Best Kitchen Purchase This Year is a Garbage Can

More than likely, the kitchen garbage is one of the last upgrades you're thinking about right now. I only had to go there because ours stopped working. We like the motion sensor automatic garbage cans, and they do tend to fail after some use. We'd also got into the habit of owning two full-sized garbage cans for our kitchen, one for garbage and the other for recycling. Since my wife thinks it's kind of gross (and a waste of valuable cabinet space) to mount the garbage inside our island, it was time to shop for another garbage can. This time, however, I wanted to eliminate the two-can system in favor of a two-in-one garbage/recycling can. After a few months, I feel I can safely say I made the right choice with this stainless steel, two sided garbage can from Amazon.





This garbage can met all of my needs. More than likely, it will be perfect for you, too. Granted, it's the same brand that just broke, but I've been buying automatic garbage cans for several years, and they will break. Luckily, they tend to be fairly cheap to begin with, so just buy another one. I looked at the fancier brands, custom designs, and even using a hamper instead of a real garbage can, but the one linked above kept coming up as the best choice for our kitchen.

Size
Most garbage cans with two separate compartments seemed way too small. I needed one that would fit two regular-sized kitchen bags. The garbage can I found is still on the smaller end for this, at 18 total gallons, so there's some waste in using two 13-gallon bags, but it's not significant enough to be disappointed. If you're one of those people who reuse shopping bags, then get a smaller garbage can with two sides. If you want to use the standard kitchen bag, then this can works fine, and it's the biggest automatic one on the market. And the cheapest, I think.

This garbage can is also perfect for the end of an island at 22" wide. It looks like most of our kitchen islands are 2-3' wide, and our countertops are 25", meaning it will fit on the end of either side of your kitchen island or at the end of a counter. It's kind of a monster garbage can for inside a closet or pantry, and it's not going to like being in a cabinet. But we had two fairly large garbage cans before this one, so we're happy to have one larger one.

Function
I've always bought the Nine Stars brand because they are cheap kitchen garbage cans. I wanted to upgrade to a better name (if that's a thing in kitchen garbage), but this one was the best size. It works like our other Nine Stars cans. Four D batteries make the lid flip up when you're right next to it. The lid comes down too soon about half the time. I tell people that if you make love to the garbage can (stand right next to it), it will stay up longer. But most of us just wave a hand in front and start cleaning the plate off into the garbage, which results in the sensor thinking we've moved on. But my family knows this and has no one but ourselves to blame when the top comes crashing down on us. It also doesn't see you right away at the exact wrong time, like when you're holding a dripping container used for raw meat. Again, that's expected to some degree, since you're in a hurry to get the stupid lid open. In general, even my wife, who is apprehensive of cross-contamination, appreciates the function of this garbage can and our hands-free kitchen faucet. Actually, our faucet is a Delta, but the Amazon one is rated pretty high and looks similar. If you have a germaphobe in the house, the combination is pretty sweet. Or if you want to avoid salmonella. Oh, and it's worked better on fruit flies than most of our other attempts, too--not eradication, but better. The best method for near-eradication is always washing fruit before setting it out, since fruit flies come along for the ride from the grocery store.

My method for saving some kitchen bags is simple: I take the recycling out and dump it into the bin outside, and then I reuse that bag for the garbage. Our old recycling can had a nice plastic liner, so that's a downgrade, but this one has to fit two kitchen bags in an 18 gallon frame, so I can appreciate the use of space. Technically, I can't understand why there isn't a rectangular version of this garbage can that is 20+ gallons, maybe a couple inches taller and a true rectangle. Anyhow, this is the best one out there right now, and I'll probably be buying one or two extra soon for when it the motor dies. Maybe you should consider one yourself.

Thanks for reading. See more of my content:

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Brian Jaeger - Resume (I'm always interested)

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