Hang trash bags on a curtain rod in the garage for easier access

Trash bags are something everyone has but no one really knows how to store efficiently. They just sit underneath the kitchen sink in a big, bulky box, taking up precious space.

But by building a makeshift garbage bag holder, you can get them up an out of the cabinet, and much easier to reach or use. Best of all, it will only take a few minutes to make.

What you will need

To hang trash bags where they will be more easily accessible, you'll only need a few things:

• Two support brackets for a 0.625 inch (1.6 centimeter) curtain rod
• 0.5 inch (1.3 centimeter) oak dowel rod
• One or two rolls of trash bags

Mounting hardware was included with both support brackets I purchased. If the brackets you choose do not, you will need a few drywall anchors and screws.

You may also need some tools, such as a power drill with a drill bit (size depends on your mounting hardware), a Phillips bit, hand or coping saw, level, tape measure, hammer and a pencil.

Mounting the garbage bag holder

Begin by measuring the width of the roll of garbage bags. I decided to go with two different types of bags on one dowel, and they measured 18 inches (45.7 centimeters) in total.

You want approximately 2 inches (5 centimeters) of extra dowel on each side of the trash bags. In my case, I cut the dowel to be 22 inches long with a coping saw.

Next, pick a location to install the hanger. Somewhere like a garage, shop or even inside a kitchen cabinet works fabulously.

Measuring from the inside edges, the brackets will need to be roughly 18.25 inches (46.4 centimeters) apart. Use a pencil to mark the location of the screw holes for one of the brackets, and use the tape measure and level to determine where the second bracket will go.

Drill four holes in the drywall on all four marked screw holes and push the drywall anchors into each of the holes. (You may need to tap them with a hammer to fully drive them in.) Use the Phillips bit to screw the two brackets to the wall using the drywall anchors

Next, slide the dowel rod through the center of each roll of trash bags. This can be rather tricky, and you may need to pull one or two trash bags out from the center to open up the hole enough to get the dowel through.

With the trash bags centered on the dowel, place it on the two brackets. Some curtain brackets have finger screws, which you can use to put tension on the dowel to keep it from spinning with the trash bags.