Vitamin Box to Waste Basket

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This is the story of how a vitamin box became a waste basket. When it is time to gather the trash to take to the collection center, we swoop around the house emptying waste baskets. I line two with supermarket bags, one in the bedroom and one in the master bathroom. The photo, with Sadie as background, shows one basket properly lined.

Sadie asks, “Why are you taking a photo of me behind a wastebasket?”

Son John $pencer was the one swooping that day, and it was hours later that I thought of getting replacement bags. John ties up used bags for recycling in the laundry room, so I struggled to retrieve two and put them on the kitchen counter. More hours later, I opened a box with vitamins and threw it in the bathroom basket without thinking. This made more sound than usual, alerting me to the unlined basket. Out came the box, and I tucked in a smaller box from a toothpaste sample. By bedtime the vitamin box had two more additions, a tissue and a flossing pick. It wouldn’t take long for this new little litter basket to overflow.

Valiant vitamin box aka Little Waste Basket

The next morning I looked for the bags I had put on the counter, but they were gone. I tugged two more from the tied bag, then saw the original two wadded up. John, bless his heart, must have tidied up the counter. I can see that a 24-hour time limit for replacing liners was a bit too long. Does anyone have a tip about reminding yourself to do something on opposite ends of the house when it isn’t related to what you are doing at the moment? In other words, I NEED HELP!

Published by Anne Mehrling

I'm a retiree who loves to write about life in the mountains of North Carolina.

Published

49 thoughts on “Vitamin Box to Waste Basket”

  2. This is my routine every Sunday night for the Monday morning pick-up! I just carry the number of store bags aka trash can liners with me, and whip out one and tie it and replace with the new one. If I am running “Late” on collection, Randy will pop in and toss me a bag while collecting the bathroom trash. 🙂

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  3. Bill takes care of all trash duties, thank heavens! I would definitely “forget” to replace bags. I just stuff them fuller and fuller. Yes, THAT’S the kind of person I am! 🙂

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  6. We actually wad up a few plastic bags under the plastic bag we actually use as a liner. That way if we forget to have a replacement in hand, there is a spare waiting. This is starting to get trickier now that grocery stores and WalMart no longer provide plastic bags.

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      1. You kinda get in a habit of bringing one, and replace the spares if you have to. I have great faith in you. I bet you could learn to avoid the problem.

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  7. At the office, they stick 2-4 bags on the bottom of the bin then set an open one on top – like Chrissie said. I’ve started doing that at home.
    (It is annoying to be running out of plastic bags to reuse now that we don’t get them from stores….boxes just don’t work very well as a substitute…the cat keeps jumping in it.)

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  8. My house is not expansive … if I crane my neck, I can see the front and the back of the house at one time. I always put in two at a time so that when I am getting the garbage ready to go out on Monday morning, I don’t have to fool with as I run out the door to go on my walk. That usually works. I used the store bags sometimes too but not shopping as often, I don’t have the collection I usually do. I always go to the U-scan and pack my own groceries – I use triple bags so I get more bags to use at home. If the cashier packs, you get one bag and it often rips, then no bag and gritting my teeth.

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  10. Sometimes I save those small plastic bag big enough to line our waste cans, once you throw them, it’s tidy in the trash bag. Nowadays though, I also disinfect our waste cans after throwing the trash.

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  11. Oh, I am fussy about bin liners. I always want them there as if the order of the world depended on it. Haha. I just make sure I replace it the moment I take the full one out. The vitamin box scenario has also happened to us though. Haha.

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      1. Yes, I don’t know what I am going to do without them. I found that as I grow older I am more fussy about cleaning the house and keeping stuff organized. When I was younger, this is definitely not the case!

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  15. Had a good laugh here Anne! Thank heavens for the sound of more solid things landing in the waste paper basket to alert that that shouldn’t have gone in. But sometimes I don’t hear – We’re always running out of essentials.

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    1. We tend to be overrun with essentials. When we moved six years ago, a number of gallon containers of hand soap were uncovered in the basement. They moved with us and took up residence in the laundry room and my bathroom. I’m sure we have several more months to go before we empty the last of these huge bottles. John was doing the shopping at the discount store back then, and he must have bought a gallon every time they were on sale. Six years is a long time to not need this essential.

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  17. Just curious: I guess you don’t have recycling service out there? Like, for clean used paper/plastic/glass products? Maybe it’s more of an urban/suburban service.

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  18. My husband is much more organized than I am so when he takes the trash out he always gets the replacement bag before he takes the bag out. If I notice that the trash needs to go out I usually just grab it and take it out. then have to go get another bag. About 1/2 the time I can manage to make it back without distractions or forgetting. 🙂

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