Reddit mentions of simplehuman 46 Liter / 12.2 Gallon Rectangular Dual Compartment Recycling Kitchen Step Trash Can, Brushed Stainless Steel

Got married in 2015 and we was in the same boat as you... Both of us are from large ethnic families who wanted to give physical gifts (because they're well intentioned and wanted to pay it forward - a lot of them were newly arrived in the US without a lot of money, and sometimes not a lot of family and married pretty young - so gifts they got for their marriage were actually very much needed). Both my partner and I already had functioning apartments (separately), then when we moved in while we were engaged, realized we had about 2 of everything and had to narrow that down. Thankfully, we are pretty minimal people - him by nature, me by intention. But especially after having to sort through both of our belonging to weed out duplicates, we really felt like we did not need anything else.

We ended up taking a two pronged appraoch: 1) Upgrading things we had, and used, but that were not all that nice to begin with and 2) Items that would help us achieve the goals that we had laid out for our relationship as a married couple.

A few things we asked for that have seen a lot of use:

1. Vitamix - I thought this was going to be a huge waste of money, but my partner really wanted it and my aunt really wanted to give it to us (because she loves hers). This thing has gotten used daily (and sometimes multiple times a day). We have been low-carb-ish for the last two years and the Vitamix has been awesome for this kind of cooking. Can't say enough great things about it and I have no doubt this thing is going to last decades.
   
   
2. Really great Japanese knives - my cousin is a chef recommended this pearing knife and this 8.5" knife. Not only are they super easy to handle (as opposed to German Wostoff knives - a commonly requested wedding gift, which IMHO are way too large to efficently or precisely manuver), but they are gorgeous knives that are nicely balanced and really feel great in your hand. We replaced an entire block of cheap-o knives with these two knives alone.
   
   
3. Religious & ethnic items for holidays - There are a few holidays we celebrate where specific items are part of the tradition. For example, for Christmas, our families always have nativity sets, so we registered for that. For Easter, there are special cultural items that are used - and someone made us that. You can ask your ethnic families to get you these things (which were actually some of the most touching gifts because they were either made by hand or purchased overseas).
   
   
4. Plates, silverware, glasses and servingware to host 40 people - This is NOT "minimalist" for pretty much anyone, but it made sense for us. We both have large families. The elders of the families have been strongly hinting at having us take over the "big holidays" that they have been hosting. Additionally, we live in a neighborhood that is the spot for 4th of July parties, and we host an annual blowout day-before-Thanksgiving party. When we were making our registry, we made a list of everyone who would be on the invite for these parties and were hitting the 35-40 person range. So we have 40 place settings - we keep 32 of them in a separate set of cabinets in the basement, and 5-6 times a year, bring them out so that everyone can eat together using real plates and silverware. It's not minimalist, but it's intentional in that we specifically have choosen to stay in the same city as our families so we can do these types of things.
   
   I guess my overall advice would be to make a list of goals you want to achieve for your life together, and then try to ask for items that either help you achieve those goals, or enhance those experiences.
   
   A few examples:
   
   

• If a goal for your married life together is to be environmentally sustainable, think about registering for a compost bin, a fancy SimpleHuman garbage/recyling can or a Berkey Water Filter
  
  
• If you want to pursue a healthy lifestyle together and cook homemade meals - you can upgrade your pots and pans (love my All Clad pots and my Le Creuset pan).
  
  Does anyone NEED this stuff? No, of course not. But when you're lucky enough to already have all your basic needs met in life, wedding registries provide are a nice opportunity to upgrade things that were aquired at an earlier time in your time in your life, not for their enduring quality, but rather their low cost/ ease of procurement. Good luck!

I received one as a gift 3.5 years ago(a friend saw me lusting after this one at BB&B) I never would have spent that much on a trash can before, but if I ever need to replace it I won't hesitate to by this brand at this price again!

Also I put the trash bag on the recycle side and use it for trash as I produce more recycling than trash and I take the trash out more often this was so there is less smell.