Glad Tall Kitchen 13-Gallon, Quick-Tie Bags are a Disappointment

When I buy garbage bags, I like a bag with strength to withstand a heavy load laden with dirty diapers, uneaten leftovers, discarded food packaging, banana peels and the other detritus of a large, busy family with small children. My preferred garbage bag also must be easy to open, tie and close, and free from messiness that I can't stand and don't have the time or energy to deal with. Glad Tall Kitchen 13 Gallon Quick-Tie Bags simply didn't meet most of my requirements of a good garbage bag.

I am really disappointed with the "Quick-Tie" feature of this garbage bag. It's anything but quick. There are rounded flaps that stick up at equal distances to each other around the top of the bag. Somehow, you're supposed to gather two in each hand and tie a knot. I have not yet been able to master this technique, and I usually end up leaving big gaps on the sides, getting my hands dirty with garbage, and just generally making a mess of the entire situation. Taking out the garbage should not have to be a ten minute ordeal.

I have tried tying two together on each side, and then tying both sides together, but this usually will leave a gap on either side, where garbage can creep out. And that's disgusting. The best method I have found is to tie two flaps together that are across from one another, and then tying the other two flaps around and under (in a manner that I can't quite explain in writing), but seems to do the job. However, this takes longer than I wish to be handling garbage when I have much more interesting or pressing things to do with my time. And I always seem to get crap on my hands.

There is also the matter of how difficult these bags are to open. Because there is no reference point as to where the top of the bag is at first glance, it takes like half a minute of fumbling and frustration to open the stupid thing. Now, you might think it's rather ridiculous to be whining about a mere 30 seconds of wasted time, and of course you would be right. But those are MY 30 seconds, 30 seconds I didn't used to have to waste opening a garbage bag while a one year old is clinging to my leg with a snotty nose, and my 6-year-old is crying because her barrettes don't match.

So, obviously I can't in good conscience recommend Glad Tall Kitchen 13-Gallon, Quick-Tie bags to anyone except my ex-mother-in-law. You also might be wondering why I'm still using them when I dislike them so much. Well, for one I don't like wasting money, so I won't throw them out. I'll be stuck with these crappy garbage bags for the entire spring season, as I bought the 80 count box.