Having you ever noticed that men do not replace the trash bag even if they are in charge of trash removal? They’ll take out the garbage and even put the recycling in the right bin but putting in a new bag seems to be asking too much. You may say, it’s all part of the same job right? Apparently not. So this article is written for women to give them ideas of how to convince men to put a trash bag in the can but it is also written for men to help them understand why replacing the bag is so important and some ideas to remind themselves to do it. Let’s tackle the former first.

Why is it so crucial to replace the bag?

1. When you don’t replace the bag right away, someone is bound to toss something in the can without paying attention and eventually the bottom of the can will get all dirty and gross, especially if liquids are thrown in. Not to mention that the ones who throw trash away without looking to see if there is a bag in the bin are probably the very same ones who forgot to put a bag in, in the first place. Oh wait, it was mentioned.
2. It’s just annoying to have to finish someone’s job. When you start a chore, you should complete. This way, someone doesn’t have to come along behind you and do the same thing that you should have done in the first place. Everyone has their own jobs. They should all complete them properly whether it’s taking out the trash or cleaning the bathroom or vacuuming. Take pride in the job that you have, no matter how trivial and don’t count on someone else to do it for you.

How to remind the trash-taker-outter that they need to replace the bag.

1. One way is to leave fresh bags in the bottom of the can. Leave two and three and add more as you go. This only works if the trash can is kept clean. If the bottom of your trash can is dirty then you do not want your clean bags sitting there because they will end up smelling terrible. This also will only work if you are going to be taking your trash out often. Leaving fresh bags under a fermenting bag will also make it smell bad.




2. Another idea is if you put five or six bags in the trashcan at the same time when they are all clean, when you go to take out the dirty bag, the fresh one will be ready to go. You’ll just have to be careful about taking out the fresh ones with the dirty one. Try not to let it get too full and heavy and that should eliminate that problem.




3. Try posting a permanent sign as a reminder. You could try putting it above your trash can inside but chances are, the second they walk away from the trash, they’ll forget. A better place would be above the master trashes outside or even on the back door for when the person taking out the trash walks back in.




4. You could rig your trash can so that it won’t close properly on it’s on and remains ajar. Then, attach a magnetic alarm that only shuts off when the lid has been completely closed. When the person taking out the trash leaves, the alarm will go off and they’ll have to return to the trash when they come back in to turn off the alarm. Hopefully this will remind them that the trash needs a new back.




5. Attempt to implement a ‘replace the bag first’ rule. Before taking out the old trash, replace the bag. This may or may not work depending on how your family takes to new rules but it’s worth a shot.

Hopefully one of these will work for you but if not, it’s really not to much hassle to replace the bag yourself. Of course, it’s irritating and just adds to all the things that you need to do but if you let bygones by bygones and don’t let the small stuff get to you, it may be easier just to forget it and do it yourself.