Friday's Organizing Item

I never knew a trash can could make me so happy.  Odd, I know.

When we first moved to our home, I wanted the trash out of sight.  So I had two small, open Umbra trash cans under the sink -- one for trash, one for recycling. 

 The trash is easy to take out in our condo building so I liked the idea of a small trash bag that you take out every other day and nothing has a chance to smell. 

Then came my 30th birthday party and my dad was here helping us get ready for the party (he was a huge help!  And it was so fun!).  He decided we needed a larger trash can (and he was right).  So he bought a larger, gray Umbra trash can with a swing lid. 

And there it sat for almost a year -- at the end of the counter closest to the front door for all to see right when you walked in (I don't understand why kitchen designers don't think more about where the trash can will be placed!  I never see a great place for one -- unless it's built in which is fantastic!).  I'm sure I was the only one that was this hypersensitive to it -- I mean, you do need a trash can. 

So, I looked and looked for an upgrade for the trash can -- if it was going to be the first thing I saw when I walked in everyday it needed to look nice -- but not one that would set me back too much.  There were some cute yellow, metal ones at TJMaxx but those wouldn't really blend in and were too canary yellow.  I had seen the perfect vintage round trash can at Marshalls but it was bent right at the place where you needed to lift the top to get the bag out.  I fought my desire to have that trash can and let it go.

Finally, I found him. 

Let me tell you about him.   He has an air-damper closer (when you release the pedal it closes slowly and quietly all on its own).  He's curved so fits perfectly in the space.  Has a fingerprint-proof lid! (no polishing your trash can!) And he blends in really nicely in the space.  He was $99 at Container Store but after looking and looking I feel like it is entirely worth it.  He is also the perfect height for scraping off cuttings from the cutting board into the can.  While they recommend you use the specially designed bags, a tall kitchen bag will work if you just tuck it in the sides. 

He also comes in stainless steel.

I know it's weird but I really love this trash can!