While loose fruits and vegetables may not be conveniently stamped with harvest dates, you can easily see, feel, and smell how close they’re getting to overripe. Store these boxes front and center in your pantry, refrigerators, and on your counters. Take stock of those spaces when the boxes start to look sparse so you know to re-up. Can’t get past the idea of eating what you’re used to perceiving as “garbage?” That’s okay. Some foods, like citrus peel, can be repurposed brilliantly into things like delicious-smelling, and highly effective cleaning solution. I also use dry peels to clean and freshen up my garbage disposal—this plumber-approved tutorial shows you how. And if you don’t have the dedicated kitchen space nor a big enough family to add to your compost bucket constantly, not to worry—many folks freeze their scraps in a compost bin or freezer bag until they’re ready to rock with the right proportions. Holding onto them that way will also help avoid attracting mold or pests as you gather. Cooking something will also help you hit the reset button on your ingredients when things start to go south. Cooking kills spoiling and other bacteria, so you get to start the clock back up—so salt, pepper, then grill, bake, or sauté your way to a little longer wiggle room.
For baked goods, including unfrosted breakfast pastries and sliced or artisan breads, a medium bake for a few minutes in the toaster oven will do wonders and honestly, make it taste even fresher than straight out of the package. Leafy greens, like lettuce, bok choy, napa cabbage, and mature spinach will perk right up in a bath of cold water. Dried herbs and spices need the opposite to feel revived—bloom them in your cooking oil as you warm your pan to extract the last of their essential oils, open up their aromas, and infuse your dish. Stale cereal, crackers, and nuts need something more in between. They get that way due to absorbing too much moisture. A day or so in the refrigerator will dry them right out for a do-over.
Meat goes on the bottom in case of leakage, preventing contamination of raw items which would necessitate waste; cheese and deli meat go in the deli drawer, which should be firmly shut; and produce should be in the crisper drawers with the correct humidity set (if applicable). Before you go to the grocery store, do a quick inventory of your refrigerator and pantry. A lot of food waste happens when folks buy duplicates of things they already have, resulting in multiple opened, half-used bags of croutons, raisins, or what-have-you that you’ll end up tossing as they go bad. If you happen to have a surplus, use it to your advantage by employing any of the tips above,
