Sharp Trash (Home/Studio/Workshop Tip)

This is probably going to be my shortest instructable. As a maker/artist, I end up with lots of bits of sharp trash that could pose risks of accidental cutting/piercing the skin.

• Used razor blades/X-ACTO blades, etc.
• Shards of broken things - glass, mirrors, ceramics, hard plastics, etc.
• Pointy things - staples, broken/dull sewing needles/pins, splintery bits of wood, wire, pushpins, etc.

I don't want a family member emptying the trash or digging through it for something, only to be sliced open!

I also don't want to risk these things escaping the trash by puncturing the trash bag, by falling out of a tipped-over waste basket, or by being blown/knocked out at the point of trash pick-up.

In the distant past, I would wrap the sharp things in something like masking tape or even aluminum foil. But that's so wasteful.

So my life-hack is to label a sturdy plastic jar (mine was from a gelato dessert) with a screw lid "Sharp Trash." I used a label maker, but you could write it in permanent marker. I keep it on the counter in my studio. I put all my deadly little trash in there and keep the lid tight. When it gets full (maybe once a year or two), I transfer the contents to something that I can safely seal - which I then place in the trash, knowing everyone is safe.

The photo above shows a recently emptied jar with a few bent sewing pins - I wish I had taken a photo when it was full of 2 years worth of nasty hazards!

Happy and Safe making!