Honestly, shopping in bulk is often the best way to save money. What isn’t easy to do is buy fresh foods in bulk. Meat, dairy, and produce typically don’t last more than a week or so in the fridge, and if you plan on buying in bulk, your time between grocery visits could span weeks.

Even if you don’t buy in bulk, food sometimes goes bad! It genuinely hurts our hearts (and wallets) when we have to dump pounds of meat and produce in the trash just because we couldn’t get to it in time.

Thankfully, there are some easy ways to help food last longer! These kitchen hacks are sure to save you time spent “restocking” at the store, as well as money wasted on food you just throw away. Check out our hacks below!

1. Add some butter

Placing some butter on the exposed part of cheese does a few things. The first is it creates a moisture barrier, stopping it from drying out. Second, it seals the part not covered in rind, extending its shelflife!

2. Herby hacks

Fresh herbs don’t last forever, but they add so much flavor to a dish. Next time they start to wilt, just stick them in an ice-cube tray with some olive oil and freeze it. Pop out a cube and toss it on a pan for herbs in oil, to-go!

3. Asparagus storage

Asparagus can get flimsy and gross if left in the plastic produce bag, even in the fridge. The hack is to simply treat them like flowers – vase them up and add some water!

4. Berry-power

Berries go moldy SO fast. Next time, just rinse them with a combination of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water. Swirl them in a bowl, killing the bacteria and mold on the skin!

5. Wax paper

If you don’t want to smear butter on your leftover cheese but have some wax paper lying around, try this:

Wrap the cheese in the paper, place it in a plastic bag, and place it in the fridge. It acts just like the butter does, only without butter.

6. Guac hack

Guacamole goes brown within hours. Air is your enemy if you want to keep the brown away. Simply spray a bit of olive oil, and it keeps out the air and seals in the freshness!

7. Green onions hack

Green onions make an excellent garnish for almost every dish. If you’ve already cut them but don’t want to toss them, toss them in a water bottle and store them in the fridge.

8. Don’t mix these!

You can usually store things together in the pantry or fridge. One of the main exceptions is onions and potatoes! They both release moisture and contribute to the other spoiling faster.

9. Keep bananas fresh

Brown spots on bananas crop up faster than we can eat them! Cover the stalk with aluminum foil and keep them at room temp. This is an easy hack that will keep them fresher, longer.

10. Herb savor

An Herb Savor is a little kitchen appliance that anyone who cooks with fresh herbs needs to have. It’s designed to store fresh herbs and keeps them from wilting and turning brown.

11. Cut lettuce

Cut lettuce tends to wilt within a few minutes. To help the leaves stay crisp, toss in a paper towel to soak up the extra moisture as it sits in the fridge.

12. Apples and potatoes

Keeping your apples and potatoes together will help keep the potatoes from sprouting! Who knew it was that easy.

13. Foiled

Certain veggies benefit from being wrapped in foil. Brocolli, celery, and lettuce leaves can all be wrapped if you want them to keep a bit longer.

14. Ginger hack

You can freeze ginger to keep it fresh. Slide it into thin layers and store it in a plastic bag. When ready, just pull it out and mince!

15. We’ve all heard the saying…

“One rotten apple spoils the bunch”. We’ve all heard it before, but it was probably our mom talking about our seedy friend group. It comes from a real-life phenomenon, however.

16. Tomato Storage

If you have green tomatoes, keep them in a paper bag to speed up their ripening. Once they are as ripe as you like them, keep them on the counter, but not in direct sunlight.

17. Frozen milk

This is a real thing (and your grandparents probably know about it). If you want to keep more milk at the house without making multiple trips to the store, stick a jug in the freezer.

18. Apple a’day

Super simple one here, but apples store longer in the fridge. Easy one, right?

19. Vaccum sealed

If you want to vacuum seal the inside of your cottage cheese and sour cream, just flip them upside down. It helps slow bacteria growth!

20. Mushrooms

Toss your extra mushrooms in a paper bag. It sucks up the moisture and keeps them dryer, consequently keeping them fresher!

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Source: Buzzfeed, Brightside