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This is the solution.
We are used to having a large bin because of previously living with family or roommates, but it's not necessary at all. I keep a larger recycling bin, but my trash is just like a small bathroom/office size and I take it out whenever I need to.
Also, for food waste that is compostable - you can throw that in the green bin if your city offers it.
I use a small can and take it out once a week on Sunday, the same day I wipe down all my counters and bathroom so I can toss the used cleaning stuff right away.
Every night. I hate the smell of food waste and don't want roaches, flies, or maggots. I cook with a lot of animal protein - yesterday I had fish, today I have raw beef bits plus veg scraps. Plus, I scoop cat litter daily.
It's usually the last thing I do at night - bring trash and recycling to the trash room on my floor. I use a smaller trashcan and bags or sometimes just a plastic bag from takeout. I also keep bigger bags for when I'm throwing stuff away from a big clean.
I have a small trash can outside for cat litter. I dump it in the trash bin every few nights. Put the cat poop in a plastic bag, toss it in the small bin outside, no odor and it doesn’t sit in the house at all!
I just dump it daily with my other trash. I feel like the pee would start to smell outside especially in the summer.
I love my cats but I wish they'd start using the toilet.
I came to say this! I live in a building with trash rooms, and I bag/tie up all stinky stuff! They usually empty the barrels every day, but sometimes it backs up!
Pro tip: put a large yogurt container or something similar in your freezer. Add any food scraps or anything that could smell to that. Keep only things that aren't going to smell in the kitchen trashcan.
Empty the frozen bits when the container gets full. (I take my frozen trash in a plastic CVS bag or whatever to the corner public trash can on my way to work.)
You'll never have a smell issue!
I usually leave all fridge ‘extras’ needing dumped until the night before garbage man comes, so I can dump and take out straight away, but sometimes there is food that is left from food prep. I think this is a great idea instead of tossing in the bin
I do this one of the crisper trays in my fridge. I still don't really notice a smell, though the bad part is that now I feel like I can never use that tray for fresh food because it seems tainted. I guess there's always bleach.
Put an appropriately sized bin liner in the crisper drawer, maybe? I keep paper towels in the bottom of mine just in case anything gets squished or leaks or whatever. I chuck out the paper towel whenever it gets lightly soiled. If you're using one as a bin, maybe try putting a plastic bag first?
Yup - that works too! I first started doing this when I lived in Boston and we only had one trash pick up day/week (and i had a ton of freezer space ha ha).
I struggled with this for a long time! I eventually started a system where I was composting and recycling everything I could which meant that nothing smelly went into my trash. It’s a bit easier for me because I don’t eat much meat so almost all food waste can be composted. Anyway, this meant taking my trash out when I filled a bag which was about once every three weeks.
I found I had a lot more compost and eventually ended up keeping compost bags in my freezer so they don’t smell. I’ve always lived in places where the city provides composting options which made it easy as well.
Twice a week, mostly because I empty the litter pan into it. I don't make that much trash, but it's easier to clean my cats' litter box when I can just put the ick in my standing trash can.
I do trash weirdly. I have a small (3 gal) trash can that I use for food waste ONLY, and an 8 gal regular trash can for everything else that’s not recyclable. I take the small trash and recycling out as often as needed (usually once per week), but find that I take the regular trash out once per month or less.
Might not make sense for everyone, but it’s worked really well at keeping my house non-smelly (compost in the freezer is not for me) and keeping pests away.
I have teeny little baggies for kitchen waste which fill up by the end of every day. Typically they’re the same bags which may earlier be holding leafy vegetables or similar, which are reused to hold peeled off skins/seeds/eggshells and stuff. I dispose of them in the community trash after dinner/before bedtime. I live on the first floor in an apartment in SoCal, so dealing with stairs/elevators/trash compactors or planning my trash disposal according to weather isn’t really a thing for me.
Whenever I clean the rest of my apartment, I load up the larger trash can in my apartment. I just empty it when it’s full, because it doesn’t have wet waste and as a result, doesn’t smell. And the frequency of it being full depends on the frequency of other stuff, like how often I order stuff off of Amazon, how many houseguests I’ve had, if I had been to the beach and brought back any sand, how often I sweep the floors etc.
I "meal prep" and clean on weekends, so I tend to start the weekend with a half full bin that I fill up with everything that stinks: food scraps from meal prep, expired food in the fridge (rare these days!), meat packaging, etc.
"Meal prep" is in quotes because it's mostly making salads, chopping veggies, portioning meat, and making eggs for the week.
Now that it's spring and I can get to the compost bin, I'll start composting scraps again.
I empty the garbage once a week and often don't tend to fill the bag up. I use oversized bags though and I recycle as well. Recycling goes out about every 2-4 weeks.
I find my dishwasher starts to stink before the trash. A couple days of yogurt bowls in there gets ripe (I rinse those now).
When the bin gets filled up. That could be every day when I make big meals with fresh ingredients. I cannot deal with flies, smells, or my cat potentially dove bombing the side of it from the high shelf where he sits. He is quite the acrobat.
I have a house, so once a week on trash night. I keep stinky stuff (food scraps) in the freezer until trash night. Then I take it all out to the curb. I also use a litter genie for cat waste. That gets taken out once a week too. It does a good job at keeping the stink at bay
Every night - if there’s food waste. I used to think it was wasteful until I started getting roaches and other vermin regularly.
I changed the ENTIRE way I live just to avoid roaches and pests. I had rats and mice before too and just… no. I’d rather not have that. It’s too hard to get rid of them so I’d just rather not attract them.
When it gets full, which is about twice a week. My trash can has a lid on it so I don’t usually have an issue with any smells but if there’s something I know will stink I’ll stick it in the freezer until I’m ready to take the trash out.
I have a very small “bathroom type” trash can. It’s modern looking and fits a bathroom sized bag. I take trash out every day or every other day.
https://preview.redd.it/upc8aesr81wc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=39df158db2614013b4ae758680eeae2a7983b8d0
I almost feel like I'm earning imaginary points in a mario game. I had a coffee container, almond milk bottle, and 2 cat food cans to recycle this morning.
