When raking leaves and putting them in a trash can lined with a plastic bag, the weight of the leaves often pulls the bag down inside the can.

To prevent this from happening, stretch a bicycle inner tube around the outside of the trash can near the top rim with the plastic bag underneath it to hold the bag securely in place.

Bike inner tubes are available in sizes up to 26-inch diameter, so you should be able to find one to fit your trash can.

Watch the video above to find out more.

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Joe Truini: Some of my favorite Simple Solution ideas come from viewers like you, and here’s one. When you’re raking up leaves and dumping them into a trash can that has a bag in it, often the weight of the leaves will pull the bag into the can—especially if the leaves are wet.

But here’s the tip—this comes from Mikayla Kary. Get a bicycle inner tube, this is an 18” tube, and use it like a giant rubber band to hold the bag to the can. Just stretch it over the bag like that. And then you just rake up the leaves and dump them in.

And what you’ll find is that if the inner tube is stretched nice and tight, it’ll keep the bag from slipping in. This happened to be an 18-inch bicycle inner tube, and they come in sizes up to about 26” in diameter, so I’m sure you can find one to fit your garbage can.


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avatar for Joe Truini

Joe Truini

Radio Show Co-Host

Joe Truini is a contractor, author, and the host of “Simple Solutions” on Today’s Homeowner TV and the weekly Today’s Homeowner radio show. He has worked on both large commercial projects and residential remodeling, and has written for national publications such as This Old House and Popular Mechanics. He has also written eight books, including three best-selling shed-building books. Joe lives in Connecticut with his family and enjoys hiking, traveling, and baseball in his spare time.

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