Sam's Club Has The Solution For Easier Dinner Clean-Up Under $20

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Whether you're feeding a family or just looking to clean up after an elaborate, one-person meal, hauling all your dishes to the sink doesn't have to require multiple trips. For under $20, you can get your own Cambro bus tub from Sam's Club, an indispensable tool for managing kitchen mess.

As a restaurant supply brand, Cambro is no joke, producing affordable, straightforward plastics you can find in just about any food service business. Its bus tubs make everything easier, from hauling in the dishes from an outdoor dining party or just acting on Julia Child's simple tip of soaking everything before you wash it. Bus tubs are great for stacking in delicate dishware, so you don't have to worry about juggling them from one place to another. Still, they're just as good for tossing in handfuls of flatware or as a conveniently portable bucket for carrying trash.

A good bus tub should be durable above all else, which makes them all the more valuable. Dishwasher-safe and strong enough to stand getting hosed down with soap in the yard, they're easy to clean, difficult to abuse, and a versatile tool when you're looking to make cleanup more convenient. Provided you store them somewhere they won't get scratched, you should be able to maintain your perfect clean-up tool for years — if not decades.

While sold as a clean-up tool, never forget that your Cambro bus tub is, at the end of the day, just a plastic bucket. However, since it's so easy to sanitize, this lets you use it for more than just picking up dishes and trash.

Some produce needs more than a quick rinse to get properly clean, and that's where your bus tub comes in handy. Whether you're making a vinegar solution for perfectly cleaned raspberries or using a water hack to determine blueberries' sweetness, having a giant tub you can bang around or move somewhere convenient is a major boon. This is especially useful if you garden, as you can haul your tub outside and rinse off your produce while you harvest. Just be sure you don't store it in the sun, as UV rays tend to degrade polyethylene compounds and can shorten its longevity.

If you have particularly large or awkwardly shaped things to clean that don't fit well in your sink, take them outside with your Cambro full of dish soap for a good scrubbing. For something delicate, like a glass drink dispenser, this lets you give it a deep clean without worrying about accidentally banging it into something. For something like carbon-covered grill grates, this is an easy way to soak then scrub, without getting that mess all over your kitchen sink. If your house is on a septic tank, this is also a great way to avoid washing dishes covered in heavy fats that can potentially clog up your system since you can just pour it out in your yard after.