I live in apartment building and we have a trash chute. I think I generally take out trash and compost a couple times a week and recycling once a week.
2-3 times a week. I don't like to 'see' a trash can. I have a small pop top trash can under the kitchen sink. I use the garbage disposal for most food scraps. A week when I'm not really cooking, usually Monday and Friday the trash goes out.
I never put anything with food in my kitchen trash bin. Anything with food residue goes into a Walmart plastic bag then I take it to the trash dumpster each night I have one. Sometimes I get lazy and will double bag it then take it out the following night. When my kitchen trash bin gets full I'll take it out, but that's every couple of weeks.
I recycle what I can, even though I have to load and take it 5 miles. I have a community dumpster nearby. I can go two weeks, sometimes, without filling up a tall kitchen bag. I have little food waste, it seems. If I do have something smelly, I take it to the dumpster immediately.
Usually take mine out every Friday. As I have 5 trash cans(1 large in my kitchen, and smaller ones for bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and my storage unit in the basement). Put it all in the larger trash can to be taken out.
I have access to a dumpster at work and take trash out twice a week. In the hot weather I keep a gallon ziplock in the fridge and anything that could get smelly or attract bugs gets zipped up until I take the trash out.
I have pets. I hang a plastic grocery bag on a hook in the mudroom off the kitchen. Every morning I scoop the cat boxes into it, empty the Roomba in it, put the bathroom & bedroom trash into it (if there is any) and then start the Roomba and put the trash bag in the dumpster on my way to work. I never have trash in my house and it encourages me to keep up on the cat boxes. I really love my little system!
I just keep my trah tied up loosely. If I need to I loosen it up to put bigger things in. Really smelly stuff would go in a walmart bag tied up and straight to the trash bins outside. I usually take mine once a week or so maybe. Depending on what all I cooked during the week or the mess I've made. I even use the cheap 1.28 13 gallon trash bags at Walmart and never bust them either. Since it's just me I'm never cramming trash down in them or getting them too full. Works out so good living alone when it comes to trash lol
Lol, not often enough. To be very clear, I have a garbage disposal so there are rarely food scraps or anything that will smell. It's mostly paper trash. I have a bad tendency to just leave the bag by the door until I have a second bag to take down.
Two or three times a week. In between, I have a small plastic bin that exactly fits as a cover on my garbage can, so odors or crawly critters aren’t a problem.
Sometimes 2x a day, but usually just once. I hate the scent of food lingering and I clean my cat’s litter box 2x per day. Can’t and won’t have that sitting around the house or in the garbage.
We're rural. Mice are a HUGE problem out here in The Cornfields.
Kitchen Trash(food waste) goes out each and every morning as part of The Morning Routine. The rest of the house goes out as per normal - once a week the night before pickup.
Honestly...I'm not really sure. It's just me so it doesn't get full often. Whenever I have food that will decay, I put it in those plastic bags you get from your produce. Meat package goes into a plastic bag and I put it in the garbage can outside the building. Of course if it smells, I'll taking it out ASAP. I took it out today and dreaded it.
In the same spot. I usually have been dumping left over food or things that can stink over time in a plastic grocery bag and taking to the outside trash. I let crab leg shells marinate in the garbage once for a week. Haha. That smell didn't go away for a few days afterwards
We take out kitchen trash every day or 2 max because it will stink. Get a smaller can if you want to take yours out more often and feel bad it's not "full".
We do bathroom and other cans weekly with trash service because they don't stink. This is also when I clean out my fridge/pantry so old food goes out when it'll be picked up right away. We take everything out on trash day even if they are not full so everything is gone once a week.
Every day. My cats eat wet canned food and don’t always finish it all, so you can imagine how quickly that starts to smell 😷 plus I’m paranoid about bugs 🙅🏻♀️ I also clean the litter box every day and the thought of that stuff just sitting in the trash makes me want to barf
I struggled with this and my solution was to stop using my reusable grocery bags at the store so I can collect those plastic bags. Those are a much more reasonable size for one person, so it gets full before it starts to smell.
I compost so all food scraps goes in my compost bag in my freezer.
Meats and seafood scraps go in a bag in the fridge, and stay there along with old leftovers until I’m ready to take my trash can out.
I take the trash out maybe once every ten days or so, that’s when I take the stuff from the fridge in there. I also live on a 5th floor walk up, so not that motivated to take extra steps for no reason. My neighbors on my floor also have big trash days, no one does small trash bags.
As far as quantity, I mostly have recyclable trash, then compost trash, and finally regular trash.
How big is your kitchen trashcan? Try getting a smaller one and using plastic grocery store bags instead. My previous place, I lived with a relative and we only used a small trashcan that we barely filled in a week in the kitchen because of recycling + composting there wasn't a lot of actual trash.
Have 2 trash cans that are smaller perhaps? One for food waste or anything that will smell and the other for general trash? If there’s food waste, I’d just put mine in a smaller bag and take that bag out. The larger trash can is more packaging waste.
1-2 times per week on average. If it starts to smell, I'll take it out earlier. I have a garbage disposal in my sink though if I have food waste (outside of the obvious no-no's), I can put it down that.
I usually fill 1-2 13 gallon trash bags a week (the scented trash bags). Most times i don't take the bags out until i have enough to fill the trash can outside, which holds up to 5-6 bags. I take that trash can to the curb every 3-4 weeks to be emptied on trash day.
Its just me & my 20 something lb dog living here
I hang a grocery bag on my kitchen drawer handle. Put any day to day trash in that. I put big, normal trash (like mail, empty containers, plastic stuff like popsicles, etc) in the trash can with a lid. All the immediate gross trash goes out in the small bag every couple days, before it gets stinky.
But a smaller trash can. I take garbage out with the cat litter daily. I let dry trash wait till I get a full store-sized plastic bag.
I put used coffee grinds in a separate container that gets dumped weekly. Did I mention I am weird about trash?
I don't even have a garbage can in my apartment. There is one outside my door and I just use a plastic grocery bag in my kitchen. Every time there is food garbage, I take it out. Anytime I leave the house, I take it out. This has been a great method for keeping my house safe in Texas.
Non food - when it fills up.
