Pro tip: cut down on food waste by doing a weekly fridge audit

Last month I threw out a bag of wilted spinach and 3 half-eaten yogurt containers that I forgot about because they were shoved in the back. I started doing a 5 minute check every Sunday morning before grocery shopping to see what I actually have and plan meals around it. Anyone else find that a quick fridge scan saves them from buying stuff they already own?

2 comments

2 Comments

paigewood5d ago

100% agree on the fridge audit idea. Your point about the yogurt containers really hit home for me because I do the same thing with leftovers that get pushed behind taller jars. I take it a step further now by actually grouping all the 'eat me first' stuff together on one shelf, like leftover stir-fry or that half a cucumber that's about to turn. That way, when I open the door, I literally see them before I even think about grabbing new groceries. It's a tiny change but it's cut way down on me finding science experiments in the back corner.

the_richard5d ago

Hold on a second there. The stir fry is cooked food, and the cucumber is a raw vegetable. Mixing those two on the same shelf might not be the best idea because the smells and bacteria from the raw veg can actually get onto the leftovers. I learned that the hard way when my soup started tasting like onion. It might be smarter to keep raw stuff on a lower shelf and the leftover meals on the upper shelf. It only takes a second to rearrange and it keeps everything fresher for longer.