Easy Food Storage System to Prevent Food Waste
I have decided to implement some new food storage systems. I realized that I was buying food that would get abandoned and ignored, only to end up in the trash. I knew I had to rework the way I stored my food so my family could easily see what we have and use food before it would turn.
I especially needed a new system for my fresh produce. In the past, I would buy fruits and vegetables and put them in my refrigerator in the crisper drawers.
This would inevitably end up with me forgetting what I had, not using it, and then leaving me with rotting produce that I would have to throw away.
I was so frustrated that I kept buying fresh produce only to throw it in the trash a week or two later. I would buy my produce with the best intentions to prepare healthy meals for me and my family, but it always seemed to rot before I got around to using it. I couldn’t understand why this kept happening.
The system that I use now saves me time, money, and a lot of frustration. Now I keep the produce in more convenient places where I won’t forget about them.
If you find yourself throwing away more produce than you use, more food than you eat, this is going to be a game-changer for you.
1. Repurpose the crisper drawer
The crisper drawer in the refrigerator may be the place that will preserve the freshness of the produce longer, but it also keeps everything hidden away, out of sight.
For me, this would just lead me to forget about my produce. Essentially, it was where I was putting my produce to die.
The first thing I did was clean out my refrigerator and rethink where I wanted to store things.
My leftovers were also creating issues because I would leave them on the refrigerator shelves and they would end up getting pushed to the back of the fridge.
I decided to repurpose one crisper drawer as my leftover drawer. This kept my leftovers organized and easy to sort.
I repurposed the other crisper drawer for dairy products like sour cream and yogurt.
2. Bins for produce
I decided to buy bins for the fresh produce. I bought baskets that have holes in them so you can see what’s inside. The holes also contribute to better air circulation.
Another hugely impactful change I made was I started washing all my produce before I put it in the refrigerator.
I know that washing produce can lead to shorter shelf lives, but I really wanted to make it convenient for my family to just reach into the fridge and pull out those fruits and vegetables.
I wanted to take away any fuss that would make them resistant to eating that produce.
I line the bottom of the bin with a cloth napkin for the softer fruits and vegetables after I wash them.
This helps absorb the excess water on them after washing them, which helps them stay fresher longer.
I didn’t find this is necessary for the harder produce like apples.
The first week I tried this new system I was shocked by the results. At the end of the week, all of the fruits and vegetables were eaten.
Now that I’ve adopted this method permanently we barely have any produce left at the end of each week.
If there are things left, like a few stray strawberries or grapes, I just put that in the freezer to use for smoothies. There’s no waste.
My goal in my homemaking routine now is to create systems that allow me to have a tidy organized home without the need to always stay on top of things. I wanted to create home systems that run themselves. That is exactly what this system does.
3. Pantry organization
The other thing I wanted to revamp was my pantry storage system. I used to organize my pantry by taking everything out, throwing tons of half-eaten stuff away, and buying new food.
I would put everything back in an organized manner. It would stay organized for a couple of days, but then it would inevitably get chaotic again and I’d have to repeat the cycle.
I realized the solution to this storage problem was bins. I bought a bunch of bins and labeled them by food categories. I could not believe the results. The pantry stays so organized this way and everything is easy to find and easy to access for the whole family.
I didn’t even have to tell my family to put things back in the bins. They just started doing it intuitively.
It became easier for them to understand how to keep things organized by seeing the bins with their labels. They see that there is a place for the item so they put it back in its place when they’re done with whatever it is.
It has been so great for me to see that now when I buy fruits and vegetables I know that they will get eaten. It makes me so happy to know that my family is getting the vitamins and nutrients they need from fresh produce and it feels so good to see that stuff get eaten instead of rotting and ending up in the garbage. I have been so happy with this new system.
Easy food storage system
I hope that my sharing this will help you better manage food storage in your home. If you have your own storage systems that work, please leave a comment and share so we can learn from each other.
I am always looking for new ways to streamline the systems in my homes and I’d love to hear what you do to keep things running efficiently in your home!
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Thank You! 😊
We have the same problems...always forgetting about the produce in the crisper drawers. Out of Sight...Out of Mind. I like your idea to pre-wash the produce and put it bins and designate the Crisper Bins for something else...I will do this for sure.
I bought produce keepers that sit on my refrigerator shelves that have handles for easy grabbing. I can see what’s inside and now I use the vegetable drawers for other things.