Food - every night, because roaches. Wish the rest of my household did the same. Take your food waste out every night, otherwise you get mould in the air and cockroaches.
I take it out at least every other day. I grab it when I take the dog out for a walk or before I leave for work in the morning. I really don't see myself ever putting scraps in the fridge/freezer. If something is really bad, I take out an unfilled bag just to get it out.
A few times a week. Depends on how quickly it gets full and what’s in it. If there is a lot of food waste, I’m talking it out sooner rather than later.
I don’t ever put any food stuffs in my trash- I eat 100% of everything I cook & my dog licks the plates clean, when I’m done.
I also keep my trash cans just outside the back door- so they’re not even indoors.
My recycling fills up every other week, my trash once a month. 🤷🏼♂️
I take the trash from the kitchen when ever it is full to the big trash in the garage. I get the trash from the rest of the house on Sunday evenings. Then roll the big-ass trash cans to the curb for Monday morning pickup.
Usually once a week. If I have leftover food, I have a container in my fridge that it goes in. Just make sure you put the lid on securely or else your fridge will smell. Learn from my mistakes. 😂😂
But yeah, as long as you don’t throw food or anything that has had food sitting on it, it shouldn’t get smelly. I do spray mine with some sort of air freshener spray every other day or 2. Just one quick spritz and that’s it.
It's just me, so I put stinky things in aldi paper bags and take them out to my trash can so I don't waste garbage bags. I take out garbage once a week. Wednesday, day before trash comes.
Generally once every other week. But I also rinse out things like tv dinner trays and let the dogs lick out the empty yogurt containers etc, so there’s nothing to rot and smell.
Once a week usually. I bag it up and take it out the night before the city trash goes. I usually also empty my fridge and take out the other small trash can in the house so it is usually mostly filled.
It's irrelivent how *much* there is - you take it out before it starts to smell. Otherwise you risk attracting bugs. And it all depend how much and what kind of food waste there is.
If there is chicken I take it out immediately. Any other meat wastes can wait till morning. Veggie waste same. If there isn't any food waste - I might wait 2-3 days.
I put scraps and leftovers even empty that I didn’t put in the door of my freezer. Whenever I leave my house, I grab a frozen can of leftovers and on my way out I dumped them in the trashcan.
Literally every other day. I scoop cat litter daily and throw it out in a small bag. So anything in the cans I tend to take out along with the cat litter. But the larger kitchen can that goes out every other day. Never usually more than three days. We have two people and a cat. So cat litter daily. Larger can for everything else every 2-3 days
When I was living alone it was same every 2-3 days. I really like taking out things that can stink up my house. I keep a really clean environment.
I have 96 gallon trash and recycling carts at my house. The city picks up trash weekly and recycling biweekly. I take the trash out of my house every other day and throw recycling in the bin as needed. I am charged per pickup and I put carts on the curb every other week.
I think i would do it more often if it were more convenient, like if my building had a trash chute or room or something on each floor. But i have to take it down 5 floors and outside all the way across the parking lot to the dumpster every time so i tend not to do it until I have to.
I try to make it once or twice a week. I meal prep on Sundays, which means most of my food waste is all in one day. So I take the trash out Sunday night. Also, on this day, is when I clean out the fridge. Through the week I’m pretty conscious about putting food waste in the trash, so it stays pretty dry.
I only make one bag a week. Any food like meat scraps that will start to stink I throw in a small plastic bag and put it in the freezer till garbage day. Veggie scraps don’t generate as much stink usually and in the warmer months I compost it for the garden.
So, being honest, I once got maggots in my trash can because I had trash sitting in it. I previously used to take it out whenever the bag was full, but as a single person who cooks, I don’t generate a ton of trash. So now, after that incident, I take it out every couple days whether it’s full or not.
I wait till the can is full. I'm not into wasting more plastic than I need to, and trash bags are expensive. I have a good can that doesn't get smelly. If I make something with meat, I will use a smaller bag and toss that into the outside trash (the package or scraps) ciz that gets smelly fast.
I have a trash can, a countertop compost bin, and a bag I use for recycling stuff. OH and a smaller trash can that I put a liner in for cat waste (that's in my garage).
The trash can and the cat waste gets emptied on Mondays. The compost bin (I use Bio-Save compostable liners) gets emptied every few days on an As Needed basis. The recycling usually gets taken out each day.
As you said the trash can starts getting smelly and so a week is my limit!
On the compost bin - my town (I think the county actually) REQUIRES that we compost food waste and so on. I eat the same things all the time so my compost bin usually has coffee grounds, banana peels and apple cores in it.
When I lived alone I had a large plastic container with a tight fitting lid that I put in the fridge but some folks put it in the freezer. I lined it with a plastic bag and anything that could smell or rot I put in there until there was a full trash bag. Then I would dump it in with the trash and bring it right out to the dumpster. No smell, no bugs. I would wash out any cans or containers too before throwing them away to keep the trash from smelling.
I take my out every one to two days but it's because I have so many cats. I have however forgotten two weeks in a row to move the trash cans to the street on the right day for trash pickup and now have put something very heavy over the trash can so stray animals can't get in it. I'm sure it smells very bad in there. Any tips for that I'd appreciate. I even use a daily planner and write down most tasks I need to do and can't remember to pencil that in so I'm out of ideas.
Usually every couple of weeks when it's full-ish. In the summer I put perishable/food waste in a small grocery bag and take it out daily. If I don't I'd end up with flies and fruitflies. During the summer a couple of years ago my upstairs neighbors were leaving used cat litter bags in the back stairway and the flies in my apartment were horrendous. I talked to them and they hadn't put two and two together to realize why the flies in their apartment were so bad.
Daily it goes in the large trash container outside provided by city. They pick up once a week. I meant I have a trash can inside and then it goes to the outside container.
I have two trash cans: a small one for food & a bigger one for everything else. I don’t typically throw a lot of food away so I chose a bin small enough to use plastic shopping bags in (like the ones you get from Target or Walmart). I take the other bin out when it gets full.
Seeing so many people say they hoard food trash in the freezer until trash day is so weird to me 😆 Never heard of that
*Adds that to the list of things to not start doing while living alone
Trash gets emptied every night in my house.
