Just a bit of trash

I'm sure that most of you have a large trashcan in your home, probably near or in your kitchen that the majority of your household trash goes into. Even if you recycle as I do, it is common to have at least a bag or two that needs to be picked up or hauled of in the direction of the landfill. Because it is required, and it saves on cleaning out the can every time we empty it, we put a plastic liner bag into our kitchen trash bags. It does make removal into the big container outside much easier and neater, well it's supposed to at least.

As I am on a greatly reduced income following my separation and pending divorce, I am trying to cut corners on my finances wherever possible. Thankfully this isn't a new concept as several times during my marriage finances were dire and we had to make do without quite a bit. I cut my thrifty teeth during those lean years, and it is mostly serving me well now. One of the things I learned is that name brand doesn't always mean a huge jump in the quality rating of a product. For example store brand frozen peas are pretty much like the famous brands one finds in the freezer section of any grocery. Both contain frozen peas, and I just can't really tell the difference. However there are some things that saving a few pennies on just isn't worth the supposed savings.

The last time I bought trash bags, I opted for a grocery store brand. I prefer the type that has the tie handles built in, because I really hate those little twist ties. I also opted for a variety that was supposedly like the ForceFlex stretch variety that Glad produces. In all honesty I wasn't all that impressed by the strength of that brand, as it was still easy to punch a hole in them, especially if it got a bit weighty, but I did like the concept. I also got the kind that had a heavier .mil weight having learned that that weight usually equates strength and durability. In this case I was wrong.

This bargain brand, although similar to what I'd used before, did not perform as I would have liked. When I  would lift the bag out of the can to take it outside, the ties would pull partially through the plastic holding it all together, making big tears between the straps and the bag itself. That made trash removal fun. If there was any weight at all to the contents of the contained trash, then I could expect a hole somewhere in that bag before I got it out. Even though I only have to empty the can once or twice a week, it was an annoying task, because invariably the bag would fail somewhere between the inside can and the outside.

Yet thrifty little me suffered through the entire large box of those annoying, poor quality trash bags. I bought them and I was going to use every last one.

As soon as I had used the last bargain trash bag, I went to the store and bought a Hefty brand. It's called The Gripper, as it has those tying strips that you can seal and carry a full bag with. This one is also unscented, as I can't tell the difference and with my allergies, I just don't need all that perfume around me. So far, not one tear, not one hole, not one leak anywhere. I have to fill these bags up just a bit faster as my garbage disposal died of antiquity last week and now my coffee grounds and egg shells are added as well as stuff not destined to the recycle bins in my shed.

I will not be going back to bargain or store brand trash can liners. I sacrificed quality just to save .30 cents or so, it really wasn't worth that savings that doesn't even get a little box of Peppermint Altoids, my favorite mints. Sometimes you do have to pay a bit more for quality. Yes bargain brands do work, but in this case the name brand works much better, and that to me is valuable.