In all the Aldi stores I've seen, they carry several different levels of hamburger fat content. Why pay for it? Well, I've yet found a store to discount for it! LOL Nor do they discount for the "water added" in hams, or the "gravy packet" in turkey breasts, and they just get thrown away too. :) Plus many people want a higher fat content for certain things. If I'm trying to cut the fat a bit more, I'll cook the burger in some water. That makes a big difference. Obviously you need to do some math to see how much meat you're getting for your money when you do that. Sometimes cheaper is the better value, sometimes the expensive is the better value. Grainlady those bags are interesting. But the problem I've run into is some of the cashiers deliberately try to make things more difficult. I don't quite understand why but often if you put a box or bag in there, they'll refuse to put it in there.. I know you got them as a gift which is nice. They'd be nearly $10 each so I guess I'll just keep on with doubled paper "handle" bags I keep a stack of in my vehicle. I also keep some plastic bags in there too. Guess I need to bring an extra person and have them put the stuff on the conveyer and i'll pack it myself. But that's a waste of another persons' time too. Oh, one interesting little tidbit: I was there one time and grabbed my cart as usual. Got into the store and it was jammed. As usual only 2 checkouts going and people were lined up halfway down the aisles! Don't remember, maybe was close to a holiday weekend or something but everyone's cart was jammed too. Well, try to take the cart back out the "in" door and the wheels lock. Much like some places where if you put them on an angle, like going down the curb, the wheels lock then too. I didn't even get out the door with it, I got within about 3 feet or so and they locked. So I dragged it through the store and switched with one of the spares at the checkout and went and got a quarter back. Didn't go back there for a while either. That's the problem I have with Aldi, and for that matter Walmart, and back when I used to go to Scam's Club occasionally. I hate the lack of checkouts so if it's busy I won't stand in line to give people my money. Just one of my pet peeves.

Pulling this oldish thread back up for an update. Edited to ad: The actual switch/install happened this morning. KD ended up trading me the old, small trash pullout setup for a new one, with larger double bins. I paid her (the cabinet company) an extra $50 some-odd and paid the contractor to come down & switch them for me. Contractor took the old unit to give to KD. I'd wondered if it was simple & I could do it myself, but it turned out that there were some things (an outlet & a water line) that were in the way (despite my measurements,) and contractor was able to adjust things so that it fit - but there's no way I could have done it - so I made the right decision in having him come down. I'm so glad to have my old trash/recycling out of the basement landing!

Yes, given 20/20 hindsight, Japanese bombs on the mainland proved to be a fluke. Rewind to June 1942 though and bombs have landed not far from where you live (155 miles by car, closer by crow), your house is on the approach to Boeing, a large part of the fleet that would defend you is rusting away at the bottom of Pearl Harbor, what would you be thinking? Assuming the cellar was scratch built 1942ish, the only problem with material to build it would have been reinforcement for the concrete. Re-bar, mesh. Wood for the forms, cement, sand, aggregate, not so much. The first scrap metal drives started that summer (1942). If the needed steel for reinforcement wasn't obtainable at the hdwe store, it was probably still scrounge-able. Or substitutes like old fencing, bedsprings... OTOH, the structure could well predate WWII by a couple of decades, original intent as a root cellar. (Assumption that ground water level is too high for basements to exist in that locale.) And then re-purposed as dual purpose bomb shelter/ root cellar with the addition of the concrete benches. I do not think that the benches would not have been original to a root cellar. Accessibility, the need for good air circulation would all seem to preclude the fixed benches. For sure, the latest use is tool shed because of the spark plug wrench laying on the bench. Interesting puzzle. Guessing that the creepy factor some people are experiencing could owe partly to the tomb-stone shaped interior?

@party_music50 Yes, you still get your CC cash back bonus. Like others, I donate directly to numerous charities each year. If I am shopping on Amazon (and I have cut back lately since several S&S prices have skyrocketed on many items, so I'm finding them for less locally), why not have "pennies" go to (currently) two of our grandchildren's school? My charities (both have been schools) have received almost $300 from my purchases. I am happy to do this effortless giving. @Tina Marie I don't usually buy from my phone either, but now and then I have wanted to, so I'll just save to my list, then purchase on my laptop.