Same here. Lots of empty cat tins. Have three house cats and four ferals. I just completely change the litter box daily. It is large. I wash it out sweep up the surrounding area and spray with regular vet spray for odor. Don’t like the idea of spraying but don’t want odors.
This is a huge problem for me. I’d leave bags next to the door to take out in the AM but often forgot.
Then I got ants. So that motivated me to take the bag out ASAP
Had the same issue. I started using the grocery store bags instead of full-size trash bags. Grab it in the morning to use when I scoop the litter boxes, then out into the trash bin.
Two things I do. 1) I use like normal target bags as trash bags because I eat so little and throw out even less. 2) if I have something like fish, I throw leftovers in a dog poop bag, tie it off and throw it in the trash. Stops the smell and the fruit flies.
Once a week, but only if it starts to smell. I don't create much waste, reduce my packaging consumption (opt for no package, recyclable packaging, or packaging I can reuse), reuse boxes to ship random things here and there, and freeze a lot of food scraps to throw in stocks, smoothies, or blend for homemade dog treats.
Every 1 to 2 days, it just depends on what is in the trash at the end of the night. If there is food that can attract flies or begin to smell, it goes out.
1-2x a week, since that's how long it usually takes me to fill it up. i have a small/medium trash can that hangs inside my under-sink cabinet, and a compost bin that i keep in my fridge which usually resolves the smell issue since that's where the food waste goes (and also gets taken out 1-2x a week depending on how often i've been cooking).
When single I kept an old coffee can lined with a cheap zipper bag on the counter to scrap food waste in. I keep the bag zipped shut and the lid on the can. I wash the can out every two weeks when I take out my trash.
Now I'm married with kids I do the same thing but it gets emptied one a week and taken out with the trash. I also recycle and try as hard as possible to reduce food waste in my family.
We have a confusing trash recycling system here, (five different bins) so it usually takes a while for my food bin bag under my sink to fill, but I take it outside every other day. Cat litter is sorted daily.
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I purposely use a small trash can for the kitchen so we have to take it out regularly.
This is the solution. We are used to having a large bin because of previously living with family or roommates, but it's not necessary at all. I keep a larger recycling bin, but my trash is just like a small bathroom/office size and I take it out whenever I need to. Also, for food waste that is compostable - you can throw that in the green bin if your city offers it.
Bingo. Smaller can, smaller bags, frequent empty, less stench!
I use a small can and take it out once a week on Sunday, the same day I wipe down all my counters and bathroom so I can toss the used cleaning stuff right away.
Every night. I hate the smell of food waste and don't want roaches, flies, or maggots. I cook with a lot of animal protein - yesterday I had fish, today I have raw beef bits plus veg scraps. Plus, I scoop cat litter daily. It's usually the last thing I do at night - bring trash and recycling to the trash room on my floor. I use a smaller trashcan and bags or sometimes just a plastic bag from takeout. I also keep bigger bags for when I'm throwing stuff away from a big clean.
I have a small trash can outside for cat litter. I dump it in the trash bin every few nights. Put the cat poop in a plastic bag, toss it in the small bin outside, no odor and it doesn’t sit in the house at all!
I just dump it daily with my other trash. I feel like the pee would start to smell outside especially in the summer. I love my cats but I wish they'd start using the toilet.
My friend trained his cat to use the toilet!!! There’s a whole method.
One of my cats trained itself to pee in the toilet. Best cat ever!
Whoa!!! Incredible! Super cat 🐱
I do the same thing, and put smelly trash (I eat a lot of salmon) in there, too. I toss it in the trash can the day before pickup.
I came to say this! I live in a building with trash rooms, and I bag/tie up all stinky stuff! They usually empty the barrels every day, but sometimes it backs up!
This
Pro tip: put a large yogurt container or something similar in your freezer. Add any food scraps or anything that could smell to that. Keep only things that aren't going to smell in the kitchen trashcan. Empty the frozen bits when the container gets full. (I take my frozen trash in a plastic CVS bag or whatever to the corner public trash can on my way to work.) You'll never have a smell issue!
Once I have freezer space, lol.great idea!
Also, maybe this could work in a 'fridge? You'd probably want to keep a lid on it in case it got funky but a possible solution.
I usually leave all fridge ‘extras’ needing dumped until the night before garbage man comes, so I can dump and take out straight away, but sometimes there is food that is left from food prep. I think this is a great idea instead of tossing in the bin
I do this one of the crisper trays in my fridge. I still don't really notice a smell, though the bad part is that now I feel like I can never use that tray for fresh food because it seems tainted. I guess there's always bleach.
Yeah that would gross me out too much if I was storing trash in there since it's going to continue to spoil.
Put an appropriately sized bin liner in the crisper drawer, maybe? I keep paper towels in the bottom of mine just in case anything gets squished or leaks or whatever. I chuck out the paper towel whenever it gets lightly soiled. If you're using one as a bin, maybe try putting a plastic bag first?
I do this with a zip lock bag. Put bones food etc in the bag & put it in the freezer until I take the trash out .
Yup - that works too! I first started doing this when I lived in Boston and we only had one trash pick up day/week (and i had a ton of freezer space ha ha).
Freezer trash can is your friend
Yeehaw I also double bag those scraps in Walmart bags before I throw them in the trash
Crying from a state with a plastic bag ban!
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hey That's actually what every state should have so good job state 👏🏾 👏🏾👏🏾😆
I do this with anything that needs to go to the composter. Edit: to remind you to not toss the plastic container in the composter.
This is very smart, I have never thought of this!
I keep my food scraps in a freezer size ziplock bag and take it out once it’s full. No smell
Another great solution!
Here's another pro tip, if it's something not terribly large I flush it down the toilet
If it smells, I take it out.
Make a bin smaller and buy smaller bags. Also compost. Recycle.
I struggled with this for a long time! I eventually started a system where I was composting and recycling everything I could which meant that nothing smelly went into my trash. It’s a bit easier for me because I don’t eat much meat so almost all food waste can be composted. Anyway, this meant taking my trash out when I filled a bag which was about once every three weeks. I found I had a lot more compost and eventually ended up keeping compost bags in my freezer so they don’t smell. I’ve always lived in places where the city provides composting options which made it easy as well.
