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The genius trick that keeps trash bags from falling in

If your trash bags keep falling off the lip of the garbage can, try using Command Hooks to secure them and for easier removal.

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Taylor Martin CNET Contributor
Taylor Martin has covered technology online for over six years. He has reviewed smartphones for Pocketnow and Android Authority and loves building stuff on his YouTube channel, MOD. He has a dangerous obsession with coffee and is afraid of free time.
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Taylor Martin
2 min read
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Trash bags and waste bins were meant to work perfectly together. Yet that's rarely the case. As trash bags start to fill up, something absurdly annoying happens: the bag falls in.

If any of this sounds familiar, there is hope. Grant Thompson, or The King of Random on YouTube has a quick and easy hack to keep garbage bags secured in place. It also helps a bit with removing the bag from the can.

All you need are two medium- or large-sized Command Hooks, a large waste bin and trash bags with drawstrings.

12 things you should be doing with Command Hooks

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To make this hack work:

  • Remove the protective coating from one Command Strip and press it against the backside of the Command Hook.
  • Remove the other protective coating and position the Command Hook about halfway down the side of the trash bin, with the hook facing downward.
  • Repeat this step with a second Command Hook on the opposite side of the waste bin.
  • Insert a trash bag into the waste bin, making sure the exposed drawstrings are positioned above the Command Hooks.
  • Pull the drawstrings down and hook them over the upside down Command Hooks.

Now, as you add trash to the waste bin, the bag will not get pulled inside the bin, and it should be a little easier to grab the drawstrings, tie and lift the full bag out of the waste bin.

Thompson does suggest drilling some holes in and near the bottom of the waste bin to make it easier to lift the bag out, and this works, but it's best to drill the holes a few inches up from the very bottom of the bin to keep any liquids that may leak from the bag in the bottom of the trash can and not on the floor.