TGIF

Do you ever feel like your pantry or hall closet is being overrun by left over plastic bags from the grocery store? If you are like me, you use your extra bags for doggie waste and dirty diapers, but not everyone knows this trick. Check it out and see what you think.

When you are in the kitchen at night preparing dinner, place one or two empty Safeway or Harris Teeter plastic bags on your counter and use them for waste as you are cooking.

I usually reserve one bag for the packaging and waste (trimmed fat etc.) from the meat that I am preparing for dinner. This way you are not dripping chicken juice (with bacteria, E-coli etc.) all over your counter, floor and garbage can; you are containing everything in one plastic bag that you can tie up and place directly into your trash pail. This also protects little hands and doggie tongues from licking up or touching these harmful bacteria if they get into the kitchen trash can, which they sometimes do!

I use the second bag for vegetable refuse as I am peeling, coring, seeding etc. I find that having the open bag right in front of me on the counter helps cut down on the number of trips I make to the garbage can and it is so convenient it helps me maintain a "clean as I cook" mentality in my kitchen which makes cleaning up after dinner a lot quicker too.

If you have never tried this trick, please give it a whirl the next time you are cooking, I think you will find it is a great time saver and that it helps keep things really clean.