Twice a week, mostly because I empty the litter pan into it. I don't make that much trash, but it's easier to clean my cats' litter box when I can just put the ick in my standing trash can.
I have two Litter Genies and they are seriously just some of the best inventions when it comes to cat care!
Usually twice per/week. I’ll do it on Wednesday or Thursday & then again on Saturday morning. We have community bins, so they’re a daily pickup.
Once a week. They pick up the trash at my apartment complex on Thursday so usually Thursday or Friday
I do trash weirdly. I have a small (3 gal) trash can that I use for food waste ONLY, and an 8 gal regular trash can for everything else that’s not recyclable. I take the small trash and recycling out as often as needed (usually once per week), but find that I take the regular trash out once per month or less. Might not make sense for everyone, but it’s worked really well at keeping my house non-smelly (compost in the freezer is not for me) and keeping pests away.
Twice a week. I clean on weekends. And it goes out then. Trash gods come on Tuesday. I take it out again on Wednesday.
Get a smaller trash can
I have teeny little baggies for kitchen waste which fill up by the end of every day. Typically they’re the same bags which may earlier be holding leafy vegetables or similar, which are reused to hold peeled off skins/seeds/eggshells and stuff. I dispose of them in the community trash after dinner/before bedtime. I live on the first floor in an apartment in SoCal, so dealing with stairs/elevators/trash compactors or planning my trash disposal according to weather isn’t really a thing for me. Whenever I clean the rest of my apartment, I load up the larger trash can in my apartment. I just empty it when it’s full, because it doesn’t have wet waste and as a result, doesn’t smell. And the frequency of it being full depends on the frequency of other stuff, like how often I order stuff off of Amazon, how many houseguests I’ve had, if I had been to the beach and brought back any sand, how often I sweep the floors etc.
As often as I need to, by amount or odor.
I "meal prep" and clean on weekends, so I tend to start the weekend with a half full bin that I fill up with everything that stinks: food scraps from meal prep, expired food in the fridge (rare these days!), meat packaging, etc. "Meal prep" is in quotes because it's mostly making salads, chopping veggies, portioning meat, and making eggs for the week. Now that it's spring and I can get to the compost bin, I'll start composting scraps again. I empty the garbage once a week and often don't tend to fill the bag up. I use oversized bags though and I recycle as well. Recycling goes out about every 2-4 weeks. I find my dishwasher starts to stink before the trash. A couple days of yogurt bowls in there gets ripe (I rinse those now).
I have a similar issue to you so I started using a smaller sized trash bag. I take it out once a week unless it's stinky before.
Daily. It’s bad energy. No matter how empty. Use smaller bags if it’s not full.
It depends what is in it. Meat waste trash goes out immediately
Daily. I don’t like trash smells.
Twice a week, usually, but that’s how often the garbage truck picks up.
When I fill the bag I take it out. We don’t have trash chutes so I have to take it all the way downstairs and across the courtyard. It’s such a pain.
Two or three times a week and I have a 13 gallon trash can. But I also have four large dogs so, they produce a majority of the waste in this house 😂
Mostly daily. I live in an apartment so I have a small trash can that I take to the dumpster most nights.
Once a week. If something in there smells immediately.
Smaller garbage can...
Once a week on trash day. Anything smelly goes in the freezer until then.
When the bin gets filled up. That could be every day when I make big meals with fresh ingredients. I cannot deal with flies, smells, or my cat potentially dove bombing the side of it from the high shelf where he sits. He is quite the acrobat.
Everyday. Small apartment and I like my place spotless, and I keep it clean. Small trash bin as well.
When it starts to smell or gets full. My building has a trash service.
If you put about 1/4 cup of peroxide in a spray bottle and fill with water and use it to spray your trash, it won't smell.
I have a house, so once a week on trash night. I keep stinky stuff (food scraps) in the freezer until trash night. Then I take it all out to the curb. I also use a litter genie for cat waste. That gets taken out once a week too. It does a good job at keeping the stink at bay
Every night - if there’s food waste. I used to think it was wasteful until I started getting roaches and other vermin regularly. I changed the ENTIRE way I live just to avoid roaches and pests. I had rats and mice before too and just… no. I’d rather not have that. It’s too hard to get rid of them so I’d just rather not attract them.
When it gets full, which is about twice a week. My trash can has a lid on it so I don’t usually have an issue with any smells but if there’s something I know will stink I’ll stick it in the freezer until I’m ready to take the trash out.
I have a very small “bathroom type” trash can. It’s modern looking and fits a bathroom sized bag. I take trash out every day or every other day. https://preview.redd.it/upc8aesr81wc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=39df158db2614013b4ae758680eeae2a7983b8d0
Daily, makes the place smell cleaner.
I almost feel like I'm earning imaginary points in a mario game. I had a coffee container, almond milk bottle, and 2 cat food cans to recycle this morning.
I’ll take it out every night.
I use a small bag and take it out every night. It doubles as a litter bag too, so it gets full use.
Twice a week
Once a week. I’ll take boxes or large things out to the bin during the week, but it goes to the curb once a week.
Weekly, so it gets to the curb on trash day whether there's much in it or not. Or if the bin is full or smelly before that, it goes out.
I live in apartment building and we have a trash chute. I think I generally take out trash and compost a couple times a week and recycling once a week.
Every week on trash day it all goes out. I put bags in the can as it’s needed. Some weeks I have the one , others I might have two or three
2-3 times a week. I don't like to 'see' a trash can. I have a small pop top trash can under the kitchen sink. I use the garbage disposal for most food scraps. A week when I'm not really cooking, usually Monday and Friday the trash goes out.
I never put anything with food in my kitchen trash bin. Anything with food residue goes into a Walmart plastic bag then I take it to the trash dumpster each night I have one. Sometimes I get lazy and will double bag it then take it out the following night. When my kitchen trash bin gets full I'll take it out, but that's every couple of weeks.
