We have been living in our house for 8 years now. As finances permitted, we’ve done the landscaping – front yard first, and last year we started the back. It’s looking pretty nice now, and this is where I spend most of my at-home time. Whenever we have a barbecue, we get to evaluate how well the design holds up and what we need to do to improve it. One thing we never really thought about: trash. Having a trashcan in the back is so handy! However, we don’t have one: we borrow the one from the garage when we have people over. This can is almost perfect: big, with wheels, but quite ugly.

 

This is one great trashcan
This is one great trashcan

I love this trashcan. If it gets smelly, we can easily move it. It takes standard large trash bags and doesn’t fill up super fast because it’s so big. We can roll it to the street to empty it, instead of carrying a heavy, smelly, leaky bag. I told Joe that I wanted another one just like it for the back yard. He wasn’t in love with the idea because it is so industrial looking – and not in a cool way. We searched for a good outside trashcan, but honestly, nothing was right – too small, too heavy, too woody, etc. (We also have two boy dogs that pee on everything, which adds the necessary requirement of being “squirt-offable.”) Then, I had the brilliant idea: Let’s buy another garage trashcan, and spray paint it a better color! The stores carry spray paint for use on plastic! Why try to hide the fact that it’s a trashcan? We can have a can with style.

And – this doesn’t happen often enough for me – Joe agreed! He thought it was a good idea too!

We bought another can, plus the wheel base (kind of an investment: about $60 total. Ouch!) and two cans of spray paint. Joe cut a hole in the lid like he did with the garage can. He then spent the necessary time painting it, and it looked GOOD! I loved it, and I still love it. I really think it was a good idea – in concept.

 

Oooh, what a good lookin' can!
Oooh, what a good lookin’ can!
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The hole in the lid is a great idea
But they said it works on plastic :(
But they said it works on plastic 🙁

Yes, there is a problem: the paint scrapes off with the slightest effort. A few more skids against the wall and this can is going to look junky. So what, now I have to babysit the trashcan? We don’t know how we will fix this, but in the meantime I’m going to appreciate my turquoise blue Rubbermaid “Brute” trashcan while it still looks cute.

It's more turquoise-colored than it looks in the picture.
It’s more turquoise-colored than it looks in the picture.

Now if I could just find some apple-green colored trash bags…

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