FIRST OFF, LET’S JUST CLEAR THE AIR – if you despise the use of disposable diapers, scurry on because this post will probably make you break out in stressed-induced acne. i know, i’m perpetuating the filling of landfills and my children’s children will burn in a post-apocalyptic fiery vapor while scavenging for food in a trash heap where the pacific ocean once stood.
now that we got that out of the way…we LOVE the diaper genie. i don’t have experience with other diaper receptacles – its what we registered for, we got it, we love it – but the refills for this thing add up HUGE at the end of the month. we go through a refill a week, $6.99/refill, that’s around $28 a month. with diapers, wipes, etc. everything adds up quickly. instead of giving up on the diaper genie, i’ve come up with a great money-saving solution that costs about $5/month for the bags.
1. you’ll need an empty diaper genie 2 refill.
2. glad forceflex medium bags work perfectly
3. separate the four ties. starting with the top hole, feed the tie through the hole.
4. feed the remaining ties every other hole
5/6. tuck the ties behind the refill — this will allow you to easily pull them from the holes once the bag is heavy and filled with diapers. loosen bag opening so that it covers the refill. when bag is full, pull from holes, tie up, drop through genie trap door flaps below {great technical term, right?}. if there’s still room left in the bag, we clean out belly’s litter box and empty other waste baskets.
UPDATE 09/14/2012 i’m blown away by all the traffic to my site because of this post circulating on pinterest. it makes me happy knowing that many people will be saving so much money not having to buy the overpriced refills. to answer a few questions: yes, the forceflex bags do prevent most odor, just as well as the diaper genie refills. however, no matter what type of trash liner you use, there really is no hope when it comes to the occasional stinky diaper. in my opinion, the problem with odor is not caused by the trash liner, but the actual trash can. the diaper genie does not seal in odor very well {compared to other trash cans – see below}. also, someone asked how much money we saved. we used the diaper genie with forceflex bags for 3 years, so we probably spent approximately $180 on forceflex bags during that time. if we used the diaper genie refills for 3 years, it would have cost us approximately $1008!
i also want to make a recommendation to any parents-to-be who are deciding whether or not to purchase a diaper genie. if i could have a do-over, i would NOT purchase the diaper genie. our diaper genie broke after 3 years, and i decided to splurge on a simplehuman. it seals in odor better than the diaper genie, plus it looks great which means you can use it anywhere in your home after your kiddo is out of diapers. i do not use the simplehuman trash bag refills – i have a money saving trick with target brand trash bags that i will share in another post soon.
File: tips + tricks
[...] is another pin, via Magnificent Bliss, that when I saw it I knew it would ‘hopefully’ change my life. It is a way to refill [...]
June 12, 2013 at 6:42 pm
I love this idea. Made my life easier. Thank you
June 10, 2013 at 9:59 am
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May 14, 2013 at 3:59 pm
I consider something really interesting about your web site so I saved to my bookmarks .
April 28, 2013 at 1:56 pm
great idea!
March 28, 2013 at 4:43 pm
I use both cloth and disposable diapers and I also have a diaper genie 2. I agree, not a huge fan of the product but use it because it is there. I LOVE this idea!!!!! I HATE wasting money on those refills. This is an idea borrowed from cloth diapering but you can dispose of the poop in the toilet then put the diapers in the trash. It saves raw sewage from being deposited into our ecosystem and less smell in your house. It is an extra step and there are those diapers that need to be sealed up, I know, but most of the time it works well. Good luck!
March 28, 2013 at 6:58 am
I love this! I just tried it for the first time (blogged about it and linked back to you) and I love it! I think it does great with the smell - I have the Febreeze bags and so far so good with the half dozen smelly diapers in there! Thanks for the tip!
March 26, 2013 at 9:06 pm
works in a pinch but fair warning it does not contain the odder like the refills do
March 15, 2013 at 10:29 am
Just wanted to add (for those of us who dislike using disposable diapers) this diaper pail works great for storing soiled cloth diapers until wash time... And I will be trying this refill idea to save even more money. Thanks.
March 7, 2013 at 7:06 pm
[...] only use ours for dirty diapers to help make it last longer. But when I saw this pin detailing how to refill your cartridge with a trash bag, I had to try it out! They have pretty good step by step directions as well as photos, so [...]
February 27, 2013 at 5:00 pm
I do something similar with my diaper genie, except I use the cheap-o 99 cent roll of tall trash bags, pull the bag through the middle or the empty refill ring, wrap the open end over the top and secure it with a large rubberband. I upgraded to the Elite recently because I liked the idea of having a foot pedal to open it, but the smell is worse, I just sprinkle some baking soda into the bottom of the genie and no stink!
February 16, 2013 at 10:52 am
Anyone every try grocery bags? I know the glad trash bags are cheaper than the genie refills, but grocery bags are abundant and free. I wonder if they could be made to work in a similar manner...
