In Love with my Trashcan

It's been two months now, our ardent affair. It started on accident - a misread label and a long line of people - and the rest has made itself history, with neither hell nor high water even remotely hopeful of ever tearing us asunder. Ed loves it too.

It was honestly a dark and rainy night - in February, the night I came home from my Escape. Ed and the girls picked me up at the airport and we were catching up so animatedly in the car that, as we passed the exit that leads to Target, Ed said, "Shoot, I was going to pull off to get a new kitchen trashcan." My heart skipped at the very thought. Obviously four days as the homemaker had demonstrated to Ed, among other things, the intolerability of our current receptacle.

Not wanting to miss this chance, I thought and replied, "Get off at Cropsey and we can go to Linens N' Things." Perfect! He did as directed and offered to stay in the car with sleeping Ginger while I took Hazel into the store to get our new waste bin. It was a zoo in there but I didn't think much of it because every store in New York is a zoo at all times. We rummaged around among the cans - plastic or metal? round or rectangular? swing top or step? Not wanting to spend more than $30, or ok, fine $50 at the most since it's such a frequently used product and the plastic one we usually buy breaks so often, I hunted and hunted, keeping one eye on Hazel and trying to make a decision. Ginger woke up so Ed brought her in and helped me figure out what I was doing. We settled on a tall lidded step can, stainless steel, for $70, which made me cringe, but whatever, maybe this one would last more than a few months and not be such a hideous eyesore in the kitchen. Then last minute I changed my mind since "stainless" shows every little smudge and grabbed what I thought was its black counterpart.

Well, no one likes a long blog post. The lines, though, were super long so by the time we hit the register the kids were restless and we were all anxious to move on with our lives. The can rang up for $129.99, almost $150 with tax. We looked at each other. She asked if we had our President's Day coupon (thus explaining the crowds and lines) for 20% off. Um, no (though that's really annoying because I always save those for a big purchase and here we were without one and wouldn't it have been nice.) We both shrugged and agreed to just get it and never tell anyone we paid $147.73 for our kitchen trash can (and here I am solemnly keeping that vow.)

But what a can it is! I would never have gotten it if I knew it was so much, but I so love it! It's strong and sturdy and doesn't tip onto me when I step on the lever. It keeps in odors and has a nice little locking mechanism to hold the bag in tight. It doesn't show marks too much, and is easy to clean when it does. And the lid goes down slowly instead of slamming. It's a stabilizing - and commanding - presence in my kitchen. I can't deny what I am and what I do - my kitchen trashcan is a major player in my life. And I really, really love it.


I also love my diaper pail, but that's another post.