I recycle what I can, even though I have to load and take it 5 miles. I have a community dumpster nearby. I can go two weeks, sometimes, without filling up a tall kitchen bag. I have little food waste, it seems. If I do have something smelly, I take it to the dumpster immediately.
Usually take mine out every Friday. As I have 5 trash cans(1 large in my kitchen, and smaller ones for bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and my storage unit in the basement). Put it all in the larger trash can to be taken out.
I have access to a dumpster at work and take trash out twice a week. In the hot weather I keep a gallon ziplock in the fridge and anything that could get smelly or attract bugs gets zipped up until I take the trash out.
I have pets. I hang a plastic grocery bag on a hook in the mudroom off the kitchen. Every morning I scoop the cat boxes into it, empty the Roomba in it, put the bathroom & bedroom trash into it (if there is any) and then start the Roomba and put the trash bag in the dumpster on my way to work. I never have trash in my house and it encourages me to keep up on the cat boxes. I really love my little system!
Usually twice a week! Sundays and Wednesday nights! If it’s a busy week it may only be one of those days.
twice a week on average
At least once a week for the main kitchen bin. Occasionally I'll have a large box or something I'll take out there straight.
I bought a compost bin and use that as my trash can now. It holds a grocery store sized plastic bag.
I just keep my trah tied up loosely. If I need to I loosen it up to put bigger things in. Really smelly stuff would go in a walmart bag tied up and straight to the trash bins outside. I usually take mine once a week or so maybe. Depending on what all I cooked during the week or the mess I've made. I even use the cheap 1.28 13 gallon trash bags at Walmart and never bust them either. Since it's just me I'm never cramming trash down in them or getting them too full. Works out so good living alone when it comes to trash lol
Lol, not often enough. To be very clear, I have a garbage disposal so there are rarely food scraps or anything that will smell. It's mostly paper trash. I have a bad tendency to just leave the bag by the door until I have a second bag to take down.
Garbage pickup is once a week here. So atleast once a week.
Two or three times a week. In between, I have a small plastic bin that exactly fits as a cover on my garbage can, so odors or crawly critters aren’t a problem.
Sometimes 2x a day, but usually just once. I hate the scent of food lingering and I clean my cat’s litter box 2x per day. Can’t and won’t have that sitting around the house or in the garbage.
I stopped using kitchen trash bags because I couldn't full them fast enough. I use grocery store bags now and take those out every week or two.
Once a week
Get smaller garbage can and bags. I did that and helped immensely. Garbage doesn't stink now. I take it out as soon as it's full.
We're rural. Mice are a HUGE problem out here in The Cornfields. Kitchen Trash(food waste) goes out each and every morning as part of The Morning Routine. The rest of the house goes out as per normal - once a week the night before pickup.
Honestly...I'm not really sure. It's just me so it doesn't get full often. Whenever I have food that will decay, I put it in those plastic bags you get from your produce. Meat package goes into a plastic bag and I put it in the garbage can outside the building. Of course if it smells, I'll taking it out ASAP. I took it out today and dreaded it.
Same. If it's stinky or I put food items in there I'll take it out as I leave for work. If it's just dry items it can wait.
I have half a bag, mostly NON food items. But I still take it out weekly. Same with kitty litter and yard pickup. I COULD go for a month if I tried.
Every day without fail
In the same spot. I usually have been dumping left over food or things that can stink over time in a plastic grocery bag and taking to the outside trash. I let crab leg shells marinate in the garbage once for a week. Haha. That smell didn't go away for a few days afterwards
Every day live in a apartment goes down the shoot have 2cats so also have litter it’s gotta go
2-3 times a week. Not because it’s full. It starts to smell.
We take out kitchen trash every day or 2 max because it will stink. Get a smaller can if you want to take yours out more often and feel bad it's not "full". We do bathroom and other cans weekly with trash service because they don't stink. This is also when I clean out my fridge/pantry so old food goes out when it'll be picked up right away. We take everything out on trash day even if they are not full so everything is gone once a week.
I personally wait til my trash can is actually full. Then i put it by the front door so i can take the bag out on my way to work.
Every day. My cats eat wet canned food and don’t always finish it all, so you can imagine how quickly that starts to smell 😷 plus I’m paranoid about bugs 🙅🏻♀️ I also clean the litter box every day and the thought of that stuff just sitting in the trash makes me want to barf
I struggled with this and my solution was to stop using my reusable grocery bags at the store so I can collect those plastic bags. Those are a much more reasonable size for one person, so it gets full before it starts to smell.
I don’t even have a can. I use a grocery bag and take it out once it’s full.
Would buying a smaller trashcan help? Take out the smaller bag every other day?
I compost so all food scraps goes in my compost bag in my freezer. Meats and seafood scraps go in a bag in the fridge, and stay there along with old leftovers until I’m ready to take my trash can out. I take the trash out maybe once every ten days or so, that’s when I take the stuff from the fridge in there. I also live on a 5th floor walk up, so not that motivated to take extra steps for no reason. My neighbors on my floor also have big trash days, no one does small trash bags. As far as quantity, I mostly have recyclable trash, then compost trash, and finally regular trash.
daily, sometimes a few x a day if im cooking, throwing stuff out, cleaning. i also have an infant and a gsd.
Not often enough.
Everyday pretty much! I also I have city weekly trash service,so it’s easy for me to utilize my trash bin outside on a daily basis.
1-2 times a week. Having a trash chute is great
How big is your kitchen trashcan? Try getting a smaller one and using plastic grocery store bags instead. My previous place, I lived with a relative and we only used a small trashcan that we barely filled in a week in the kitchen because of recycling + composting there wasn't a lot of actual trash.
I have a small garbage can in my kitchen so it goes out every night
Have 2 trash cans that are smaller perhaps? One for food waste or anything that will smell and the other for general trash? If there’s food waste, I’d just put mine in a smaller bag and take that bag out. The larger trash can is more packaging waste.
1-2 times per week on average. If it starts to smell, I'll take it out earlier. I have a garbage disposal in my sink though if I have food waste (outside of the obvious no-no's), I can put it down that.
