How to Make Your Groceries Last Longer

How long do your groceries last? I can help you store your food so you have long-lasting groceries as a strategy to save money.

One of the best ways to save money on groceries is knowing how to store them properly.

Over 20 percent of groceries that people buy end up in the garbage! Read on for my 10 storage tips to keep food fresh for longer.

1. Lettuce

When you get your lettuce home, unwrap it, rinse it, chop it, and dry it as much as possible.

Put a layer of paper towels on the bottom of an airtight container that will go in the refrigerator to keep the lettuce fresh for two weeks.

Put in lettuce and then halfway up, put another layer of paper towels down over the lettuce. Then fill up the container with the rest of the lettuce. Place paper towels on top.

2. Bananas

Bananas tend to develop brown spots quickly.

To keep them fresh for longer, you need to stop the release of ethylene gas from the stems of the bananas. Wait until the bananas are yellow before doing this trick. Take aluminum foil and wrap the stem of the bananas.

Leave them on the counter and the bananas will not go brown so fast–for at least a few weeks.

4. Avocados

When an avocado is deep brown and has a little give when you lightly press on it, then it’s ready to ripen more. Put it in a paper bag to further ripen.

If you want the avocado to ripen overnight, toss an apple in the paper bag, too. The apple will release ethylene gas to help the avocado ripen.

If you bring home already ripe avocados, put them in the produce drawer in your fridge where it will last for a week.

5. Asparagus

Extend the freshness of thin asparagus stalks for up to two weeks. Fill up a glass jar a third of the way with cold water.

Rinse the asparagus, dry it, and cut an inch off the bottoms. Place the stalks with the cut ends down in the glass. Put it in the fridge on the door and it’ll stay fresh.

6. Cucumber

What do you do with cucumbers that sit in the fridge for a week? They get a little soft so I pickle them. Scrub them clean with the skin on, cut off the ends, and slice the cukes very thin.

Fill a glass jar a little more than halfway with water, add 3 tablespoons of any type of vinegar, add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, and black pepper, and finally add the cucumber slices.

Shake the bottle and put it in the fridge for homemade pickles and they stay great for months.

7. Herbs

Herbs like cilantro and parsley prefer to be stored like plants. I cut the ends off the herbs and put them in a jar filled halfway with cold water. I put the plastic bag they came in over the jar to create a greenhouse effect.

Put them in the fridge and they’ll last for weeks. You can also put herbs in an ice cube tray, fill it up with oil, and freeze it till you need it.

8. Nuts and seeds

Put nuts and seeds in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge. If you buy nuts and seeds in bulk, put the portion you won’t use for a while in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer.

They’ll stay fresh there for months. You’re freezing the oil in the nuts and seeds so the oils won’t go rancid.

9. Celery

Celery can last for weeks. Cut off the bottom of the celery stalks. Separate all the stalks, rinse them well, and pat them dry. Tightly wrap celery in aluminum foil. When you want a stalk, open it up and take what you need, then rewrap.