Have you ever found yourself with an overflowing wheelie bin long before the binmen are due to empty it?
Whether you've forgotten to put the bins out one week or you've generated more rubbish than usual, it's a problem almost all of us have faced at least once in our lifetimes.
But one mum on TikTok has come up with a solution that could help create more space in your bins and eliminate any issues of over-filling - by simply removing the extra air from your kitchen bin bag so that it's more compact when it goes out into the wheelie bin.
Laura Williams posted a video that showed her going through the process of using her vacuum cleaner to suck up all the excess air in her bin bag, as she explained she often runs out of room in her wheelie bin because it's too small for the waste her family generates.
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In her video, which was posted to her @cleaning_at83 account, she said: “Right guys, you may think this is a boring video of me emptying my bin. I saw another TikToker do this yesterday, what a great hack.
"My bin outside is so small and it's emptied once every two weeks. My five-year-old wouldn't even fit in there.
"Treating your bin bag as a vacuum suction bag, like you do with your clothes. Just genius."
Laura's video has received over 3.4 million views, but the trick has split opinion online - as some people think the use of a vacuum inside the bin bag would create an awful smell that would linger in the house.
One person said: "If you did this with your bin bag, all the vile smells from your waste would end up around your house. Not a wise video."
While another added: "The theory is amazing, but I can only imagine how bad it would smell. Like the smell of dust mixed with the bin smell that escapes the vacuum cleaner."
And a third claimed: "Yeah ... I would not advise doing this as the smells from the bin get pushed about the house more by the hoover."
But others couldn't see the problem, and agreed with the mum that the idea was "amazing".
Someone posted: "This is so smart."
As someone else agreed, writing: "You're a genius and after the council refused to give our family of six a big bin, I'm doing this. Thank you!"
Laura even replied to the comment, insisting people don't understand how difficult it can be to get your hands on a bigger bin from your local council.
She said: "The number of people that have told me to order another bin. I'm like, if only it was that easy!"
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