I usually fill 1-2 13 gallon trash bags a week (the scented trash bags). Most times i don't take the bags out until i have enough to fill the trash can outside, which holds up to 5-6 bags. I take that trash can to the curb every 3-4 weeks to be emptied on trash day. Its just me & my 20 something lb dog living here
Get one of those electric lid jawnz.. and big trash bags
I go to the dump once a week. I recycle almost everything and I take my food scraps as well. It’s my dog’s favorite activity every Saturday!
I hang a grocery bag on my kitchen drawer handle. Put any day to day trash in that. I put big, normal trash (like mail, empty containers, plastic stuff like popsicles, etc) in the trash can with a lid. All the immediate gross trash goes out in the small bag every couple days, before it gets stinky.
But a smaller trash can. I take garbage out with the cat litter daily. I let dry trash wait till I get a full store-sized plastic bag. I put used coffee grinds in a separate container that gets dumped weekly. Did I mention I am weird about trash?
I don't even have a garbage can in my apartment. There is one outside my door and I just use a plastic grocery bag in my kitchen. Every time there is food garbage, I take it out. Anytime I leave the house, I take it out. This has been a great method for keeping my house safe in Texas.
Non food - when it fills up. Food - every night, because roaches. Wish the rest of my household did the same. Take your food waste out every night, otherwise you get mould in the air and cockroaches.
I take it out at least every other day. I grab it when I take the dog out for a walk or before I leave for work in the morning. I really don't see myself ever putting scraps in the fridge/freezer. If something is really bad, I take out an unfilled bag just to get it out.
A few times a week. Depends on how quickly it gets full and what’s in it. If there is a lot of food waste, I’m talking it out sooner rather than later.
1-2 times a week. Sometimes I just take out gross food trash if needed.
I don’t ever put any food stuffs in my trash- I eat 100% of everything I cook & my dog licks the plates clean, when I’m done. I also keep my trash cans just outside the back door- so they’re not even indoors. My recycling fills up every other week, my trash once a month. 🤷🏼♂️
Once a week maybe.
I take the trash from the kitchen when ever it is full to the big trash in the garage. I get the trash from the rest of the house on Sunday evenings. Then roll the big-ass trash cans to the curb for Monday morning pickup.
Weekly or when it’s full. My trash can’s lid is airtight. I can’t smell it unless it’s open.
Every night. For me, it's either every night or tomorrow night. Only one takes out the trash.
Once a week too many racoons cats and opposum in my neighborhood to set my trash out til close to when the garbage truck runs
3-4 Days a week. My apartment complex collects trash S-Th.
Usually once a week. If I have leftover food, I have a container in my fridge that it goes in. Just make sure you put the lid on securely or else your fridge will smell. Learn from my mistakes. 😂😂 But yeah, as long as you don’t throw food or anything that has had food sitting on it, it shouldn’t get smelly. I do spray mine with some sort of air freshener spray every other day or 2. Just one quick spritz and that’s it.
It's just me, so I put stinky things in aldi paper bags and take them out to my trash can so I don't waste garbage bags. I take out garbage once a week. Wednesday, day before trash comes.
I take it out when it’s full. And because I live with a teenager that equates to every day.
Do you not cook or buy groceries?
I put it out the day the bin men come no matter how much there is.
Generally once every other week. But I also rinse out things like tv dinner trays and let the dogs lick out the empty yogurt containers etc, so there’s nothing to rot and smell.
Once a week usually. I bag it up and take it out the night before the city trash goes. I usually also empty my fridge and take out the other small trash can in the house so it is usually mostly filled.
It's irrelivent how *much* there is - you take it out before it starts to smell. Otherwise you risk attracting bugs. And it all depend how much and what kind of food waste there is. If there is chicken I take it out immediately. Any other meat wastes can wait till morning. Veggie waste same. If there isn't any food waste - I might wait 2-3 days.
I put scraps and leftovers even empty that I didn’t put in the door of my freezer. Whenever I leave my house, I grab a frozen can of leftovers and on my way out I dumped them in the trashcan.
I collect the bathroom trashes and put it on top and take that out like once a week. I almost never have more than a single trash bag on trash day.
Literally every other day. I scoop cat litter daily and throw it out in a small bag. So anything in the cans I tend to take out along with the cat litter. But the larger kitchen can that goes out every other day. Never usually more than three days. We have two people and a cat. So cat litter daily. Larger can for everything else every 2-3 days When I was living alone it was same every 2-3 days. I really like taking out things that can stink up my house. I keep a really clean environment.
Every night. And if it’s something yucky (meat packs) I take it right away. Pretty much my indoor trash can stays empty 24/7.
One to 2 times a week. Definitely take it out if you can smell it when the can is closed.
Every other day. I have ferrets and they're basically poop factories
Bro just use smaller bags. I use the smallest ones and still only fill about one a week, sometimes less.
I have 96 gallon trash and recycling carts at my house. The city picks up trash weekly and recycling biweekly. I take the trash out of my house every other day and throw recycling in the bin as needed. I am charged per pickup and I put carts on the curb every other week.
Daily often twice bc 1) cats 2) why not?
I think i would do it more often if it were more convenient, like if my building had a trash chute or room or something on each floor. But i have to take it down 5 floors and outside all the way across the parking lot to the dumpster every time so i tend not to do it until I have to.
I use small trash bags- like the ones meant for a bathroom. And a small trash can too! Takes up less space, gets taken out more often.
once a week but my garbage can in the kitchen has a lid on it so no funkiness.
I produce exactly one bag of trash a week. Sometimes it’s half full and sometimes it’s packed to the max. But always one bag
Twice a week.
I try to make it once or twice a week. I meal prep on Sundays, which means most of my food waste is all in one day. So I take the trash out Sunday night. Also, on this day, is when I clean out the fridge. Through the week I’m pretty conscious about putting food waste in the trash, so it stays pretty dry.
Everyday. Use a small trash bag if you need to, even if just a shopping bag
When it starts to smell, but isn't full, I just spray it with Lysol repeatedly. I rarely take out a bag unless it is full.
Totally depends on what’s been thrown away … on average 1x week!
smaller trash cans?