January 22, 2013 at 10:30 am
I have a litter genie for cat litter. Going to try this instead of those replacement cartridges. I love the litter genie, but the bags are expensive! Great idea.
January 20, 2013 at 12:47 pm
This makes me SO happy! I was just thinking this morning that I really needed to go get some refills but was avoiding doing so because they are so expensive! Im going to get glad bags tonigh instead! Thanks!!!!
January 15, 2013 at 5:04 pm
I knew there had to be a way!!! Another money saving tip is to only use the genie for poop. Pee diapers just go in the trash. I use about one refil a month this way. But agree that I probably wouldn't do the genie again, I would look into something that doesn't require the refills. That's where they get you.
January 2, 2013 at 10:25 am
Great idea!! We rarely have smelly trash because I flush the poop out of the diapers before I throw them away. I read somewhere I was "supposed" to be doing this from the beginning, but it never occurred to me. Now we don't even need the diaper genie except for the occasional messy diaper! This post cuts our costs down even more! Thanks so much!
December 23, 2012 at 10:08 pm
When will you be doing the update post on the Target brand trash bags for the simplehuman pail? Curious to know!
December 10, 2012 at 1:41 am
just wanted to share...i don't have any children..but i do have a cat and i bought one of those litter locks. ..works great..but the refills can be expensive...the refills are similar to the diaper genie ones...so i thought i would give it a try..i have saved one of the plastic holders...i used to have a trash can that i would use to recycle stuff, but my stepdaughter took it when she moved..but we still get free recycle bags every few months...so these are the bags i am going to use..now i cant use it just yet,but as soon as the other bag runs out, i will let you know if it works!
November 18, 2012 at 3:38 am
I have this same diaper genie, it was a gift with my 3rd child. It's the diaper genie elite. I hate it!! The trap doors don't close well and open completely when you're adding a new diaper so the smell comes out all the time. I also have the diaper genie 2, got that one was a baby shower gift with my first child. I've had it for 7 years and LOVE IT!!!!! It still works great and no stinky smell everytime you add a new diaper, only when you're closing up the bag bc the genie is full. This is the one where you have to forcefully push the diaper through the trap, the trap doesn't open every time. My diaper genie 2 still works and is way better than the elite. I do like the step motion to open the top door but not the trap. It would be perfect if they combined the 2, the step motion for the door but the forceful push for the trap. When my 3rd and last baby is out if diapers the elite will go in the garbage itself and the diaper genie 2 will stick around. I used it between diapering babies for kitty litter and feminine waste disposal. It works perfect for those types of waste as well. I'm glad I saw this on Pinterest bc it will save a lot of money!! Almost one of those why didn't I think about that 7 years ago kind of things! Thanks for sharing, I can't wait to try this out on both my genies once the refill we have is depleted!!
November 8, 2012 at 5:32 am
To help with the poopy diapers smelling up the house we have some small 4 gallon bags that we put the poopy diaper in and tie it shut and put it in the diaper genie. then there isnt a smell
November 4, 2012 at 2:53 pm
I am going to tell my son and dil about this for their litter genie. Should work the same way. Thank you.
October 20, 2012 at 1:04 pm
Love these ideas!!! Money and time saving!! Mel
October 16, 2012 at 9:39 pm
this is a great idea. one way to prevent the room from smelling up would be emptying the genie more often, you'd use more bags but really, you shouldnt be leaving feces just sitting there for days and days. yuck
October 13, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Jessica, I tried this in the past and the room did fill up with poopy stench : / The refills are so expensive that I was hoping it would work.
October 5, 2012 at 11:10 am
Genius!!!!!!7
September 27, 2012 at 8:30 am
Is the 8 gallon bags really big? Would I be able to find smaller ones?
September 26, 2012 at 12:34 pm
Does it have the same affect of the diaper genie ones, like not having the room fill up with poopy diaper smell?!
September 11, 2012 at 9:27 am
jw if you figured out how much you are saving?!?
September 6, 2012 at 3:22 pm
ryan - completely get your humor and not offended at all. in fact, i'm inspired now...i've got a stash of target bags that aren't filled with anything. i'm sure i can find something around here to throw out. kristin | 9:10pm on 8/11 you're killing my children! haha i appreciate you being upfront about it. i don't get why you don't just wrap the plastic diaper in more plastic, and put that in a larger plastic trash bag, that sits in your giant plastic garbage can? duh!! i am seriously joking with you. and i know you know that, but sometimes other people don't know that and might read this and think. man that guy is being a real warrior. but i'm not... i'm just joking :) ryan | 6:05pm on 8/11 you might have just put that company out of business!! love that idea!! allison | 6:05pm on 7/28 that's my babe...smart as einstein, but stays low under the radar. gamma | 5:26pm on 7/28
September 16, 2009 at 4:41 pm