrying a bag of recyclables, too? No, let me answer that, I do not. I am very pleased to report that the recycling side of this can is a perfect size and accommodates about a week’s worth of recyclables for us. Now, that timeframe is highly subjective, of course, but we use a lot of milk, drink a lot of Trader Joe’s green tea lemonade, and get a good amount of cardboard packages, so do with that what you will. Oh, and the insert is blue, indicating: hey, this is the recycling!, and has a handle, making it perfect for carrying to my building’s larger recycling bin sans bag.
Liner Holder
Maybe a little pocket for spare trash bags isn’t something you thought you needed, but trust me, you’ll be glad it’s there. In my house growing up, we kept several garbage bags at the bottom of the can as replacements after emptying the trash, but unsurprisingly, they would get pretty icky. This can has a geniusly-designed pocket on the back wall that dispenses liners, so each time you take the garbage out, you’re reminded to replace the bag and they’re quite literally right at your fingertips.
But a word on the custom Simplehuman liners? Yes, they’re great. They fit the can perfectly and are the perfect size for our apartment’s garbage chute, but are they necessary? No. I’ve been using regular old garbage bags and just cinching the handles as best I can around the can, and this works just fine most of the time.
Strong & Sturdy Design
This might seem like a silly final bit on a garbage can, but the weight of it is just perfect. I've had and used cheaper, plastic garbage cans before, and there's possibly nothing worse than the can flopping around or not opening properly when you have hands full of something particularly nasty. At $200, this trash can is definitely an investment piece, but I can tell you from personal experience, that it will last you at least five years, and make your life easier by not even having to think about your garbage can... it just works.
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Written by: Caroline Mullen
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This is just to say I've ordered the can and thank you for your help.
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