The most common comment I read in reviews of this product is that the instructions suck. Did that stop me from buying it? No, and I don’t think it should stop you from buying it either. Maybe just clear your schedule for longer than you think 😅
In my last house, I had small places in the kitchen that were perfect for a trash bin and a recycle bin. They were unobtrusive and filled small gaps (like between the fridge and range). But in my new house, with the open floor plan concept and kitchen island, having two freestanding receptacles got to be SO ANNOYING, and the stationery bins just turned into mobile bins as we had to push them around all the time to get past them. Enter: The Cabinet-to-Pull-Out-Trash-Cans conversion.
A LOT of people have done these, so this post isn’t a straight instruction manual. Not that the company can’t use a new one!! (Gosh, who wrote that and how did it get approved??) But because that information exists in other forms already and also you sometimes just have to do it to do it.
So, like my last post on how to sew curtains, this post is focused on what I feel could have helped me in this process.
Pull-Out Trash Cans Products Needed:
- The slide-out mechanism that holds the trash cans: I got the Rev-A-Shelf 35-Quart Soft Close Double Pull Out Trash Can from Lowe’s. (Money-saving tip: Check to see if the retailer you’re purchasing from participates in Rakuten [affiliate link] to get some % back! This product is also sold on build.com but Lowe’s at the time had a higher Cash Back amount.)
- The part that attaches the unit to the door: I got the Pull Out Trash Can Mounting Kit separately but it’s optional. I didn’t want to have to open a swinging door and then pull out the cans; I wanted to pull out the door and have the trash cans come along with it. I also got this from Lowe’s.
In concept, the installation isn’t difficult. You essentially put the basket together, slide it into your cubby hole, and drill it down. If you are good with a swinging door before pulling it out or if you have no door, you are done. Otherwise, you’re only halfway done: attach the unit to the door with the L-shaped pieces. Somewhat per this photo collage, which is a mesh between the actual instructions and the steps I inserted myself:
My issues and proposed solutions:
I didn’t know how far in to place the frame in the cabinet. There is almost 0 guidance in this area in the manual. Here’s what it says:
So I just guessed to put it at the edge (and also hit my head on the counter when I was trying to be at that overhead view to align it):
I didn’t want it to stick too far out because then it wouldn’t be flush when closed, but I also was worried that it the mechanism would not be in a fully closed position if I put it too far in. There’s no way to test this — you have to drill the unit down before you put on the door, and you can’t temporarily put the door on to see if it’ll close in the right spot. After using the finished product, I realize I was close, but I would recommend putting it maybe a quarter of an inch or half an inch behind the edge as it sticks out with my current arrangement.
Then I opted to tape the thing down so it would mostly stop moving, which also wasn’t in the instructions but it was something that helped me.
Once I had everything in its place, I had a hard time getting to the screw holes. I disregarded the written instructions and just undid some parts of the earlier steps to get my drill in there. I actually wonder if everyone would be better off drilling the frame into the cabinet first, and then putting the tray together (er.. the parts that hold the bins) after. You have to get the back of the cabinet to get to the back screws and the upright tray gets in your way.
The next steps are to install the L-shaped pieces, stick on adhesive squares, and while the sliding part is all the way in, align your door where you want it and push it onto the squares. This way, when you pull the handle, you pull out the sliding part that’s sticking to it and drill the L-shaped pieces to the door. There is some wiggle room here that you can adjust afterwards.
This is the part where you may realize you stuck the frame too far in — the door won’t hit the adhesive if so.
Or, you’d hit the L-shaped pieces before your door is flush with the rest of the cabinet.
I personally had a hard time getting the door to stick: every time I thought it was successful, I’d pull, but the tray wouldn’t stick and I’d just end up with a door in my hand.
I was very, very, very over it at this point and called for backup. I held the door in the desired position while my husband did the rest, and it stuck when we pulled. I think for me it was hard to hold the door up and also push it at the same time, so maybe I would recommend two people here. Then we drilled it in. I actually had to again hand the task over to my husband; the back of the cabinet door was NOT accepting my drilling. I think your partner should stay for this task as you don’t want to risk the door falling while you are drilling.
After that part was done, we closed it and… it wasn’t aligned with the rest of the drawers. The adjustments you can make afterwards were much more in the areas of tilting the door rather than much of up/down front/back which is what I would have preferred. Or I was too famished at this point and missed how to do this. We did our best, though.
Some folks out there have left the cabinet knob for opening and closing (the corner knob from when the door was a cabinet swinging door with a hinge). We tried it, but didn’t feel good about it, so we installed a drawer handle and it’s much better. (Now I need to figure out what to do with a hole in the upper right of the door…)
All in all, I’m so happy we did this. I felt so accomplished when we moved away the trash and recycle bins for good out of the kitchen!! My only “clearly this wasn’t professionally installed” giveaway is this gap (oh, ok two things, also the hole in the upper right where a knob used to be 😝):
But honestly from any angle from above, just using it and walking by it every day, you can’t really tell.
Final Tip
A final final tip and then I’m done with the tips: do not use any ol’ trash bag for your recyclables.
Rev-A-Shelf Double Waste Container Pullouts Critiques
- One critique I have about the product itself is an agreement I have with some other reviewers: it’s true, the two bins are mashed up against each other, so it’s hard to fold a lining over one bin without dislodging the other.
- Another critique is that you can’t pull out the bin in the back without removing the one in the front, so hopefully you always have to dump both at the same time!
- (I mean yes, I suppose you could take out the one in the front to get to the one in the back and just put the front bin back in the front without emptying it, but you’d still have to go through the work of doing that.)
- I really thought I wanted the soft-close. After having bought it, I’m not sure it’s worth it. Perhaps if you have a slamming problem in your house it’s worth it? For me, I always find myself pushing it more closed after it’s closed anyway.
Cost Savings
Purchasing the products off retail was about 1/3 of the cost to have this installed compared to a quote I received. Disclaimer: I don’t know if that contractor uses this same exact brand and product; Rev-A-Shelf does in fact have different levels of this product as well that are more expensive, so this may not be an apples-to-apples comparison.
Oh I just saw that they also make a swinging version for smaller spaces! I might just have to get this for my bathroom 🤔 Onto the next project!
