Last month my husband decided to install a garbage disposal in our kitchen sink. It was due to no motivation of my own, he came up with the idea and coordinated the installation and all of the supporting work entirely on his own. I didn’t have any opinion on the matter, I just let things happen as they were.

Until now, I had never had a garbage disposal before. I had never seen a need for one and the thought of installing one had never crossed my mind. I put food waste in the trash, or in the compost during the summer. No big deal. Why would anyone want one of these things anyway?

If you’ve had a garbage disposal before, you’re probably shaking your head right now. Of course there’s a need for one. Of course they’re incredibly convenient. Of course now that I have one there’s no freaking way I could live without it. That’s the way life goes though, isn’t it?

As a side bonus of the whole transaction, my husband had to replace the sink in order to make proper room and placement for the garbage disposal. He chose a rather deep sink which is way more convenient than the old style sink that we had. It gives me tons more room to stack and clean dishes. I feel way less afraid that I’m going to break something as I’m working now.

Another side bonus? That old kitchen faucet just looked a bit odd without a sink in a matching style, so now we have a pretty awesome goose-neck faucet that is as easy and convenient to use as it is aesthetically appealing. It almost makes the kitchen look like it’s brand new. The counters are holding it back now, and noticeably so, so perhaps my husband has his next project cut out for him. If you’re reading this honey, I’m sorry. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

It seems I’ve lost myself in one of my ever-so-common tangents. I started writing here for a reason. You know, whenever that happens you can just point it out. Something like “Hey, dumb@$$, get back to the story!” will work just fine. I guess you’d have to say something while I’m actually writing this article though, which just seems unlikely from logistical standpoint. But once again, I digress…

So why am I absolutely in love with my new garbage disposal? For one, I pretty much don’t have to make a bunch of trips to the trash can every time I’m doing dishes. Some things like chicken bones and fruit pits still end up in the trash, but the rest is taken care of with this lovely device (I’m going to refer to it as Jaws from here on out, bear with me). I just run the cold water and flip the switch, and the food practically disappears.

Another great benefit? No more disgusting food remnants that gather at my drain. Of course I used to segregate as much waste food as possible and throw that out as I could, I’ve already mentioned that here. Any seasoned dishwasher will know though that no matter what you do there’s always going to be some stringy, nasty stuff that makes itself to your drain guard. It’s up to you to pick it out from the guard when you’re done working. I’m gagging just thinking about it.

The best benefit of all? My trash doesn’t stink. Like, ever. As almost all of the food is going down the drain, the stuff that ends up in the trash is far less disagreeable. Not only does this mean that it reduces the odor in our kitchen (where we make the supposedly delicious food), but also our garage where we keep the trash bins tends to stay in much better shape aromatically speaking throughout the week. Score!

So in a nutshell, if you don’t have a garbage disposal you are indeed missing out. I just wanted to spread the word because I had literally no idea that I needed one of these things. It’s not even like they’re new… My grandmother had one when I was growing up. I guess I’m just late to the party.