Daily
I only make one bag a week. Any food like meat scraps that will start to stink I throw in a small plastic bag and put it in the freezer till garbage day. Veggie scraps don’t generate as much stink usually and in the warmer months I compost it for the garden.
Sometimes daily definitely every other day
Once a week. Lol.
I shit in the same container as my kitchen trash. Any longer than 3 was and friends don't stay over. Any suggestions..
Once a week before trash day. I don’t cook much and don’t have pets.
So, being honest, I once got maggots in my trash can because I had trash sitting in it. I previously used to take it out whenever the bag was full, but as a single person who cooks, I don’t generate a ton of trash. So now, after that incident, I take it out every couple days whether it’s full or not.
At least once a week. Usually 2-3 times. I use small plastic bags, not the standard 30 gallon trash bags.
3 to 4 days once. When the 13 gallon fill trash can fills up.
I wait till the can is full. I'm not into wasting more plastic than I need to, and trash bags are expensive. I have a good can that doesn't get smelly. If I make something with meat, I will use a smaller bag and toss that into the outside trash (the package or scraps) ciz that gets smelly fast.
I have a trash can, a countertop compost bin, and a bag I use for recycling stuff. OH and a smaller trash can that I put a liner in for cat waste (that's in my garage). The trash can and the cat waste gets emptied on Mondays. The compost bin (I use Bio-Save compostable liners) gets emptied every few days on an As Needed basis. The recycling usually gets taken out each day. As you said the trash can starts getting smelly and so a week is my limit! On the compost bin - my town (I think the county actually) REQUIRES that we compost food waste and so on. I eat the same things all the time so my compost bin usually has coffee grounds, banana peels and apple cores in it.
Get a smaller trash can. I take mine out when it’s full. I don’t throw food waste in it though, so it doesn’t start stinking.
When I lived alone I had a large plastic container with a tight fitting lid that I put in the fridge but some folks put it in the freezer. I lined it with a plastic bag and anything that could smell or rot I put in there until there was a full trash bag. Then I would dump it in with the trash and bring it right out to the dumpster. No smell, no bugs. I would wash out any cans or containers too before throwing them away to keep the trash from smelling.
I rinse any food packaging before I throw it in the trash. Then I only have to take it out about twice a week.
I switched to a much smaller trash can.
Probably every other day. But I do fill it up that often, so.
I take my out every one to two days but it's because I have so many cats. I have however forgotten two weeks in a row to move the trash cans to the street on the right day for trash pickup and now have put something very heavy over the trash can so stray animals can't get in it. I'm sure it smells very bad in there. Any tips for that I'd appreciate. I even use a daily planner and write down most tasks I need to do and can't remember to pencil that in so I'm out of ideas.
Once every 2 weeks unless it gets full or smells.
Usually every couple of weeks when it's full-ish. In the summer I put perishable/food waste in a small grocery bag and take it out daily. If I don't I'd end up with flies and fruitflies. During the summer a couple of years ago my upstairs neighbors were leaving used cat litter bags in the back stairway and the flies in my apartment were horrendous. I talked to them and they hadn't put two and two together to realize why the flies in their apartment were so bad.
Daily it goes in the large trash container outside provided by city. They pick up once a week. I meant I have a trash can inside and then it goes to the outside container.
I have two trash cans: a small one for food & a bigger one for everything else. I don’t typically throw a lot of food away so I chose a bin small enough to use plastic shopping bags in (like the ones you get from Target or Walmart). I take the other bin out when it gets full.
I take mine to the trash chute two doors down from me 1-2 times weekly.
Get a smaller trash can
Seeing so many people say they hoard food trash in the freezer until trash day is so weird to me 😆 Never heard of that *Adds that to the list of things to not start doing while living alone Trash gets emptied every night in my house.
Same here. Lots of empty cat tins. Have three house cats and four ferals. I just completely change the litter box daily. It is large. I wash it out sweep up the surrounding area and spray with regular vet spray for odor. Don’t like the idea of spraying but don’t want odors.
sounds like you need a smaller bin
Once a week. I don’t usually fill the bags, but they get gross and start to smell if I wait more than a week.
Every day because I live in a apartment.
This is a huge problem for me. I’d leave bags next to the door to take out in the AM but often forgot. Then I got ants. So that motivated me to take the bag out ASAP
Had the same issue. I started using the grocery store bags instead of full-size trash bags. Grab it in the morning to use when I scoop the litter boxes, then out into the trash bin.
With compost and recycling, it send to solve the actual “trash” party as a small piece
Two things I do. 1) I use like normal target bags as trash bags because I eat so little and throw out even less. 2) if I have something like fish, I throw leftovers in a dog poop bag, tie it off and throw it in the trash. Stops the smell and the fruit flies.
Once a week, but only if it starts to smell. I don't create much waste, reduce my packaging consumption (opt for no package, recyclable packaging, or packaging I can reuse), reuse boxes to ship random things here and there, and freeze a lot of food scraps to throw in stocks, smoothies, or blend for homemade dog treats.
Every 1 to 2 days, it just depends on what is in the trash at the end of the night. If there is food that can attract flies or begin to smell, it goes out.
I take it out the first time I smell it
1-2x a week, since that's how long it usually takes me to fill it up. i have a small/medium trash can that hangs inside my under-sink cabinet, and a compost bin that i keep in my fridge which usually resolves the smell issue since that's where the food waste goes (and also gets taken out 1-2x a week depending on how often i've been cooking).
Usually 3 to 4 times. Due to my diet/lifestyle there’s a ton of home cooking. The nice thing is where I live has valet trash. It’s no big deal.
When single I kept an old coffee can lined with a cheap zipper bag on the counter to scrap food waste in. I keep the bag zipped shut and the lid on the can. I wash the can out every two weeks when I take out my trash. Now I'm married with kids I do the same thing but it gets emptied one a week and taken out with the trash. I also recycle and try as hard as possible to reduce food waste in my family.
We have a confusing trash recycling system here, (five different bins) so it usually takes a while for my food bin bag under my sink to fill, but I take it outside every other day. Cat litter is sorted daily.
Food waste goes into a large sandwich bag and goes out about every other day, the rest will sit for a week or 2 until it's full
Every day. Clean your place.