6 Fridge Changes That Stop Food Going Off Before You Eat It

6 steps · by Homeknacks Editorial

Households in the US, Canada and the UK throw away a substantial share of the food they buy, and most of it is fresh produce and leftovers that were bought in good faith and then forgotten. The money involved is real: the average family bin holds several hundred dollars or pounds a year.

Almost none of that waste is caused by carelessness. It is caused by a fridge that is the wrong temperature, organised by whatever fits rather than by what spoils, and arranged so the food nearest to going off is the food hardest to see. These six changes cost almost nothing and typically cut fresh food waste by half within a month.

1. 1. Check the temperature, because most fridges are too warm
2. 2. Put food where the temperature actually suits it
3. 3. Learn which produce does not belong in a fridge at all
4. 4. Store fresh produce so it stops drowning or drying out
5. 5. Build an eat-first zone and make leftovers visible
6. 6. Use the freezer as a pause button, and read dates properly

Start reading →