[Photograph: Organize.com]

When I bought my SimpleHuman cabinet mount trash can ($29.99, Bed Bath and Beyond), I didn't think, not for one second, that I was buying a gadget—much less anything worth writing about. I knew that for one thing, it was a product I'd longingly invented in my mind, only to find it actually existed. (You know the feeling: in a way, totally excited to have what you want, but simultaneously cognizant of how much happier your wallet would have been if you'd come up with the idea a little sooner. Damn.)

No matter—the cabinet mount trash can has been nothing short of a revelation in my kitchen. Enough that, yes, I'm calling it a gadget. Four screws into the back of my under-the-sink cabinet and installation was done. I know I'm not the only person who loves keeping my trashcan out of sight, but other styles wouldn't have fit in my cabinet (or would have taken up valuable space). This one stays out of the way but perfectly in reach, out and accessible when I need it, but away without so much as a grimy touch.

Speaking of space saving, it also holds my plastic bags. No matter how hard I try to bring totes to the store, there's always an inevitable stockpile of those hanging around, and a storage component below holds those extras. Better yet, those small plastic bags fit perfectly on the mount's arms, making me feel like I'm at least recycling that unnecessary plastic—and cutting the expense, no matter how small, of real trash bags.

But let's say that you don't have a shortage of space, since most of you Serious Eaters are lucky enough to live in apartments that have bedrooms and separate kitchens and more than 500 square feet (grumble grumble). I'm going to confidently advocate that the cabinet mount trashcan still has a place in your kitchen, if not as a primary trash can then most certainly as a second installment.

Here's why: In any apartment or house I've ever lived in, it's only been practical to throw all of our trash into the single, large trashcan in the kitchen. Inevitably, things pile up, odors might not stay quite put, and worst—there are leaks. It happens. But my favorite thing about having a trashcan with a small bag has been the ability to take out the trash whenever I know it'll be prone to those issues, reducing the amount of time waste sits around without throwing my bags away mostly empty.

SimpleHuman really thought through the design of the product, engineering the body so that bags stay perfectly put and including a drip tray for the off chance that things spill through. Since it can't really move, that easy cleaning feature is key—though the skeleton-style structure means cleaning is really kept to a minimum. Much smarter, in fact, than the original idea I thought I'd come up with first.