Optional: Enlist your cat for help (not recommended).

 

Having a cat is filled with all sorts of fun adventures: chasing hair tumbleweeds around the house, picking up all of the things the cat decided to knock on the floor, and relinquishing ownership of literally any box that is brought into the house. And of course, let us not forget, that wonderful treasure hunt of scooping out the litter box.

I am blessed with having only one monstrous furball, but one downside to this is figuring out how to optimize scooping so that it doesn’t start to smell, but I also am not using a plastic bag every day. The solution: the Litter Genie. This strange little contraction with especially a fancy box that you can store cat poop in without having to take the bag to the garbage every time you scoop. They even have super fancy bags, which only work if you are A) strong enough to tie the knot require to keep the fecal matter from dropping into the bottom of the container and B) willing to spend the $10 for a fancy roll of fancy bags.

I got the Litter Genie from my grandmother, because she was not strong enough to tie the required and found it easier to just use plastic bags. I used it for awhile, but then just couldn’t bring myself to buy a roll of bags when I get tons for free bags from food delivery services and the few times I forget to bring reuseable bags to the store.

I am not telling you to go out and buy a Litter Genie. They are a solution to the problem, but they aren’t a perfect solution. However, if you already have one and find A or B to be true for you, here is an easy hack that allows you the convenience of not taking out the bag every day while still reusing those pesky free plastic bags.

 

Supplies:

  • Litter Genie and empty bag holder (weird black thing)
  • Plastic bags
  • Two cans (or other filler for the bottom of the holder)
  • Four paper clips
  • Container to hold the bottom of the bag (I used an empty salad container)

Note when gathering supplies:

  • Essentially the two cans will hold up the plastic container, which will act as a place for the bottom of the bag to rest since a plastic bag is not big enough to reach the bottom of the Litter Genie. This will help prevent the bags from slipping when they start filling up. Look through your recycling bin for anything that will accomplish this goal (bottles, cans, jars). You will just need a flat base and something to hold up the base.
1. Now that you have gathered your supplies, open up the Litter Genie.

 

2. Place the cans (or whatever else you found) at the bottom. Space them apart to create optimal holding power.

 

3. Now place the plastic container (or similar base) on top of the cans.

 

4. Pat yourself on the back; you are down with Part 1.

 

5. Now for Part 2. Unfold each paper clip to form a boxy-U shape.

 

6. Slide the paper clips through the holes on each side of the empty plastic bag dispenser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now to add the bags. Bonus tutorial: click the link to find out how to make a fancy plastic bag holder for your extra bags.

 

7. Optional, but recommended: For extra strength, double bag them by putting one inside the other. Otherwise, you can work with just a single bag.

 

8. Put the handles of the inner bag upward (or just hold the bag by the handles if you are using a single bag).

 

9. Put the handles through the center of the bag dispenser. (Ignore this step is only using one bag).

 

10. Slip the handles of the outer bag into place and secure with the ends of the paper clips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Wrap the top edge of the inner bag over the top of the bag dispenser. (Ignore if using one bag.) (Note: you can just do this step with a single bag and ignore the whole paper clip thing, but I found the it is more likely to slip as the bag gets full with this method.)

 

12. Insert the dispenser into the top of the Litter Genie.

 

13. Secure into place with the bottom gray flap.

 

14. Push down the middle of the bags and you are ready to scoop. Scoop the day’s waste and pull out the partition to drop it to the lower compartment. If it gets stuck, just give the whole thing a few shakes to settle it into place.

 

When the bag is full, remove and tie the outer bag. Then replace the bag using the same technique as before.