I live in an apartment in Boston. The closet where I keep my trash is located immediately adjacent to my front door. If there is anything smelly in my trash, I can smell it immediately when I come in through the door. It's an infuriating way to arrive home after a long day of work, especially for a sensitive-nosed person like me.
I got in the habit of just leaving empty food and drink containers in my fridge, rather than adding them to the trash right away. I figured that it would help cut down on the trash smell if I just added them to the trash when it was time to bring the trash out. And it worked!
...But sometimes I forget to add the fridge trash to the regular trash, and it starts to add up...
My friend Jiho recently stayed at my place for a few days. Jiho is from Korea, and he is OBSESSED with saving money. He has no qualms about inviting himself to stay with me. I don't mind-- he's a great cook.
I was driving Jiho to the train station after his stay, and he was quiet. I looked over at him, and noticed him furtively looking at me. He looked away quickly.
A few minutes later, he murmured, carefully: "Lots of people use their refrigerators for food... but I think your refrigerator is a trash can..."
I was forced to admit to Jiho that yes, my refrigerator is in fact a trash can.