One of the most unpleasant household chores is taking the bin out as it can often smell disgusting.
But now cleaning experts at Apartment Therapy have invented a very easy hack that will mask the odours emanating from your kitchen bin.
While there are odour-eliminating bins on the market, there's a much cheaper way to make your rubbish smell better - and all you need is a cotton ball and some essential oils.
Popping an oil-soaked cotton ball into your bin will mask the smell and transform this chore into an almost pleasant task.
You can soak the cotton ball in any scent you like, from citrus to lavender or lemongrass.
Then all you need to do is drop a sweet-smelling cotton ball into your bin so it falls to the bottom before you put a new bin bag in.
Even if you go through several rubbish bags a week, you can keep the cotton ball down there for a couple of uses before removing and replacing, according to
.
Many essential oils have antibacterial properties, such as lemon, lemongrass and tea tree, and so could help keep your bin free from bacteria.
Eucalyptus oil meanwhile has the added bonus of being a bug repellent.
You can pick up oils and cotton balls for just a couple of pounds from most supermarkets, making it a very cheap hack.
There are other ways to mask the smell of your bin too
Good Housekeeping Institute recommends sprinkling bicarbonate of soda in the base of the bin, which should keep bad smells at bay.
Alternatively, if you're a cat owner, try sprinkling some cat litter at the bottom of the bin.
It should work just as well.
