This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Weave Made Media® and Rubbermaid, but all my opinions are my own. #weavemade #FallFixUp http://my-disclosur.es/RgFrEH
When I was a kid, one of my favorite seasons was the fall. Not just because the candy-filled Halloween was around the corner, but because it meant one thing: leaves. Piles and piles and piles of leaves.
Seriously, is there anything more fun, more carefree, more innocent then just jumping in a big ol’ pile of leaves as a kid?
Okay so maybe dad wasn’t too thrilled when I’d wreck his nicely raked pile, but that just meant I’d get to help him rake some more. He used to lug around a big heavy garbage can all over our lawn and stuff it with tons of leaves. Then he’d scoop me up and put me in the can so I could jump up and down and stomp the leaves as low as possible. Lift and repeat.
Yep, that’s how we did it Old School style in my house back in the day. And now thanks to Rubbermaid and its Roughneck product line, I can keep that tradition going.
I recently hit my local The Home Depot and picked up a Rubbermaid Roughneck 32 gallon outdoor trash can. I found them outside in the gardening department, but was surprised to also see a whole assortment of them inside too.
The first thing I noticed about these cans as I picked one up and put it in my cart is how incredible light they are. So much lighter than those huge clunky hard plastic cans from my childhood. That doesn’t mean they’re flimsy, though, just much much lighter.
I also picked up an 18 gallon Roughneck Storage Tote which I figured I’d work into our Fall Clean-Up somehow.
Now, it’s still summer and the leaves are still on the trees, but that doesn’t mean I can’t start doing some yardwork. Knowing I’ve been a “bit” behind on trimming some bushes and picking up the 1 or 2 (thousand) sticks on our lawn, I figured now was the perfect time to start working. It was also the perfect time to hire some child labor, so I grabbed Ryan and hit the backyard!
Using the trash can, we walked around the lawn, picking up all the big sticks and tossing them into the can. I used to do this when I was a kid too!
When the can was full enough, I headed to the edge of the property to dump the sticks.
We almost stepped on this guy in the process too! Not sure exactly what it is, though. Weird coloring, but it appears to be a caterpillar that stuck its finger in an electrical socket.
For basic yardwork, you can’t beat a simple, lightweight and rugged trash can and Rubbermaid’s Roughneck products certainly fit the bill. This’ll certainly come in handy later this year when the leaves change color and decide to blanket the grass.
As for the Storage Tote, it’s the perfect size for our garden caddy. It fits in easily and leaves loads of room for other gardening/yardwork-related tools and items like that black plastic you put down to kill all the weeds.
It’s a great way to store it all in a self-contained tote. It’s also pretty light, so I was able to grab it and bring it out to our side lawn where our bushes needed a haircut.
Clearly they hadn’t been cut in well over a year or two, so I grabbed my clipper and started snipping off the longer branches. I had taken everything out of the Storage Tote, so I decided to toss the clippings in the Tote instead of all over the lawn. When it piled up to the top, I did my best grape-stomping impression and flattened it down.
Once the tote was fairly full, I walked to the back again and dumped them in a pile.
When I was all done (at least for the day… yeah, we have a LOT of bushes that need clipping. And it was hot out. And I was tired. And hungry. And…), I simply put the gardening stuff back in the Storage Tote, closed it up and put it away
I figure this thing can end up helping us with loads of different things from storing our tools, to collecting clippings and even working as a stool if you flip it upside-down.
While finishing up, I found this gorgeous flower near our bushes, so I clipped it and brought it in to Allie. I’m such the romantic.
She looked at it and lovingly responded with, “What the hell is that?”
Yeah, apparently I don’t bring her flowers too often. But there’s a reason: my allergies. She thanked me, said it’s beautiful, and then told me to go throw it out before my allergies started going nuts and I end up keeping her awake all night with my atrocious snoring. See, this is why we can’t have nice things.
Anyways, I’m really looking forward to this fall, when I can bring both my boys outside and have them stomp around in the garbage can. It’s certainly about time they started pulling their weight, don’t ya think?
If you’re looking for a creative (and cheap!) way to help with your Fall Clean-Up, consider having kids. Oh, and yeah, also head over to The Home Depot and look for the Rubbermaid Roughneck products, which aren’t just light and durable, they’re pretty inexpensive too!
How do you handle your Fall Clean-Up?
I need to get one of these Rubbermaid garbage cans to help me with yard waste and getting my yard free from all the leaves. I can put the leaves in the can and get rid of them in the recyclable can when needed! Thanks for a terrific idea!
We use those types of trash cans about the house too when picking up sticks and things. They are very durable!